In Memoriam

The War Memorial at the parish church of All Saints, Stanton on the Wolds gives the names of three young men from Stanton who lost their lives in action during World War I: Private Leonard Hatherley,  Private Joseph Hatherley and  Private Tom Henry Kemp. 

19 year old Leonard Hatherley, a railway porter, attested as Private 13912 in the 1^st Battalion Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment) in Nottingham on the 31^st August 1914. After completing his basic training he was posted to France on the 27^th January 1915. In February 1915 the 1^st Bt. of the Sherwood Foresters were in action in the Merville area of France in the general area of Lille/Arras and were later heavily committed in the battle at Neuve Chapelle, where the British losses on three days amounted to 2,527 dead and over 8,000 wounded. Leonard was severely wounded in action on the 17th February and sadly  died from his wounds on Wednesday 25^th February 1915 at Merville just thirty days after joining the French theatre of war. Leonard was awarded  the 1914-1915 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

                                                                               Merville Communal Cemetery is 15kms N of Bethune and 20kms SW of Armentieres and has 1,268 graves within its walls. Leonard Hatherley is interred in grave I.E.6

The picture is reproduced by courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The photo was taken in July 2005

 

 

 Joseph Hatherley enlisted as Private 28062 in the 1^st Battalion of the Prince of Wales North Staffordshire Regiment. Having survived most of the war, Joseph became involved in a battle referred to as a period of crisis for the allied troops. On the 21^st March 1918 the 1^st Bt. North Staffordshire Regiment had formed part of Gough’s Fifth Army occupying an area of the former Somme battlefield near Poziers. At 4.40am that foggy morning the quietness was shattered by the cataclysmic roar of a vast artillery bombardment, as six thousand German guns fired a saturation barrage on the British lines. The shelling continued for five hours. At 9.40am the barrage was switched to selected targets with firing on map coordinates and the German infantry advanced through gas, smoke and mist over-running the British troops. The Fifth Army’s position, including the North Staffs, suffered severe losses which sadly included Joseph, who was killed in action on Thursday 21^st March 1918 on the Somme. Joseph was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

The Poziers Memorial at the entrance to the Cemetery. The Memorial lists the names of the 14,649 casualties with no known grave who were killed on the Somme between the 21st March 1918 and the 7th August 1918. The name of Joseph Hatherley is inscribed on Panel 67/68. Poziers is 6km NE of Albert, France.

 

The picture is reproduced by courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

 Thomas Henry Kemp enlisted as Private 201378 in the 1^st Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers. Thomas and the 1^st Bt. Royal Scots were brought into action in June and July 1917 at the Battle of Messines Ridge, in the general area of Lille/Arras. As a prelude to the forthcoming battle of the Third Ypres or Passchendale, the Messines Ridge was blown out of existence at 03:10 hours on the morning of June 7th 1917 by the detonation of a million pounds of high explosive. The ammonal had been placed deep beneath the German trenches by the efforts of several Welsh Units drawn from the miners of the South Wales valleys. Although this action was considered successful, Thomas was severely wounded at Beugny, Cambrai and later died on Saturday 8^th July 1917 aged 20. Thomas was awarded the British Medal and the Victory Medal.                                                                                  

The Red Cross Corner Cemetery at Beugny, France. The Cemetery houses the graves of 208 casualties and is sited 5kms from Bapaune.  Thomas Henry Kemp is interred in grave I.D.3

 

The picture is reproduced by courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

 

 

 

Of course other young men of Stanton served their King and Country during The Great War and lived to survive the ordeal. We give here the few sparse details that are available and would welcome any further history or photos of the soldiers who played their part in the epic struggle.

Joseph and Phoebe Hatherley and their family from Stanton on the Wolds were severely affected at this time as not only did they lose two of their sons, Leonard and Joseph, but two more of their sons Isaac Shelton Hatherley and Fred Henry Hatherley had also enlisted shortly after the outbreak of war.

Isaac joined the Notts and Derby Regiment as Private 22685 and after completing his basic training saw his first action in France on the 17th August 1915. All went as well as could be expected until the summer of 1918 when he was badly wounded. Surgeons must have battled to save his life but he lost both his legs and was discharged from his Regiment on the 29th July 1918. Isaac was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. In addition on his discharge he was awarded the Silver War Badge (SWB) that could be displayed on his civilian clothes to show he had served his King and Country.

Fred attested at Nottingham on the 7th June 1916 and joined the Royal Field Artillery as Gunner No. 158641. He was posted to the British Expeditionary Force in Salonika. Embarking on the 23rd January 1917 he arrived in Salonika on the 3rd February 1917. His Unit remained in Northern Greece fighting in the Bulgarian Campaign for nearly seven months. On the 4th October 1917 he left Salonika bound for Alexandria in Egypt where he arrived on the 7th, where a push was being made to drive the Turks out of Palestine. General Allenby's forces captured Jerusalem in December 1917 and took Jericho on the 26th February 1918. By May 1918 he was on the move again landing at Marseilles, France on the 11th May 1918. Fred was eventually demobilised on the 24th January 1919 to rejoin his wife Catherine and two daughters Doris Bertha and Lillian Emma. Fred was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

The family of Thomas and Rebecca Kemp had another son of theirs enlist. John Kemp aged 25 years and a coal agent attested at West Bridgford on the 10th December 1915. He joined the 3rd Battalion of the North Staffordshire Regiment as Private 24782. John was posted to Derby on the 1st May 1916. After three days he was posted to Wallsend where he remained for a further six days before moving to Forest Hall on the 11th. On the completion of his basic training he was posted to the 1st Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment where he joined the British Expeditionary Force on the 28th August 1916, landing at Calais, France on the 30th August. On the 24th June 1917 he received a gun-shot wound to his right hand and he was forced to return home for surgery on the Hospital Ship 'Brighton' on the 5th July 1917. On the 6th November 1917 John rejoined 'E' Company the 3rd Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment at Wallsend and on the 29th March 1918 they were posted to the British Expeditionary Force in France for the second time. The Regiment arrived in Boulogne the next day. John was then transferred to the 2nd South Staffordshire Regiment on the  2nd August 1918 as Private No 43519. The next record we have is dated after the Armistice when he was on leave for three days in March 1919. On his return to duties on the 18th May 1919 he voluntarily transferred to the 1st Cyclist Battalion of the Army Cyclist Corps, Army of the Rhine as Private No 23842. John was transferred to Class '2' Army Reserve on demobilization the 23rd October 1919 and was finally discharged 31st March 1920 to rejoin his wife Ethel and daughter Ethel Maud. John was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Ernest Sydney Harwood, third of four sons of Richard and Eliza Harwood of Harwood House joined the Royal Army Service Corps on the 13th October 1916. After five days he was posted to the Mechanical Transport depot at Grove Park, Lee, SE London to be trained as a driver no 141663. Ernest's war records are unfortunately rather faded and are very difficult to decipher, however he joined the British Expeditionary Force after embarking from P'mouth (Portsmouth/Plymouth ?) on the 21st August 1917. He spent the next two years driving lorries and ambulances for the Royal Field Artillery before being de-mobilized at Woolwich on the 19th December 1919. Ernest was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Christopher Charles Page joined the Northamptonshire Regiment and we are very lucky to have a photograph of Chris at his commission to Lieutenant in 1916. Chris was the youngest of four sons of George and Mary Jane Page who farmed from Pages Lodge; now the Golf Course. Unfortunately records of commissioned officers are not available on the world wide web, so details of Chris's career in the Army are only available to personal researchers travelling to the Public Records Office at Kew, London. Chris was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

 

 

Release of the 1911 Census shows that three more young men from Stanton enlisted and fought for King and Country. Albert Disney was born in 1890 in Keyworth, the son of Thomas and Emma Disney who lived on Main Street. The Census reveals that in 1911 Albert lived and worked in Stanton on Manor House Farm run by William and Elizabeth Bryans. Albert was a waggoner. He enlisted as Private No 25011 in the North Staffs Regiment and later joined the 1st Bn. East Lancashire Regiment. He was killed

in action on the 22nd October 1916 aged 26 years. Albert is commemorated on Pier and Face 6C of the Thiepval Memorial. Albert was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. At this time Thomas and Emma Disney had already lost another son two months earlier,  Claude Owen Disney of the King's Royal Rifle Corps on the 31st August 1916.

The picture is reproduced by courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

 

Ernest Leslie Pare was born in Nottingham in 1895. The 1911 Census shows that he was then employed as a cowman with George and Mary Jane Page at Pages Lodge Farm. Ernest enlisted in the 1st Bn. Notts and Derbys Regiment as Private No 11920. No details survive of his movements but it is known that he was awarded a Clasp or bar as a supplementary decoration, in addition to the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He was obviously severely wounded as he was discharged from his Regiment on the 14th April 1917 when he was awarded the Silver War Badge (SWB) that could be displayed on his civilian clothes to show he had served his King and Country. In 1922 Ernest and his wife Ada sailed on the SS Scythia to start a new life and join his cousin in Rivers, Manitoba in Canada.

Herbert Williamson was born in 1895 in Langham in Rutland. At the time of the 1911 Census he was living with Edmund Brown of Browns Farm as a cowman. At some time between 1911 and 1917 he must have sailed  to the United States. On the 5th June 1917 he was working for the Delta Land and Water Co of Delta, Millard County, Utah and was living in Salt Lake City. On the 9th August 1917 he signed a WW1 Draft Registration Card and just four days later on the 13th he passed his medical examination and attested with the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force in Vancouver, Canada as no 525371.

The War Memorial in the church yard of All Saints parish church

    

 

The men detailed above are the only ones, known to your author, who served in the Great War and who came from Stanton on the Wolds. Apologies are offered if anybody has been inadvertently omitted. Do please let us know so that mistakes, corrections or omissions can be put right.