Thorpe Thewles Roll of Honour 1914 - 1918 Robert McKeag,
Sergeant Joseph Hattle John Thomas Bee, Sergeant Albert Nelmes
Thomas William Wailes Alfred Gaylor Frederick Goldsbrough John H.
Pinch Matthew Metcalfe Martin Smith 1939 1945 John Edward Boynton
Norman Daniels Slide 2 The First World War 1914 1918 In 1911, the
parish of Grindon had a population of 428, and yet 10 young men
from this village lost their lives in the Great War. Who were they?
How did they die? Where are they buried? This is an attempt to find
out more, using information from the Commonwealth War Graves
Commission, The Great War Forum, regimental websites, the 1901
census and the Imperial War Museum. It is not a complete picture.
Records at this time are sketchy, and we have to rely on
probability rather than fact. Slide 3 France and Flanders 9 of the
10 men commemorated on the Thorpe Thewles War Memorial were killed
on the Western Front. 5 of these died in 1916, two within three
weeks of each other. Slide 4 Sergeant Robert McKeag, 9 th
Battalion, Northumberland Fusilliers Robert McKeag was born at
Carlton Station and is listed in the 1901 census as a railway
porter, aged 19. He enlisted in Middlesbrough and was sent to
France, arriving on 8 th August 1915. He survived only four months
on the Western Front, and died on the 19 th December 1915. He is
buried at Etaples military cemetery, as is Martin Smith from Thorpe
Thewles. Etaples had several military hospitals and was situated
well behind the line. In December 1915, the 9 th Battalion were in
the Hooge sector. Hooge is a small village on the Menin Road (the
N8), around two miles east of Ypres. The front line of the Salient
was here in 1914 and there was fierce fighting in the area over the
next three years, during which the village was totally destroyed.
The road from Ypres to Hooge leads past the infamous Hellfire
Corner, once one of the most dangerous spots in the Salient. Today
it is no longer a corner; it is now a roundabout. As Robert is
simply listed as died, he was probably wounded by sniper fire,
shrapnel or shells and evacuated to the military hospital at
Etaples. The Menin Road Slide 5 The Salient in winter was like
Dantes Inferno. Shell holes full of slime, mud everywhere. Many men
were wounded and trying to get back to Dressing Stations slipped in
holes and were drowned. The Menim Road up to the Salient from Ypres
they reckon claimed 900 a month Letter from Private Tom MacDonald,
Royal Sussex Regiment Slide 6 Joseph Hattle, 13 th Battalion Rifle
Brigade Joseph Hattle originally came from the Scottish borders,
and is listed in the 1901 census as a 16 year-old farmers son from
Swinton Duns, Berwickshire. We do not know why he moved to Thorpe
Thewles. He enlisted in Hartlepool and arrived in France at the end
of July 1915. Joseph was killed in action on 25 th January 1916,
aged 44. He is buried at Foncquevillers Military Cemetery, behind
the front line. As he is the only member of the Rifle Brigade to be
buried there, it is possible that he was the victim of a sniper,
schrapnel or a trench raid. He was probably not married as on his
death he is listed as the son of Jane Hattle. For the Duration, a
book about the 13 th Rifle Brigade tells of a riotous Christmas
1915, for which an irate farmer next day demanded 250 francs, but
accepted 75 francs in payment for damages. We returned to the
trenches soon afterwards. During the following weeks, nothing of
much importance happened until January 28 th. Foncquevillers
Military Cemetery Slide 7 BOMBED LAST NIGHT Bombed last night,
Bombed the night be- fore Gonna get bombed tonight if we never get
bombed any more. When were bombed, were scared as we can be. Oh God
damnn the bombin' planes from Germany. Theyre over us, theyre over
us, One shell-hole for the four of us Glory be to God there are no
more of us 'Cause one of us could fill it all alone. Gassed last
nightgassed the night before, Gonna get gassed again if we never
git gassed no more, When were gassed, were as sick as we can be,
'Cause phosgene and mustard gas is too much for me. Song from the
trenches Slide 8 Sergeant John Thomas Bee, 16 th Battalion,
Northumberland Fusilliers John Bees medal roll card suggests that
he may have been accidently killed. He died, aged 24, on 21 st
August 1916, and is listed by the Commonwealth War Graves
Commission as being the son of Phyllis Bee of Carlton Station,
Ferryhill Co. Durham and the late John Bee. Neither appear on the
1901 census. There is a John W. Bee listed in 1901, living in an
orphanage in Knaresborough with his sister. The railway connection
was a strong one, as John Bee joined the North Eastern Railway
Pioneers. He features on the roll of honour for N.E.R. Men who laid
down their lives for King and Country: Bee, J.T.H., Gangman,
Norton-on-Tees, Sergt, Nrthd. Fus John Bee is buried at Faubourg
dAmiens Cemetery, Arras. Faubourg was used by field ambulances at
this time. In mid- August 1916, British forces were making
considerable progress near Pozires, about 20 miles NE of Amiens.
Slide 9 It has been raining here everyday this week which makes
things very uncomfortable, heaps of mud and lice including rats of
course, but getting quite used to the same now, my skin is quite
raw owing to keeping on rubbing myself, havent had a chance of
getting water to wash a shirt out but hope to do something towards
comfort tomorrow. Private A. H Hubbard, London Scottish, writing
from the Somme front in May 1916 Slide 10 Albert Nelmes, Private 4
th Brigade Yorkshire Regiment The son of William and Louisa Nelmes,
of Zetland Terrace in New Marske, Albert was killed in action on 15
th September 1915. This was the start of the Battle of
Flers-Courcelette, in which tanks were used for the first time.
This is the Battalion War diary for this day: 15th SEPTEMBER. The
assault took place at 6.22 a.m. The order of attack was "Z" Coy
right, "X" Coy centre and "W" Coy left. "Y" Coy were in Reserve.
Brigade order was 4th East Yorks, 4th Yorks and 5th Yorks. Division
order was 47th Div Right, 50th Div centre and 15th Div left. The
150th Bde advanced in good order and quickly gained the first
objective, Hook Trench. By 7.58 they were in the second. But High
Wood and Martinpuich was still in the hands of the Germans. The
47th Div and the 149th Brigade on the right and East Yorks on the
left were held up. By 9.57 the 150th Brigade had taken the final
objective with men in Prue trench. But the the 4th Yorks right
flank was "up in the air" [Open to German fire from the side.] at
the junction of Prue Trench and Martin Alley. This position was
held despite terrific shelling which caused heavy casualties. By 10
a.m the 15th Div had taken Martinpuich and by 1 p.m 47 Div had
taken High Wood. The following 26 men of the 4th Yorks were killed
in action this day and have no known grave. They are commemorated
on the Thiepval Memorial..... Albert Nelmes is listed among those
who fell Allied trenches are shown in blue, German in red Slide 11
The battle resulted in a 2 kilometre advance for the British. The
tanks were slow, and only 15 of the 49 tanks that started made it
to No-Mans- Land, because of the mud. Men came back absolutely
weary, worn out and wet through. Nothing had been done for their
welfare at all. It was absolutely inconceivable how the fighting
efficiency of the men could be kept up under these conditions.
Fortunately the rain ceased about noon and men were enabled in some
way to dry their soaking clothes in the sun. Battalion war diary
Between 14 th and 30 th September, the Brigade lost 98 men, many
from the Teesside area and North Yorkshire. Private Nelmes is
buried at Flatiron Copse Cemetery, Mametz. He is the youngest of
those commemorated on Thorpe Thewles War Memorial Slide 12 Thomas
William Wailes, 8 th Battalion, Yorkshire and Lancashire Regiment
Private Thomas Wailes won the Military medal, awarded to personnel
of the British Army below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle
on land. Thomas Wailes died of his wounds on 30 th September 1916;
his Military Medal is listed in the London Gazette of December 9 th
1916, but the actual citation was lost in bombing in the Second
World War, together with many other Great War records. On
enlistment, Thomas Wailes occupation is given as horseman, but he
came from a railway family. His enlistment papers give his home
address as Station House Thorpe Thewles; his mothers name is given
as Isabella Ormston, and his stepfather was station master there.
Private Wailes died of his wounds following in an action known as
the Battle of Morval, which raged from 25 th 28 th September 1916.
This was a continuation of the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, in
which Albert Nelmes died on September 15 th. British troops at the
Battle of Morval Slide 13 War Diary 8 th Yorkshire and Lancashire
Regiment Martinpuich 28 th September 7pm B Coy 11 th Sherwood
Foresters attacked DESTREMONT FARM, but before reaching their
objective were met with heavy machine gun and rifle fire and
returned to their own trenches. Martinpuich 29 th September 12
midnight Orders were received for us to take the above named farm
without delay. C Coy were detailed. The attack was launched
promptly at 6am and was entirely successful, despite the fact that
almost 800 yards of open ground had to be traversed by our men. The
men charged with great spirit, cheering when just approaching their
objective. The enemy offered very little resistance and fled in
disorder, leaving a number of dead men and one machine gun, which
was brought back by our men. British troops at Morval Slide 14 War
Diary 8 th Yorkshire and Lancashire Regiment The farm was
immediately consolidated and one platoon commanded by 2 nd Lieut.
J. W. Medley left as a garrison The Farm was heavily shelled during
the whole of the day and caused several casualties among the
garrison. During the day 2 nd Lieut Medley was wounded. Lieut T. H.
Searles then took command and he too was seriously wounded. 2 nd
Lieuts N. Gavin-Taylor, R. Turner and finally Lieut. J. Goldspink
all in turn commanded the garrison..... Casualties 2 nd Lieut
J.V.Medley wounded (slight) 3 other ranks killed and 14 wounded.
Sometimes evidence is interesting because of what it does not say.
Only commissioned officers are named and there is no mention here
of Tom Wailes heroism Slide 15 Alfred was the son of one of the
gamekeepers at Wynyard Hall. He arrived in France on 29 th July
1915 and was killed in action on 14 th November 1916, aged 25. He
is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial and does not have a
specific grave. He died in the battle to take Beaucourt, part of
the battle of the Somme. The Brigade War Diary states that they had
been sent up to the line on the 13 th September. The battalion left
bivouacs in Hedauville and moved to advanced Div. H.Q. (63rd
R.N.D.) just South of Englebelmer and was placed at the disposal of
63rd (R.N.) Division. At 3.15 pm the Battalion moved to Mesnil, on
through Hamel to the Green Line west of Station Road. This position
was reached about midnight. Hostile barrage was put on the track
and the Battalion suffered about 40 casualties - 2 officers being
wounded. Alfred Gaylor, Rifleman, Prince Consorts Own Brigade Slide
16 14/11/16. At 4 am orders were received to attack at 6.15 am. The
Battalion was to attack Beaucourt Trench, from Railway Alley to a
point 400 yards N.W. It was to keep touch with the H.A.C. on the
right and the 14th Royal Fusiliers on the left, who were to take
Beaucourt Trench from the left of this Battalion to Leave Avenue.
The Battalion was held up by Rifle and M.G. fire at 6.10 am to 7.15
am. The barrage (first one) of our artillery had been very high,
but the second barrage enabled the advance to be resumed and by 8
am Beaucourt Trench was captured to a point 300 yards N.W. or
Railway Alley. The men who assaulted Beaucourt Trench where it cuts
the village of Beaucourt, found that the enemy had evacuated it and
were forming up to surrender. These were captured and several of
our parties who went into the village, captured many more of the
enemy after a little opposition. The 13th Royal Fusiliers had come
up on the right of the Battalion, but the left flank of the
Battalion was exposed, the enemy sniping heavily from this flank.
Hostile barrage was very slight until 11.30 am. "D" Company started
bombing up Beaucourt Trench towards Leave Avenue and by midnight
had advanced 300 yards. Slide 17 Frederick Gouldsbrough, Canadian
Infantry Frederick Gouldsbrough was one of 10 children born to
Ralph and Jane Gouldsbrough of Orchard Farm, Thorpe Thewles. He
left Liverpool for Canada on 5 th April 1913 at the age of 23. He
joined the 116 th Battalion of the Second Central Ontario Regiment
in February 1916, and died of his wounds on 28 th July 1917. He is
buried at the Barlin Communal Cemetery near Noeux-les-Mines in
northern France, having possibly been involved in the preliminaries
to the Canadians taking Hill 70, a strategic point overlooking the
town of Lens in the Pas de Calais. We know very little more about
Frederick Gouldsbrough. His name is misspelt on the Roll of Honour,
which led us to investigate the wrong man. Hopefully we will be
able to access Canadian WW1 records and find out more about this
son of Thorpe Thewles. Canadian soldiers drinking coffee at a soup
kitchen 100 yards away from German lines on Hill 70. The hill was
successfully taken by the Canadians in August 1917 Slide 18 John
Pinch was a sapper with the 227 th Company of Royal Engineers. His
father was a railway platelayer and in 1901 he lived with his
parents at no 4, Wynyard Station. Matthew Metcalfe, who was killed
in Palestine, lived two doors down, at no 6. John enlisted in
Stockton, and was killed in action on 22 nd October 1917, aged 26.
This was the dreadful time of Passchendaele, and the most intense
artillery concentrations of the whole war. With his railway
background, he was quite possibly involved in laying a light
railway in preparation for the Second Battle of Passchendaele which
began on 26 th October. Light railways were used to transport and
supply troops, and also to evacuate the wounded. John H. Pinch,
Royal Engineers There was no specific action on the day John died,
but artillery action at this time was intense, and working parties
were often caught up in it. John is the only Royal Engineer to be
buried at Talana Farm Cemetery in Belgium. Slide 19 Martin Smith,
10 th Battalion Scottish Rifles Martin Smith was the son of a
woodman who lived at 48 Springbank, Grindon. In 1901, Martin is
already listed as a labourer at the age of 14. By the time war
broke out, Martin would have been 29. He was married. He enlisted
in Stockton and died of his wounds, probably in Etaples where there
were several military hospitals. He is buried in Etaples Military
Cemetery. He died as troops were amassing for the major battle of
Spring 1918, known as the Kaiserschlacht (The Emperors Battle) or
First Battle of Arras. As he was not killed in action, it is likely
that he was wounded in everyday trench activity, such as shelling,
sniping, trench raids and so on. Kaiserschlacht Slide 20 The
Kaiserschlacht: 21 st March 1918 In March 1918, the Germans decided
to launch a massive offensive on the Western front to bid for
victory before the increasingly engaged Americans could affect the
balance of power. Their principal target was the British Army. The
attack began on 21 st March with a brief hurricane bombardment,
with the initial strike on British batteries, strong points and
command posts. I was awakened at 4 a.m. by the most terrific
gunfire I had ever heard. Only by shouting on the phone could I
find out that all Batteries were answering on SOS Targets. The
front line was one blaze of exploding shells and high bursting
shrapnel. Very lights and every coloured rocket imaginable. Long
range guns were sweeping the back areas, and about ten minutes
after the firing started a shell burst just outside our dug-out and
blew up the telephone lines to Corps HQ and to Batteries! As none
of our infantry were seen we concluded they had been wiped out.....
Second Lieutenant E. J. Ruffell, 342 Siege Battery. Paul Nash,
Ypres Salient at Night 1917 - 1918 Slide 21 Matthew Metcalfe, 179
th Company, Machine Gun Corps Like John Pinch, Matthew Metcalfe
lived at Wynyard Station. His father, like John Pinchs dad, was
also a platelayer. Unlike the other Great War casualties from
Thorpe Thewles, Matthew Metcalfe is buried in Palestine, in the
Ramleh War Cemetery. He died of his wounds on 14 th January 1918.
Ramleh was used as a casualty clearing station. The 179 th Company
of the Machine Guns Corps were part of the 60 th Division, who had
been active at the end of December in the Defence of Jerusalem. It
is possible that he was wounded here. Jerusalem had been captured
by Allied Forces under General Allenby before Christmas, but the
opposing Turkish army immediately counter-attacked, leading to the
Defence of Jerusalem. British artillery placements during the
Battle of Jerusalem, 1917. Slide 22 What we dont know So this is
what we have found out so far about the soldiers from Thorpe
Thewles who died in the Great War. There is so much that we dont
know about their lives before 1914, and about how their families
coped with their loss. And of course, the fatalities were only part
of the story. Others, like Albert Fishburn and the McLaren sons
were disabled and all involved in the Great War will have been
affected for the rest of their lives by their experiences in the
trenches. This is now the focus for our research. Can you help us
with your familys story? If you can, please get in touch! Slide 23
Thorpe Thewles History Group November 2010
