Sunday 31 May 2015

Harold Wright 1888-1915

Barnsley Chronicle 1 Jan 1916 (thanks to Barnsley Archives)
Born:
3 July 1888, Horbury Junction, Wakefield, Yorkshire

Son of:
James Wright b.1854 Coseley, Staffordshire d.1935 Barnsley

1911: 62 Station Road, Barnsley; Corn Mill Labourer, Barnsley British Corn Mill
married at Sheffield in Q2 1874
Sarah Ann (maiden name Elliott) b.1856 Sheffield (daughter of Peter Elliott) d.1943 Rawmarsh

Position in family: The fifth of 10 children, two died before 1911
1. Eliza Jane Wright b.1878 Sheffield, Yks  m.1903 to Hanson Webster

2. Nelson Matthew Wright b.1881 Sheffield, Yks  m.1903 to Gertrude Scholey
3. Gertrude Wright b.1883 Sheffield, Yks   m.1905 to John Arthur Carratt
4. John Willie Wright b.1885 Horbury, Yks  m.1911 to Martha Field  WW1 SERVICE
5. Harold Wright b.1888 Horbury, Yks  WW1 KILLED
6. Amelia Wright b.17 Oct 1890 Barnsley, Yks  d.Jun 1893
7. Mary Emily Wright b.1892 Barnsley, Yks
8. Ethel Wright b.1894 Barnsley, Yks  m.1915 to Percy Camplin Hafford WW1 SERVICE
9. Hilda Wright b.1897 Barnsley, Yks  m.1917 to Carl Lowes

Home address, age and occupation:
1891: 37 Stocks Lane, Barnsley; age 2
1901: 55 Farrar Street, Barnsley age 12 Scholar
1911: 62 Station Road, Barnsley;
age 22; Corn Mill Labourer, Barnsley British Corn Mill
1914: 3 Derby Street, Barnsley Age 26 Miller's Labourer

Marriage: Harold was unmarried


Military Service:
Enlisted: 1904 age 16 for five years
Regiment and Battalion:    5th York and Lancaster Regiment

Enlisted: 17 August 1914 aged 26
Arrived in France: 28 June 1915
Regiment and Battalion: 1st/5th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment
Service number and rank:  2404  Drummer
Awards: 14/15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal

Personal information:   5' 7" tall, 150lbs, 35" chest, normal vision, good physical development


Death:     16 December 1915 age 27
Buried at:  Bard Cottage Cemetery, Ypres, Belgium
Grave Reference:  I.L.7.

Remembered:
 
Barnsley, St Mary's Church, Combined Memorial  and on the Barnsley British Co-Operative Society Memorial, Co-Op Funeralcare, Huddersfield Road and on the Barnsley British Co-Operative Society, WW1 Roll of Honour, Co-Op Funeralcare, Huddersfield Road and on a stone outside Barnsley, Farrar Street United Reformed Church.  Also on his baby sister's gravestone in Barnsley Cemetery, in which plot his parents also lie, although they are not remembered on the stone. 

Notes:
Lives of the First World War


In the Barnsley Chronicle 25 December 1915 (available in Barnsley Archives):

Territorial Drummer - Co-operative Employee Killed in Action - Prominent Local Footballer

Week by week the death toll of the Barnsley Territorials becomes larger.  Drummer Harold Wright, whose home was at 3, Derby Street, Barnsley, is the latest victim, having been killed in action last Thursday.  The deceased soldier was well known in Barnsley and held in high esteem by a wide circle of friends.  He went out to France with the first draft of "Terriers" and has been in some tight corners, but up to Thursday of last week he escaped injury.  He was 27 years of age.
In civilian life, Drummer Wright was an employee of the Barnsley British Co-operative Society, being for seven years at the Sackville Street branch and later at the Society's flour mill.  He was a keen football enthusiast and was a playing member of the Farrar Street Sunday School club.
News of his death was conveyed by a letter sent by a comrade, Private Wilmot I Fearn, whose home is at 16, Hilton Street, Stocks Lane, Barnsley. "You have my deepest sympathy (he wrote) regarding the unfortunate death of your son Harold.  We were out together on the night of 16th December as a working party.  We were six yards from each other when the enemy's machine gun started and it was Harold's fate to be hit.  He died a soldier and a man; he always did his duty."

From De Ruvigney's Roll of Honour (available on Ancestry):

A comrade wrote: "Harold was a good chum and a fine comrade; all who knew him spoke well of him, for he had a smiling face and a cheerful word for everyone."


Saturday 16 May 2015

Joseph Swift 1883-1918

Marquis of Granby on Thomas Street (from the Tasker Trust website)
Born:  
1883 in Barnsley
Baptised 4 November 1883 at St John's church, Barnsley
(Abode, Thomas Street, Father's occupation, Publican)

Son of:
Joseph Swift b.1849 Barnsley d.1929 Barnsley

1911: Innkeeper at the Marquis of Granby, 44 Thomas Street
married at St John's church, Barnsley on 4 November 1872 to
Mary Ann (maiden name Nixon) b.1852 in Barnsley d.1902 in Barnsley

Position in family: The fifth of 7 children
1. George Swift b.1874 m.1898 to Eva Wilde, son George Swift b.1899 d.1918 WW1DIED

2. William Swift b.1875 m.1899 to Emily Gee
3. Albert Swift b.1880 d.1962  m.1914 to Caroline Brown
4. Frederick Swift b.1882 m.1907 to Sarah Ann Denton
5. Joseph Swift b.1883 WW1 MISSING/KILLED IN ACTION
6. Ernest Swift b.1885 d.Feb 1886
7. Ernest Swift b.1887

Home address, age and occupation:
1891: 44 Thomas Street (Marquis of Granby Inn) aged 7 Scholar
1901: 44 Thomas Street (Marquis of Granby) aged 17 Stonemason
1911: 51 Summer Lane, Barnsley aged 27 Monumental mason
1918 Absent Voters' List: 7 Moffatt Terrace, Silver Street, Barnsley

Marriage: 

Joseph was married
at St John's church on 20 March 1905

to Agnes Marshall b.1885 (remarried 1921 to George Connor)
 

Children:
1. Mary Ann Swift b.1905
2. Emily Swift b.1908 d.1909

Military Service:
Enlisted: ??
Regiment and Battalion:   King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI)
Service number and rank:  43714 Private

Regiment and Battalion: Rifle Brigade, 2nd Battalion
Service number and rank: 48300 Rifleman
Awards: British War Medal, Victory Medal

Death:     28 May 1918 age 34
CWGC Remembered: Soissons Memorial

Information from Commonwealth War Graves Commission:
Son of Joseph and Mary Ann Swift, of 44, James St., Barnsley; husband of Agnes Connor (formerly Swift), of 79, Summer Lane, Barnsley, Yorks.

Remembered:
Remembered on his parents' gravestone in Barnsley Cemetery

Notes:


Lives of the First World War


No mentions in the Barnsley Chronicle found so far. In the Absent Voters' List of 1918 he is reported missing in the handwritten notes which were added before the election in December of that year.

Monday 11 May 2015

Harry Brunton Scuffham 1896-1917

Barnsley Chronicle 5 May 1917 (thanks to Barnsley Archives)
Born:
Q1 1896 in Barnsley

Baptised in St John's, Barnsley on 10 June 1896

Son of:
James William Scuffham b.1856 in Fishtoft, Lincolnshire d.1903 in Barnsley

1901:  25 Fleming Street, Barnsley Licensed Cab Driver
married at Long Sutton, Lincolnshire on 6 January 1880
to Sarah Ann (maiden name Fillingham) b.1855 Hertford, Herts d.1932 Barnsley

Position in family: The eighth of nine children
1. Elizabeth A Scuffham b.1881 d.1881
2. Ethel Annie Scuffham b.1883 d.1900

3. John Tom Scuffham b.1885 WW1 SERVICE married 1912 to Kathleen Thornton
4. James Edward Scuffham b.1888 married 1915 to Elizabeth Bell / 1926 to Enid Dawson
5. Madeline Scuffham b.1890 married 1915 to George Ward WW1 SERVICE
6. Joseph Fillingham Scuffham b.1893 d.1893
7. Sarah Annie Scuffham b.1894 married 1914 to William Walker
8. Harry Brunton Scuffham b.1896 WW1 DIED OF WOUNDS
9. Doris May Scuffham b.1899 married 1930 to Frederick Hickling

Home address, age and occupation: 
1901: 25 Fleming Street, Barnsley age 5
1911: 23 Westgate, Barnsley age 15 Colliery Lamp Boy
1915: 23 Westgate, Barnsley age 19 Motor Lorry Driver

Marriage: Harry was unmarried

Military Service:
Enlisted: 10 January 1915 at the "apparent" age of 20 years

Arrived in France: 26 July 1915
Regiment and Battalion:    Army Service Corps 180th Mechanical Transport Coy.
Service number and rank:  M2/033842  Private
Awards: 1915 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal

Personal information:   5' 4" tall, 34" chest, 137lbs, good physical development

Religion: Methodist

Death:     17 April 1917 age 21 at the No.1 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station
Buried at:  Aubigny Communal Cemetery Extension
Grave Reference:  II. E. 71.
 

One panel of names at St Mary's Barnsley
inc Pte H B Scuffham (click to enlarge)
Information from Commonwealth War Graves Commission:
Son of Sarah Ann Smith, of 23 Westgate Barnsley and the late James William Scuffham.

Remembered:

Barnsley, St Mary's Church, Combined Memorial
 

Notes:
Harry's story on Lives of the First World War
 
Harry's death was reported in the Barnsley Chronicle on 28 April 1917.


"Private Harry P. Scuffham, A.S.C., has died of wounds received in action at the age of 21 years. He was a son of Mr. and Mrs. James Smith, 23, Westgate, Barnsley and the date of his death is given as April 17th, 1917.  He used to work as a motor driver at Barnsley Main Colliery."

His family had the following death notice inserted in the same edition of the Barnsley Chronicle.
"Scuffham - In affectionate remembrance of Pte. Harry Brunton Scuffham, A.S.C., the beloved son of James Wm. and Sarah Ann Smith who died of wounds April 17th, 1917 aged 21 years.  Memorial service on Sunday, May 5th, at 6pm, at Westgate Wesleyan Chapel.

No mother there did him attend,
No father there o'er him to bend:
No sisters near to shed a tear;
None but his comrades his voice to hear.

He nobly answered duty's call.
His life he gave for one and all:
But the unknown grave is the bitterest blow,
None but an aching heart can know.

From father, mother, brothers and sisters."
Two weeks later further details of Harry's death were reported in the 12 May 1917 edition of the Barnsley Chronicle.

"Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Smith, of 23, Westgate, Barnsley, have received several letters from the front in reference to the death in action of their son, Private H.B. Scuffham, A.S.C., which has already been announced in the "Chronicle".  It appears that death took place in the Clearing Station as a result of a shell wound of the head received the same day.  He is buried in the ____ cemetery and his grave bears a wooden cross inscribed with particulars to his memory.  At the time Pte. Scuffham was mortally wounded he and others were assisting the R.E. and were engaged in greasing their lorries when a shell burst nearby, striking him on the head.  The letters received describe the deceased as having been "a general favourite with everyone."


Thursday 7 May 2015

Thomas Francis Bellamy 1892-1915

1915 wedding photo of Thomas Bellamy and Edith Hammond
(from KH, grandson of Edith)
Born:
June Q 1892 Mortomley, Chapeltown, Sheffield

Son of:
Arthur Frederick Bellamy b.1864 Chapeltown d.1930 Barnsley

1911: Bricklayer of 21 Hoyle Mill Road, Stairfoot, Barnsley
married in Chapeltown on 31 August 1887
Bertha (maiden name Rodgers) b.1864 Mortomley d.1948 Barnsley

Position in family: The second of 7 children (one died before 1911)
1. Ruby May Bellamy b.1891
2. Thomas Francis Bellamy b.1892 WW1 KILLED

3. Constance Bellamy b.1894 d.1896
4. Reginald Bellamy b.1896
5. Frank Chapman Bellamy b.1900
6. Edith Bellamy b.1902
7. Arthur Frederick Bellamy b.1906 d.1928

Home address, age and occupation:
1901: Forster Street, Stairfoot, Barnsley age 8
1911: 21 Hoyle Mill Road, Stairfoot, Barnsley age 18 Engine Fitter, Mineral Water Machinery

Marriage: 

He was married in June Q 1915 in Barnsley District 
(according to KH, a week before he left for France)
to Edith Hammond

Children:
He had no children


Military Service:
Enlisted: in Barnsley

Arrived in France on 13 April 1915
Regiment and Battalion:    1st/5th York and Lancaster Regiment
Service number and rank:  1101  Sergeant
Awards: British War Medal, Victory Medal, 1915 Star

Death:     13 October 1915  aged 23 years
Buried at: Bard Cottage Cemetery, France
Grave Reference: I. L. 27.


Remembered:
He is remembered on his parents' gravestone in Ardsley Cemetery and on
Stairfoot, Wesleyan Reform Church WW1 Roll of Honour, Hunningley Lane and the
Ardsley, Christ Church, Christ Church Parishioners - WW1 Plaque 

Notes:
With grateful thanks to KH for bringing the huge photograph of Edith and Thomas into Barnsley Archives so that it could be scanned for us.  Thomas' widow remarried and went on to become KH's grandmother.

Thomas' story on  Lives of the First World War

A death notice in the Barnsley Chronicle on 30 October 1915 read:
Bellamy - In affectionate remembrance of Sergt. T. F. Bellamy, the loving husband of Edith Bellamy, machine gun section 1/5th Y. and L., killed in France October 13th. 
A devoted husband, a faithful friend.
One of the best that God could lend;
He bravely answered duty's call,
His life he gave for one and all.
But the unknown grave is the bitterest blow,
None but an aching heart can know.

Mrs. Bellamy and family sincerely thank all friends for their kind sympathy.
Another, from his parents in the same edition of the newspaper: 
Bellamy - In affectionate remembrance of Sergt. Thos F. Bellamy, Machine Gun Section. 1/5 York and Lancs Regt., the dearly loved son of Arthur F. and Bertha Bellamy, 21 Hoyle Mill Road, Stairfoot, killed in action 13th October, in France, aged 23 years.
Mr. and Mrs. Bellamy and family wish to thank all friends for their kind sympathy.
Barnsley Chronicle 30 October 1915 (with thanks to Barnsley Archives)
Lest We Forget.