World War One Centenary 1914 - 1918
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WORLD WAR ONE CENTENARY
2014 Published by Sefton Council Health and Wellbeing (Libraries) Merton House, Stanley Road, Bootle, L20 3DL TextŠ copyright Lesley Davies and Dave Ewing IllustrationsŠ copyright Sefton Libraries, Imperial War Museum, Science & Society Picture Library, Trinity Group, This England Publishing Ltd, Margaret Hubbard. Care has been taken to ensure that reproduction of these images does not infringe copyright Design : Vita Design Printed in Great Britain By Mitchell & Wright Printers Ltd
In memory of all those that have fallen. World War One was a turning point in world history. It claimed the lives of almost 17 million people across the globe and had an impact on the lives of everyone, whether they were stationed on the front lines or at home.
Military activity in Sefton:
In this booklet we aim to look at the impact that the War had on Sefton. We will look at:
How local people raised funds to support the War:
The contribution Sefton made to advances in medicine:
• Taking part in tank weeks and purchasing War Bonds.
• The army camp at Litherland and the world famous war poets who trained there.
Sefton's soldiers at war and their commemoration: • Sefton’s Victoria Cross winners.
• How the armed forces used the beach as an outdoor training ground.
• The war records of a small selection of local men, from each township in Sefton.
• The local munitions factories and the aeroplane factory at Aintree.
• Clippings from local newspapers.
• Holding fetes, dances and staging concerts.
• Local War Memorials. Please read on to discover how our small borough helped to support the war effort.
• At Moss Side Hospital in Maghull, where innovative practices in the treatment of shell shock were devised. • In Southport where one of the largest Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) hospitals in Britain, treated soldiers evacuated from the front lines of France and Gallipoli.
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Sefton led the world in the field of medicine during World War One. Moss Side Hospital in Maghull was one of the first institutions in the world to recognise ‘Shell Shock’ as a medical condition, not a weakness of character. Moss Side Military Hospital at Maghull became a focus for experimentation in the developing field of psychological medicine and physiotherapy and was hailed as the first school of ‘clinical psychopathology’ in Britain. The Moss Side State Institution was constructed in villa style blocks in 1911-12, as a colony for epileptics. In 1913 the buildings were commandeered by the Board of Control, the government body responsible for regulating public asylums. The buildings were intended to be used to house patients from the overcrowded hospitals at Broadmoor and Rampton. In December 1914 the War Office acquired the hospital and opened up the wards to servicemen with “acute mental disorder requiring
asylum care and supervision.”
how to treat it.
The hospital was not originally planned as a centre for the treatment of ‘shell shock’ but as a military asylum. With 300 beds and easy links via train to Liverpool, it had the capacity to house patients and was accessible for visitors. It also had the seclusion needed to avoid the stigma associated with public asylums.
At the time, most shell shock victims were treated harshly and with little sympathy as their symptoms were not understood and seen as a sign of weakness. In 1917 the hospital was expanded to accommodate a further 200 patients.
In 1915 Dr R G Rows was appointed temporary Medical Superintendent, on a salary of £450 per year. The hospital was filled with ‘psychiatric battle casualties’ and additional doctors were urgently required. Moss Side Hospital recruited doctors and scientists who had no formal connection with mental illness, but in a time of national need, they came together to investigate the causes of shell shock. Shell-shock reached almost epidemic proportions in 1915, with symptoms such as uncontrollable shaking, terrifying nightmares and severe convulsions, challenging Army medical expertise and capacity. What appeared to be a complex disorder raised questions about its cause and
In total the hospital treated 3,638 patients between 1914 and 1919. At the end of the war in 1919, the hospital became The Ministry of Pensions Hospital for Soldiers, Military Red Cross Hospital, Moss Side. It converted to a special hospital in 1933. In the early 1970s the hospital merged with the more modern Park Lane hospital to form the Ashworth High-security Psychiatric Hospital. Later some of the WW2 buildings were commandeered to form Kennet Prison.
Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) Hospitals, Southport. The first VAD hospital was opened at The Grange, Roe Lane, (now Grange Road), Churchtown, on 6th March
1915. The building was lent to Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) board by former Mayor of Southport, Major Fleetwood Hesketh. It was fondly known by the staff as ‘The Little Hospital’ as it had just 30 beds.
situated off Weld Road, now Palace Road, Southport.
The hospital building and all the equipment, including beds, blankets and food were purchased with monies donated by the tradesmen and dignitaries of Southport.
The hotel would be able to hold 500 patients and the professional nursing staff were to receive a pay rise from 2d (2 old pence) a day to 3d per day. Eventually this scheme failed, because the Palace needed a considerable amount of money spent on it, to bring it up to a standard that could treat and feed over 500 people. Plus there was the problem of ‘the bar’.
The Voluntary Aid Detachment, a voluntary organisation providing nursing services, was founded in 1909 with the help of the Red Cross and the Order of St John. By the summer of 1914 there were over 2,500 Voluntary Aid Detachments in Britain. Each individual hospital was called a detachment, or simply a VAD. Of the 74,000 volunteers working in the VADs in 1914, two-thirds were women and girls. Most volunteers were of the middle and upper classes and unaccustomed to hardship and traditional hospital discipline.
A rent of £3,000 a year was agreed and it seemed that a solution had been found.
The VAD Committee didn’t think it was appropriate to have a bar in a hospital, but the owner of the hotel wanted to keep his license and when agreement could not be reached he withdrew his offer to house the hospital.
Additional funds to pay for the building work were needed. Local dignitaries were again asked to dig deep by sponsoring beds at £10 each. The Mayor held a fete, where each attendee was asked to bring a blanket and where various other fund raising events were held. The Woodlands opened on 15th September 1915. The first 80 patients arrived, via Aintree Hospital, on 1st October. Doctors at both hospitals gave their time freely until 1917, when a grant was received from the War Office which enabled them to be paid. The Vulcan Factory, a local car building plant based in Crossens, supplied ambulances for the hospitals and a number of employees helped as stretcher bearers.
The first patients arrived on March 22nd 1915 by trains from the south coast ports via Aintree Hospital. They were then transferred by ambulance and cars to Southport. The wounded were bathed, had their soiled clothing removed and were taken to the ward. Here they were given coffee, bread and butter.
A cartoon drawn by a hospital patient
The men who arrived directly from France had their clothing and kit removed and this was sent to municipal disinfectors. Casualties increased as the war went on. By May 1915, Aintree hospital was full and The Grange had 27 men in the hospital and a further 18 boarded out in local houses to help them recover. Casualties continued to pour in, the hospital put beds in every corner and an annex was set up in a house across the road to accommodate the injured servicemen. As the demands on the hospital increased the Mayor of Southport, the VAD Brigade Committee and the Medical Officer from the War Office sought to find a way to accommodate and treat more wounded in the town. One of the sites that was considered was The Palace Hotel, which was
Nurse Russell and Staff
As Southport had committed to providing a larger hospital, and considerable funds had been raised from local donations, alternative premises had to be found. It was agreed that the little hospital (The Grange) was to be expanded to accommodate 300 patients and an additional site, The Woodlands, in Manchester Road, Southport was acquired.
In 1917 the Vulcan Ambulance Corp was formed. Between March 1915 and Christmas 1918, 6,887 patients, mainly from the French battlefields, were admitted to St John’s (The Grange and Woodlands) Hospital. In the winter of 1915-16, 240 cases of typhoid and dysentery were admitted from Gallipoli in the Dardanelles.
Hospital final report Patients admitted: 6,887 Operations performed: 581 X-Ray examinations: 1,009 Articles laundered: 1,641,128 Prescriptions made up: 35,735 Cotton wool used: 12,690 lbs
The combined capacity of over 500 beds, plus the several additional subsidiary sites which tended convalescing patients, made the St John’s Hospital the largest VAD hospital in Britain.
Convoys received: 60 Total expenditure: £103,330 10s 1d Public contribution: £35,505 14s 9d
WAR POETS Several army camps were established in the Sefton area at the beginning of World War One. Two of the world famous war poets were trained at the Army Camp in Litherland, which was located in the Moss Lane and Church Road area. The camp was the primary base (headquarters) for the Royal Welch Fusiliers who were stationed there until embarking for Ireland in 1917. In practice, most of the men were sent to France immediately after they completed basic training.
Siegfried Sassoon (1915) Motivated by patriotism, Sassoon joined the British Army. He was commissioned into 3rd Battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers as a Second Lieutenant on 29th May 1915, and was trained at Litherland Camp. Sassoon served with incredible courage on the Western Front, receiving the Military Cross for Bravery on 27 July 1916.
It was used to train new volunteers in preparation for them leaving for frontline action, and it also acted as a retraining centre for soldiers returning to war after recovering from injury and sick leave. Soldiers at the Litherland Camp trained in the shadow of the Brotherton’s Munitions factory on Hawthorne Road and lived with the constant fear that one spark could set off a huge explosion. The Litherland camp was built in 1914 and was demolished in 1920. The two war poets who trained at Litherland Camp were: Lt. Siegfried Sassoon
The citation read: 2nd Lt. Siegfried Lorraine Sassoon, 3rd (attd. 1st) Bn., R. W. Fus. For conspicuous gallantry during a raid on the enemy's trenches. He remained for 1½ hours under rifle and bomb fire collecting and bringing in the wounded. Owing to his courage and determination all the casualties were brought in. Sassoon began to see the futility of the war. Local legend has it that during a spell at Litherland Camp, on a visit to Formby Golf Club (where officers were honorary members), Sassoon threw the ribbon from his Military Cross into the Mersey, in protest at the brutality of the war. After being injured, Sassoon refused to return to duty. Rather than court martial him, the war office decided that he was unfit for service and had him sent to Craiglockhart Hospital in Edinburgh, where he was officially treated for ‘Shell Shock’. During his stay in hospital Sassoon met and befriended another poet, Wilfred Owen. Eventually he did return to the front, only to be shot by ‘friendly fire’. He relinquished his commission on health grounds on 12 March 1919, but was allowed to retain the rank of Captain. After the war, Sassoon was instrumental in bringing Owen's work to the attention of a wider audience. Their friendship is the subject of the play ‘Not About Heroes’ by Stephen MacDonald.
“After being injured, Sassoon refused to return to duty“.
“Somehow I must live by writing“.
Robert Graves (1917) At the outbreak of World War One in August 1914, Graves enlisted almost immediately, taking a commission in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He trained at Litherland and later met Siegfried Sassoon, who became a close friend, in France. He published his first volume of poems, ‘Over the Brazier’, in 1916. Graves developed an early reputation as a war poet and was one of the first to write realistic poems about the experience of frontline conflict. At the Battle of the Somme, he was so badly wounded by a shell-fragment through the lung that he was expected to die and was officially reported as having died of wounds. However, Graves survived and gradually recovered, and apart from a brief spell back in France, spent the remainder of the war in England.
Following the war, Graves struggled physically and mentally, he had a wife and growing family, but was financially insecure. In his debilitated state he felt unable to face the world. He described himself as; ‘Very thin, very nervous, and with about four years' loss of sleep to make up, I was waiting until I got well enough to go to Oxford on the Government educational grant. I knew that it would be years before I could face anything but a quiet country life. My disabilities were many: I could not use a telephone, I felt sick every time I travelled by train, and to see more than two new people in a single day prevented me from sleeping. I felt ashamed of myself as a drag on Nancy, but had sworn on the very day of my demobilisation never to be under anyone's orders for the rest of my life. Somehow I must live by writing’.
“At the Battle of the Somme, he was so badly wounded by a shell-fragment through the lung that he was expected to die“.
Robert Graves
L£ND TO DEFEND Wars are costly, not only in terms of people, but money too. In 1915 with the cost of the war spiralling, the Government had to use their monetary reserves to purchase guns, bullets, ships, tanks and to pay the soldiers’ wages. Government, both local and national, increasingly sought to raise funds for the war effort. Individual towns and villages were encouraged to arrange dances, concerts, fetes and garden parties and to set up War Saving Certificate Schemes to bring in revenue. The Government commissioned a series of posters, which urged people to buy government bonds. These posters featured patriotic messages.
“Now is the time to buy something worth having - War Savings Certificates”. “Lend to defend”. “Every War certificate means …more ships, more food”. Even if you only had £5, you were still encouraged to buy War Bonds. Sefton accepted the challenge to fund raise with gusto. In Southport, garden fetes were held to raise money for the local Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) Hospital. At one fete, the entrance fee was one blanket. Overall the fetes raised £6,500 towards the running costs of the hospital. In the Bootle and Crosby area concerts were arranged featuring local choirs and bands.
Wounded soldiers were invited along to the events; this helped to encourage people to ‘dig deep to help the war wounded’. The Government devised the ‘Tank Banks’ fund raising campaign. Six Mark IV tanks toured the towns and cities of Britain; the primary purpose of the campaign being to promote the sale of Government War Bonds and War Savings Certificates. It was seen as a civic duty to raise as much money as possible, in each community. Southport welcomed his Majesty’s tank ‘Drake’, from 11th to 19th May 1916. Local businessmen were urged to each buy £1,000 worth of War Bonds; ‘this would provide enough money to buy 1/5th of a tank’, they were told. Excited children were charged a penny to go inside the tank. The tank paraded down London Street and along Lord Street to the band stand, accompanied by the Vulcan (Factory) Band. It was a very large procession which included six members of the 8th (Southport) Battalion and two ambulances from the Vulcan Ambulance Corps. At the end of the first day £133,238 had been raised.
SOUTHPORT: Tank in Lord Street.
“Sefton accepted the challenge to fund raise with gusto!”
Large Local Contributions
Southport Corporation £10,000
Prudential Assurance Co £15,000
Mr J M Dewhurst £5,000
Pearl Assurance £10,000
Mutual Life assurance Co £2,150
Mr Richard T Maguire £10,000
Mr Alfred Watson £1,500
£1,000 was enough to buy one fifth of a tank. British tank factory, 1917.
Women workers at the National Shell Filling Factory, Chilwell.
In March 1917 the Aintree factory employed 10,837 workers, only 497 were men.
Defence of the realm
The first “Defence of the Realm Act” (DORA) was passed on 8 August 1914; it extended government powers during war-time. On 26th May 1915, the first Coalition Cabinet formed and with it came a new department called the ‘Ministry of Munitions’. The ministry was charged with organising the supply of munitions, including control over any armament factories and their workers. In July 1915 the first National Filling Factories were built at Aintree and Coventry. There were two munitions factories in Aintree, filling factory number 2 and 2a. They where built on Bland Park Farm, land slightly to the west of Aintree Station. The factories produced TNT, by nitration of toluene, derived from coal tar. The TNT in Amatol is highly toxic and can be absorbed through the skin, causing an irritating rash and bright yellow staining. This earned the women munitionees the nickname ‘Canaries’.
Towards the end of the war, the numbers employed in the munitions factories declined; in August 1918 there were 8,599 still working on the Aintree site. The Brotherton’s Tar Distillery, on Hawthorne Road, Litherland was commandeered as a munitions factory during WWI. It was used to produce the explosive mixture for detonators; the work involved using the same powerful mixture of chemicals as the Aintree site. Again many workers were left with yellow hands and faces.
Many munitions workers died from breathing in the toxic fumes.
Many munitions workers died from breathing in the toxic fumes; eventually protective uniforms were made available to the workers and better ventilation was installed.
In March 1918, 807 people were employed at the Litherland factory, 33% of them were women. After the war the factory returned to tar making, until a huge fire in 1972 destroyed the buildings In 1915 the Cunard Steamship Company Store and Engineering Works at Rimrose Road, Bootle, was commandeered under the DORA legislation. The works produced three sizes of shells, 4.5, 6 and 8 inch. The projectile heads were brought to Cunard's Shell Works to be finished, checked and varnished before being taken to one of the other factories in the area to be filled with explosive. The women workers at the Cunard factory achieved the remarkable distinction of being the first in Britain to manufacture 6 and 8 inch shells ‘On Their Own’. This was seen as such an important achievement that representatives from munitions factories across the country were sent to Bootle, to see the women at work. Two shells from the Cunard factory were displayed at the Ministry of Munitions, bearing the inscription ‘"The first 8 in. and 6 in. shells made in Great Britain by female labour, manufactured at the Cunard National Factory, Rimrose-road, Bootle, Lancs’.
In March 1917 the Aintree factory employed 10,837 workers, only 497 were men. The workers travelled from as far a field as Ormskirk, the Wirral and Liverpool, using the Lancashire and Liverpool Electric Railway. On 23rd July 1918, three lives were lost, at the Aintree factory’ when a 6 inch shell exploded. A Munitionee
The sands along the Sefton Coast were put to good use during World War One. Soldiers from the Manchester Regiment regularly used the beach as an open air gym. They performed ‘Swedish drill’ as part of their exercise regime. The Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry made use of wide expanse of sand to exercise their horses, and to practice military manoeuvres. They practiced infantry drill with the Manchester Regiment, prior to embarking for the frontline. The wide expanse of flat beach also made an excellent space to practice parade training.
TOP: The Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry. ABOVE: Performing the Manchester Swedish Drill' with 'The Manchester Regiment performing 'Swedish drill'
The light sand also made an excellent place for soldiers to practice trench digging. The 1st and 2nd Field Company of the Royal Engineers and the Manchester Regiment honed skills on Sefton's beaches, under the ever watchful eyes of their commanding officers. A typical trench plan
Sefton’s coast made an excellent place for the Royal Engineers to practice trench digging.
British troops at Serre, 1917.
National Aircraft Factory No. 3 Aintree At the beginning of 1917, 70 acres of land, next to Aintree Racecourse, were requisitioned under the Defence of the Realm Act (DORA). The land was to be used to build the third National Aircraft Factory; the other two were located at Waddon in Croydon and Heaton Chapel in Stockport. About 3,000 men, mainly Irish, were engaged in construction work. By 1918 the buildings were sufficiently built to accommodate the office staff and production equipment for Bristol F2B Fighters to be built; The Aintree Racecourse itself was used as a landing strip.
The factory was operated by Cunard and its primary objective was to aid the war effort by building 500 Bristol Fighters. These were needed to supply the new and rapidly-growing Royal Air Force. Production was under the auspices of the newly-created Air Ministry, but only 126 aircraft had been built by the time the war ended in November 1918.
In 1920, to take advantage of the large number of surplus aircraft parts, the Aircraft Disposal Factory (ADC) was established. The company had several sites across Britain and took over the National Aircraft factory sites at Aintree, Waddon and Heaton Chapel.
The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War One was over 37 million.
House No. 4
John George Palethorpe Died 24th April 1915
31
Ernest Green Died 22nd March 1918
4
Frederick Palethorpe Died 25th January 1917
43
Malcolm Shaw Died 26th July 1918
9
Henry Bernard Brown Died 3rd September 1916
44
Thomas Stephen Corkhill Died 5th April 1918
17
James Seddon Died 8th August 1916
46
William Sutton Died 31st August 1918
19
Joseph William Sloey Died 4th August 1916
58
George Lake Died 22nd November 1916
19
Joseph Kane Died 4th March 1917
62
John Gregory Died 17th January 1919
21
Sidney Buck Died 8th August 1916
72
Edward Jones Died 20th February 1918
27
Edward Francis Smith Died 21st December 1917
84
Frederick Goodwin Died 2nd June 1915
31
John Hamilton Beggs Died 8th November 1917
18 men from Antonio Street alone were killed in action during World War One.
Airship damage, September 1915.
The impact of war on Sefton communities The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War One was over 37 million. There were over 17 million deaths and 20 million wounded, ranking it amongst the deadliest conflicts in human history.
BROTHERS John and Frederick Palethorpe
The total number of deaths includes approx 10 million military personnel and 7 million civilians. To try and illustrate how the death toll would have affected the residents of Sefton, local historians Marie McQuade and Jo McCann looked at Antonio Street, a small street of terraced houses near Bedford Road Primary in Bootle. Eighteen men were killed in action, from this small street of 72 houses.
COUSINS Joseph Sloey and Joseph Kane
Frederick Goodwin
No. 4
No. 19
No. 84
At number 4 - George and Elizabeth Palethorpe lost two sons in World War One.
Two family members were also lost at number 19, when cousins Joseph Sloey and Joseph Kane were both killed.
Frederick Goodwin lived at 84 Antonio Street and was one of the oldest in the street to be killed in action. He was 33 when he was killed at Ypres.
John George was 30 years of age, married with two small children, when he was killed at the first battle of Ypres. His younger brother Frederick was in the navy. He died age 22, when his ship HMS Laurentic struck a mine off Ireland in January 1917.
Joseph Sloey died at the age of 22 when he was shot in the stomach at Arrowhead Copse, Guillemont, part of the Somme offensive. Joseph Kane, 24, was a member of the Machine Gun Corps when he was killed in action on 4th March 1917. Prior to the war both cousins had been merchant seamen, sailing out of Liverpool.
He left behind a widow and three children; the youngest, Lilian was born on 24th June, 22 days after her father’s death. Previously Frederick had served with the South Lancashire Regiment during the Boer War, from 1900 to 1902.
In World War One food was scarce, rations were measly and meals repetitive. With energy-sapping battles to be fought and won, what was the staple diet of a trench Tommy? When the war began, soldiers had very little choice in their meals, being allowed 10oz of meat and 8oz of vegetables per day (it is estimated that adults need around 20oz of vegetables and 6.5oz meat per day). Rare extra nourishment would sometimes arrive in the form of parcels from relatives, which included tins of sardines, biscuits and chocolate. By 1916, German submarine blockades meant that the meat ration was reduced to 6oz of ‘bully beef’ (corned beef) a day, with frontline soldiers receiving even less. Beyond 1916, portions of meat were only served every nine days. The staple diet in the trenches consisted of pea and horse meat soup, but where kitchen teams could not source local vegetables this heady conconction will also have included weeds, nettles and leaves. Shared cooking equipment meant that even tea and coffee was pea and horse meat flavoured. A despised mainstay of soldiers’ food intake was ‘Maconchie’s Meat Stew’, a thin wattery broth consisting of fatty meat with sliced turnips and carrots.
Along with the shortage of fresh vegetables, this stew led to cases of diarrhoea and other gut related illnesses. ‘Tommies’ took to, where possible, growing vegetable patches in the trenches and hunting and fishing for their food when not in combat. During the winter of 1916, there was a major shortage of flour, which led to dried, ground turnips being used to produce horrid bread that also caused diarrhoea.
Making Maconochie
Maconochie stew is normally prepared in a dug-out or reserve trench, so whipping it up in a modern day kitchen shouldn’t be too difficult at all. Here’s how:
Ingredients:
340g beef (or one can of corned beef) 140g waxy potatoes 30g onions 30g carrots 30g beans, cooked (white beans such
Eating any food that was warm or fresh on the frontline was almost unheard of. By the time soups and stews reached soldiers in cooking pans, petrol cans and jars, they were cold, with little to go round after spills. Bread and biscuits were also stale, meaning soldiers mixed them with potatoes, sultanas and onions to boil up a grating, sandy soup. As part of mindgames with their German counterparts, the British Army enraged its soldiers when it announced that its soldiers were given two hot meals per day. Designed to make the German army see British soldiers as unbeatable, the tactic worsened morale among many British soldiers, who wrote over 200,000 angry letters demanding that the grim truth be made public.
as navy or great northern) 60ml beef stock or water 15ml flour 15ml fat (lard or rendered beef fat) Salt to taste
Method:
1. If using fresh beef, cut into ½ inch to 1 inch pieces. 2. Thinly slice potatoes, onions, and carrots. 3. Steam or boil the beef, potatoes, carrots, and onions until tender. 4. Heat the fat in a pan. 5. Add cooked potatoes, carrots, onions, beans, and beef over medium heat. 6. Make a batter of the beef stock or water with flour. 7. Add batter to the stew. 8. Cook until thickened. 9. Salt to taste.
German soldiers in a Flanders trench, 1914.
Food was scarce, rations were measly and meals repetitive.
GERMANY DRAWS THE SWORD WAR DECLARED ON RUSSIA. LUXEMBURG INVADED. BRITISH STEAMERS SEIZED. SOUTHPORT MAN: W H Thomas 19th JANUARY First airborne attack on British soil. Zeppelins bomb Great Yarmouth.
15TH - 25TH MAY Battle of Festubert - almost 16,000 British men were injured.
22nd JANUARY 2nd Battle of Ypres - Germany uses poison gas for the first time.
ON SEFTON The men of the 7th KLR gave a stirring account of themselves at the charge of Richbourg St.Vaast, part of the Battle of Festebert. Casualties were high, one Southport paper reported 49 killed or wounded from the Town.
APRIL - DECEMBER Gallipoli Campaign. 7th MAY Sinking of the Lusitania.
28th JUNE Assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
death of 150 men. These men are amongst the first casualties of the war.
28th JULY Austria-Hungary declare war on Serbia.
ON SEFTON Southport’s volunteer league has a register of 850 members by September 1914.
29th JULY German Patrols cross into France. Britain warns Germany that it can't remain neutral. 1st AUGUST Germany declare war on Russia. 3rd AUGUST Germany declare war on France. Britain gives order for troops to mobilise. German troops invade Belgium. 4th AUGUST Britain declares war on Germany. Royal Navy cruiser HMS Amphion is sunk by German Mines, causing the
A Southport man was amongst the first to be killed in World War One: Stoker W H Thomas, a second class stoker on the Amphion. He was 20 years old, the only son of Henry and Louisa Thomas.
regiments against the invading German forces, and took part in the control retreat. The KLR had recruitment centres across Sefton. SEPTEMBER First Battle of Marne - 13,000 British casualties are recorded.
ON SEFTON The Lusitania was sunk off the coast of Ireland by German submarine ‘U-20’ on 7th May 1915, with the loss of 1,198 passengers and crew, including James Marshall a saloon waiter from Formby, who went down with the ship.
25th SEPTEMBER Battle of Loos.
The KLR led the charge which resulted in two German trenches being over run.
Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.
29th OCTOBER Turkey enters the war. OCTOBER/NOVEMEBER First battle of Ypres.
‘Your King and Country Need You’ slogan is published. 100,000 men enlist within 2 weeks. 23rd AUGUST Battle of Mons - the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force. ON SEFTON The King's (Liverpool) Regiment (KLR) fought alongside other British
“60,000 men were killed, injured or reported missing in one day of action“.
Germany signs the Armistice Treaty to end the war 11th NOVEMBER
24th JANUARY Conscription is introduced in Britain. ON SEFTON Proclamations go up across Sefton reminding single men aged 27, 28, 29 and 30 call up date is 29th February. The men have one month from that date to present themselves for service. Any man who fails to enlist would be treated as a deserter or absentee, local papers reported. FEBRUARY - DECEMBER The Battle of Verdun lasts 10 months, over a million men are wounded. 31st MAY - 1st JUNE The battle of Jutland. ON SEFTON Crosby Man Leonard Murphy, aged 22, was killed when HMS Queen Mary was sunk at the Battle of Jutland on 31st May 1916, with the loss of 1,266 officers and men.
JULY - NOVEMBER The Battle of the Somme sees 750,000 men sent to cover a 25 mile front. 60,000 men are killed, injured or missing in one day of action. ON SEFTON Joseph Sloey aged 22, from Antonia Street, Bootle was killed at the Battle of Arrowhead Copsepart, of the Somme offensive.
25th JANUARY Canadian Troop transporter SS The Laurentic struck two mines off Lough Swilly in the north of Ireland on 25th January 1917 and sank within an hour. Only 121 of the 475 aboard survived.
APRIL Battle of Arras.
ON SEFTON Engineer-commander Charles Hurst, from Litherland and Sub- Lieutenant James Brown, from Orrell, went down with the ship. Commander Hurst 43, had 23 engineers under his direction, only five survived the sinking. He left behind a widow and seven children; the youngest was only three.
ON SEFTON Former Bootle Policeman Percy Bainbridge was killed in action on 20th July. Gunner Bainbridge, who was 40 years of age, trained in the south of England, prior to being sent to France in February 1917. He left behind a widow.
Sub-Lieutenant Brown 30, was a promising engineer; it was reported that Bootle had lost one of its finest sons. He left behind a widow and one daughter. 21st FEBUARY The Great German withdrawal begins and they establish new lines along the Hindenburg Line.
JULY - NOVEMBER Battle of Passchendaele (3rd battle of Ypres).
3rd AUGUST The third anniversary of war is marked by church services across the country. ON SEFTON A special service was held at Christ Church in Southport, with the Town's Mayor in attendance. The image is of the procession leaving the Town Hall.
The Germans advance along a 50 mile front south of Arras. 7th MAY ON SEFTON Tank Bank Week in Southport. People continued to be encouraged to support the War effort by buying Governement bonds.
15th MARCH Tsar Nicholas II abdicates. 6th APRIL United States of America enters the war. ON SEFTON A service in celebration of America's entry into the war was held at Emmanuel Church in Churchtown. 600 soldiers wounded soldiers from the nearby convalescent camp attended. The service was a replica of that held in St Paul's Cathedral, which was attended by the King and the American Ambassador.
21st MARCH The 2nd Battle of the Somme begins with a German offensive, the 'Kaiserschlacht'.
JULY - AUGUST The 2nd Battle of the Marne. OCTOBER Russian Revolution. NOVEMBER Battle of Passchendaele ends, the allies have advanced only 5 miles and 140,000 men have been killed.
8th NOVEMBER Armistice negotiations between the Allies and Germany begin.
11th NOVEMBER Germany signs the Armistice Treaty to end the war. ON SEFTON Victory is celebrated across Sefton. Tuesday 14th November is declared a local holiday, and thanksgiving services, attended by local dignitaries take place in Churches across the borough. That evening the illuminations along Lord Street were lit and crowds partied in the streets.
HEROES OF SEFTON During World War One Sefton’s citizens flocked to help the war effort, the borough’s young men joined the armed forces and bravely went off to fight on land, at sea, and in the air.
The newspapers of the day record that there were many individual acts of gallantry in the face of the enemy, resulting in a plethora of Military Medal and Military Cross awards.
Captain Eric Norman Frankland Bell VC
In September 1914 Eric was commissioned into the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, later transferring to the Ulster Division. In October 1915 he travelled with his unit to France, there becoming commander of a mortar battery.
Before World War One, Eric Norman Frankland Bell lived with his parents in Seaforth and then at 22 University Road, Bootle. He attended St Margaret’s School, the Liverpool Institute, and then the School of Architecture at Liverpool University where he worked as an office boy.
However, seven men, each with strong Sefton links, were awarded this country’s highest decoration for
Captain Bell was awarded his VC for gallantry and supreme courage, when on three occasions on July 1st 1916 he bravely helped trench bombing parties to advance, throwing bombs among the enemy and when he had no more,
‘outstanding valour in the face of the enemy’ - the Victoria Cross. These men were Captain Eric Bell, Private Arthur Proctor, Major Alexander Lafone, Lieutenant Gabriel Coury, Lance-Sergeant Arthur Evans, Captain Harold Ackroyd and Private Richard Masters. Here we highlight their stories.
coolly using a rifle to great effect on the enemy. Sadly, he was killed shortly afterwards before receiving his medal, while rallying and re-organising leaderless infantry. Captain Bell is commemorated on several Bootle and Seaforth memorials, including Christ Church C of E, Bedford Road School, and St Thomas Church of England School.
Private Arthur Herbert Proctor VC
Arthur received his VC from King George V in France. On his return to Liverpool, Proctor had a hero's welcome and was given a gold watch, a cheque for a hundred guineas, and a £100 4% War Loan voucher.
As a young boy he went to live with relatives in Exeter, returning to Merseyside as a young man. He became a clerk with Wilson Brothers and Company, fruit wholesalers. In his spare time Arthur attended bible class at his church, and taught children Scripture at the Sunday School.
In November 1914 Arthur enlisted in the 1/5th Battalion, the King's Liverpool Regiment. On 4th June 1916 near Ficheux, France, Private Procter was recommended for the Victoria Cross. His citation for the award stated that he noticed two wounded men moving; they were lying in ‘no man’s land’, approximately 75 yards in front of the trenches. Under fire, he at once went to the aid of the soldiers, got them into cover, dressed their wounds and promised that they would be rescued after dark. He then left them with warm clothing and returned to the British trenches. The men were rescued as light was failing.
Major Alexander Lafone VC
private, and was promoted to sergeant prior to leaving to fight in the Boer War in 1900.
Alexander Lafone was born at Crosby Road South, and lived there until he was four years old, when his family moved to London. He attended Dulwich College, where he excelled at athletics. Alexander graduated from the College in 1889 and then studied for two years at the Electrical Engineering Institute.
He then went on to fight in World War One, serving with the County of London Middlesex Yeomanry, and was awarded the Victoria Cross for his courage on 27th October 1917 at the Battle of El Buggar Ridge in Palestine.
self-sacrifice. For holding a position for over seven hours against vastly superior enemy forces. When all his men, with the exception of three, had been hit and the trench which he was holding was so full of wounded that it was difficult to move and fire, he ordered those who could walk to move to a rear trench, and from his own position maintained a most heroic resistance.
After working in several technical roles, in 1899 Lafone joined the newly formed Imperial Yeomanry as a
“Major Alexander Malius Lafone, late Imperial Yeomanry. For most conspicuous bravery, leadership and
Lieutenant Gabriel Coury VC
Gabriel then transferred to the 1/4th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment, a Pioneer unit. Coury was awarded his Victoria Cross for his actions on 8th August 1916 whilst serving in France at Arrow Head Copse.
Arthur Herbert Procter was born in Church Street, Bootle, in 1890. Arthur was educated at St Mary’s Church of England Primary School.
2nd Lieutenant (later Captain) Gabriel Coury was born in Liverpool in 1896 to immigrant parents, middle-class citizens of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Gabriel lived as a boy in Waterloo Park off Haigh Road, in Crosby, was educated at Stonyhurst College, and after graduating, gained an apprenticeship in the cotton industry in Liverpool. By then, Gabriel and his family were living at 22 The Esplanade, Waterloo. When the First World War broke out, he enlisted as a private in the 6th Battalion Kings Liverpool Regiment and became a Lieutenant in 1915.
His citation from the London Gazette reads:
Lieutenant Coury’s citation reads: "During an advance, he was in command of two platoons ordered to dig a communication trench from the firing line to the position won. By his fine example and utter contempt of danger he kept up the spirits of his men and completed his task under intense fire. Later, after his battalion had suffered severe casualties and the Commanding Officer had been wounded, he went out in front of the advanced position in broad daylight and in full view of the enemy found his
Arthur was ordained in 1927 and in World War Two he served as a chaplain in the Royal Air Force. After the war he served as vicar in several parishes including St Peters Church in Claybrook, Leicester. He finally moved to Sheffield where he died in January 1973 aged 82.
When finally surrounded and charged by the enemy, he stepped into the open and continued the fight until he was mortally wounded. His cheerfulness and courage were a splendid inspiration to his men”.
Commanding Officer, and brought him back to the new advanced trench over ground swept by machine-gun fire." After this Gabriel transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. Injured in a bad crash, he returned to flying duties, but then nearly died of influenza in 1919. After demobilization, he returned to live at Merton Grove in Bootle, and then Southport. He served his country again, in the army during World War Two. Post-war, the ever-cheerful and popular Gabriel founded and developed a successful chip-shop business in Liverpool. He died in February 1956 and is buried in St Peter and Paul churchyard in Crosby.
Lance-Sergeant Arthur Evans VC DCM Arthur Evans was born in Seaforth on 8th April 1891, and attended St Thomas Church of England School there. He joined the 1st Battalion of the Kings Liverpool Regiment in 1914, later transferring to the 6th Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment, under the alias of Walter Simpson.
Captain Harold Ackroyd VC MC Harold Ackroyd was born in Southport in 1877, the son of a successful wool merchant. He qualified as a doctor and after war was declared in 1914, Harold joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and was attached to the Royal Berkshire Regiment, embarking for France with them in 1915. In July 1916, during the Battle of the
Private Richard George Masters VC Richard George Masters was born in Southport on March 30th 1877, and before joining the army, worked as a chauffeur. Masters was 41 when he was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1918. On 9th April 1918, near Bethune in France, a German attack cut the communication lines, meaning that wounded soldiers could not be
Arthur (Walter, as he was known at the time) was awarded the Victoria Cross, for Gallantry on 2nd September 1918. South-West of Etaing in France, a patrol spotted a German machine gun across the river. Lance-Sergeant Simpson swam across through deep water and attacked the gun crew, shooting the sentry and another soldier, and forcing four others to surrender. Following this, a British officer and another soldier also crossed the river. This was spotted by the enemy who
Somme, the regiment was involved with the taking of Delvill Wood . Harold was kept very busy, tending casualties, (including German soldiers), and bringing in wounded men, under continuous sniping and machine gun fire. For his actions, Ackroyd was awarded a Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. Between July 31 and August 1st 1917, at Passchendaele, Captain Ackroyd again came to the fore, working continuously in the open under very
evacuated. Private Masters, an army ambulance driver attached to the 141st Ambulance, volunteered to try and help, and went forward to an advanced dressing station. After clearing the road of battle debris, he succeeded in driving his vehicle, journey after journey, to carry the injured soldiers back to safety. The journeys Private Masters made were very dangerous as the area was being shelled and the road swept by machine-gun fire; at one stage his ambulance was bombed by a German aircraft.
directed heavy rifle and machine gun fire onto them, wounding the officer. Lance-Sergeant Simpson then covered the withdrawal of the wounded officer under continuing heavy fire. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, which was presented by King George V at Buckingham Palace. Arthur survived the war and emigrated to Australia, joining the Australian Tank Corps. He died in Sydney on 1st November 1936, aged just 45.
heavy fire, calmly tending the wounded and saving the lives of officers and men. When the battle was over, he received twenty-three nominations for the Victoria Cross. Sadly Harold Ackroyd was killed eleven days later, the victim of a sniper. On 6th September 1917 the award of the Victoria Cross was announced in the London Gazette. Captain Harold Ackroyd VC MC is buried at Birr Cross Roads Cemetery near the Menin Gate.
Masters became Life President of the Southport Branch of the Royal Army Service Corps, and died on 4th April 1963 at the age of 86. He was buried at St Cuthbert's parish church in Churchtown, Southport. On 7th May 2009, the Duke of Gloucester opened the RG Masters VC Territorial Army and Volunteer Reserve Centre at Bootle.
LEST WE FORGET E Bell VC
A Proctor VC
A Lafone VC
G Coury VC
A Evans VC DCM
H Ackroyd VC MC R Masters VC
Sefton’s young men joined the armed forces and bravely went off to fight on land, at sea, and in the air.
British patrol at Salonika, 1917
Ordinary people
Extraordinary times War records of local men One in four of the male population joined up to fight in World War One. To highlight the hardship and sacrifice made by these men, Sefton Libraries have selected the war stories of a small number of men from each area of Sefton. All recruits were technically volunteers until January 1916, when men were recruited under the Derby Scheme, which stated that men who voluntarily registered their name would be called
upon only when absolutely necessary. Married men were assured that they would be called up only once the supply of single men was exhausted. Single men who refused to sign up were singled out and proclaimed as ‘Slackers’. They were attacked in local press, in council meetings and shunned by local people.
The Act specified that single men aged 18 to 41 years old were liable to be called up for military service unless they were widowed with children or ministers of a religion. The law went through several changes before the war ended. Married men were exempt in the original Act, although this changed in June 1916.
The Derby Scheme proved unworkable and military conscription was brought in via the Military Service act in 1916.
“The Lusitania was sunk off the coast of Ireland by German submarine ‘U-20’ on 7th May 1915, with the loss of 1198 passengers and crew“. James Marshall RMS Lusitania James Marshall was born in 1885 in Formby, and was educated at St Peter’s School. After leaving, he took work as a waiter at Formby Golf Club.
FORMBY
James was then recommended to the Cunard Line, and joined that company, going to sea, circa 1907, on the newly launched RMS Lusitania. He made nearly all his voyages on that ship, becoming a saloon waiter. James was apparently of a jovial disposition and a very popular member of the crew. He was equally well-liked back home in Formby.
James was a member of the football club at Freshfield, and played the cornet with the Freshfield Band. He was also a member of Holy Trinity Men’s Bibleclass. He married Alice Cross, also of Formby, and lived at 16 Lulworth Avenue, Waterloo. The Lusitania was sunk off the coast of Ireland by German submarine ‘U-20’ on 7th May 1915, with the loss of 1198 passengers and crew. A survivor reported that he had seen James Marshall on deck about five minutes before the ship went down, but he perished in the disaster.
Alan Cookson 10th Battalion Kings (Liverpool) Regiment (KLR) Alan Cookson was born in Crosby in 1894. He was the son of Benjamin and Helena Cookson. The family lived in Waterloo Park and then Elton Avenue, Blundellsands. The houses at both addresses were called ‘Glenamour’. Alan became a chartered accountant and worked at the firm of JW Davidson, Cookson and Company (where his father was a partner) in Castle Street, Liverpool.
CROSBY
Rifleman, 6th Battalion Kings (Liverpool) Regiment Mortimer Pim was born on March 15th 1891. He was the 4th and youngest son of Edward and Dora Pim of Linden, Maghull. He was educated at Petersfield College in Hants, where he joined the school Cadet Corps on its foundation.
“He died of his wounds on 26th September 1916, aged 25“.
After school, he gained employment in the cold storage business in Liverpool. Around 1907 Mortimer joined the Liverpool Volunteers, which later became known as the 6th Battalion, Kings (Liverpool) Regiment. In September 1914, Rifleman Pim was despatched to France. Despite being
George Bourne 7th Battalion Kings (Liverpool) Regiment (KLR) George Bourne was born in 1896 in Duncan Street, Bootle. He was the son of Frank and Margaret Bourne. George enlisted in the 7th Battalion KLR in November 1915.
BOOTLE
Alan’s army comrade Lieutenant Edward McClymont wrote the poem ‘God’s Acre’ and dedicated it to him - the dedication reads ‘to my skipper’. Captain Alan Cookson was buried at Erquinghem-Lys Cemetery and is commemorated at St John’s Church of England Church in Waterloo.
“Alan became a chartered accountant and worked at the firm of JW Davidson, Cookson and Company“. Mortimer Pim
MAGHULL
Alan enlisted in the Liverpool Scottish - the 10th Battalion, King’s Liverpool Regiment. Commissioned as a Captain, Alan was killed in action in France on 27th June 1917.
On 10th January 1917, during training in the south of the UK, George was one of a company of thirty men who were being instructed in bomb (grenade) throwing at night. It was pitch black, and unfortunately the bomb that he threw caught the top of a sandbag, rebounding and falling at his feet. A comrade, Corporal Pye, realising that
6ft tall and weighing 168 pounds, he was firstly used as a despatch rider, but then retrained as a Lewis machine gunner. Mortimer’s time in front line trenches had an effect upon him, on 11th September 1916 he was admitted to the Field Ambulance station suffering from shell shock. However, he was back with his comrades three days later. During the Somme campaign in 1916, Mortimer and his Battalion took part in what has come to be called the Battle of Morval. On September 25th he was hit by a bullet in the abdomen and was taken back to the Casualty Clearing Station, where he died of his wounds on 26th September 1916, aged 25. Rifleman Pim is buried in Heilly Station CWGC cemetery in France.
the grenade would fall back into the trench, grabbed Bourne and attempted to drag him to safety in a traverse, behind the trench. However, the Mills bomb went off; Bourne was wounded in 18 places. He died an hour later. Corporal Pye was also seriously injured, but survived. Although George had been in the army for over a year, he saw no active service overseas, so his family were not issued with any campaign medals. He is remembered on memorials at St Leonard’s C of E Church Bootle, St Mary’s C of E graveyard, Bootle, and Salisbury Road Council School, Bootle.
Leonard Murphy Royal Navy Leonard Murphy, (son of Leonard Hair who died before his son was born), was the step-son of John Murphy (who had married his widowed mother), of Litherland Road, Bootle. Leonard was educated at St James’ School, and played football for St James’ FC.
He joined the Royal Navy in 1912 and became a member of the crew of HMS Queen Mary when she was commissioned. He was lost when the Queen Mary was sunk at the Battle of Jutland on 31st May 1916, with the loss of 1266 officers and men. Leonard was a chief stoker and he was 22 when he died.
“Leonard was lost when the Queen Mary was sunk at the Battle of Jutland on 31st May 1916“. BOOTLE
Francis Zacharias South Wales Borderers Francis Zacharias, the son of Ernest and Charlotte Zacharias, was born in Crosby in 1885. His father was born in Germany, but was a naturalised British citizen.
WATERLOO
“Francis was educated at Merchant Taylors School“.
Francis was educated at Merchant Taylors School. He followed his father into the cotton trade as a clerk and foreign correspondent, and married Gladys Eastwood in 1916. The couple lived in Victoria Road, Waterloo, and a son, Francis James, was born after his father’s death. Francis joined the army and was commissioned as an officer. He was killed during the Battle of the Somme on 25th September 1916. Lieutenant Zacharias was in charge of a working party supporting the Black Watch regiment, and on reaching them, found
Douglas Gatecliffe Mathwin 2nd Lt. 1/9th Battalion Kings (Liverpool) Regiment (KLR) Lieutenant Douglas Mathwin was the son of Harry Mathwin MA, the former proprietor/headmaster of Bickerton House School.
“A chartered accountant working in Liverpool, he got his commission in November 1914“. BIRKDALE
their bombing party in difficulties. One part of the trench was occupied by Black Watch troops, the other part by the Germans who were preventing a barrier being built. Zacharias rallied the bombers and together with a sergeant and several soldiers, drove off the enemy, allowing the barrier to be completed. Lieutenant Zacharias then ordered the withdrawal of his men, which he covered together with his sergeant. Before he could himself withdraw, Francis was killed, shot through the head. His sergeant was wounded. Lieutenant Zacharias is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, the Southport Civic Memorial, Waterloo with Seaforth Civic Memorial, at Christ Church C of E Church, Waterloo, Merchant Taylors School (Crosby), Waterloo Rugby Club, and Liverpool Cotton Association.
Before the war, Douglas was the treasurer of Southport and Birkdale Cricket Club. A chartered accountant working in Liverpool, he got his commission in November 1914. Douglas went to the front in March 1915 and was killed in action on the 15th May of that year, near Richebourg, Aubers Ridge. He is commemorated at Duke Street Cemetery, Southport; and on the Le Touret Memorial, France.
William Wood Kings (Liverpool), Regiment (KLR) William Wood was born in 1888 and lived with his parents and two brothers in Netherton Green, Netherton. William went to France with his regiment and was killed in action on 1st July 1916, the first morning of the Battle of the Somme. The British Army took 60,000 casualties (25,000 killed) on that first day of the campaign.
NETHERTON
Kings (Liverpool) Regiment (KLR) and Labour Corp) Jeffrey Rimmer was born around 1883 and lived at 20a High Park Road, in Southport, Lancashire. His dad Jeffrey was an agricultural labourer. He had 5 siblings; 4 sisters and one brother. On the 1901 Census, aged 18 Jeffrey was a ‘carter’ on a horse farm, working with his father.
“The Labour Corps were formed in February 1917 and was made up of men that had been either wounded or taken ill while on frontline duty“.
On 15th August 1915 Jeffrey signed up with the King’s (Liverpool) Regiment, he was assigned the service number 3194. On 7th August 1916 Jeffrey was wounded in action in France and was awarded the Croix de Guerre, a French bravery medal. The Croix de Guerre was awarded to those soldiers who distinguish themselves by acts of heroism, involving combat with the enemy.
Stanley “Jack” Rowlands Rifleman, 6th Battalion Kings (Liverpool) Regiment KLR Stanley Rowlands was born in 1895. Noted for his impulsive nature, he was know to family and friends as "Jack", and he had lived in Formby since he was 2 ½ years old. He was educated at Formby Grammar School, and then Bootle Technical School. Stanley was a also member of St Luke’s Church Choir, and Sunday School.
FORMBY
‘[William’s] death came as a terrible shock to all who knew him, as he was very well liked, and his loss will be keenly felt’. William was buried at Cerisy-Gailly military cemetery. He is commemorated on Sefton Civic Memorial and at St Helens Church of England Church, Sefton.
“William was killed in action on 1st July 1916, the first morning of the battle of the Somme“. Jeffrey Rimmer
SOUTHPORT
A comrade wrote to William’s parents:
His award was Gazetted on 9th December 1916. On his return to combat Jeffrey joined the Labour Corp, with the service number 719707. The Labour Corps were formed in February 1917 and was made up of men that had been either wounded or taken ill while on frontline duty. By the November of 1918 some 400,000 men were serving in the Labour Corps. Being in this body of men not directly involved with the frontline action, did not stop you being killed by enemy action as around 9,000 men were killed. Their duties would have included anything from helping in stores, taking equipment up to the front, repairing roads any manual task. Jeffrey was discharged from the army on 16th October 1918. He died in Southport in 1968, aged 85.
After leaving the technical school, Stanley was apprenticed as an engineer with Harland & Wolff, shipbuilders. He worked in Liverpool. Stanley, 6’ 4” tall, joined the Kings Liverpool Regiment in August 1914, embarking for service in France with the regiment. He went into action and was killed at Ypres on April 16th 1915. He was buried in a wood near Kirbrandenmolen.
“Jack was killed at Ypres on April 16th 1915“.
Local and district press articles
1914-1918
WORLD WAR WON
During World War One the Government used the press to keep people informed and updated about the progress of the War. The press, both local and national, was also used as a propaganda tool. Cartoons lampooned men who refused to volunteer for ‘King and Country’ as slackers, and they lionised locals who raised money for war related activities such as buying war bonds and supporting the VAD hospitals. They even gave details of troop movements. Below is a selection of news clippings to give you a flavour of local press coverage.
Bootle Borough Council meeting 07/08/1914
The War occupied the attention of council on Wednesday evening, and we may all feel glad that out city fathers have taken a right view of their duty. They have resolved that the wives and children of the men who have been called from employment of the municipality, to the service of their country, shall be treated with the fairness that their loyalty calls for. “Let us be men, like these men have been, and do our duty by those they have left behind” the speaker extolled.
A Waterlo0 Fund 14/08/14 The Chairman of the Urban District Council of Waterloo-with Seaforth (Mr Harry J Blundell), in response to a request from the Prince of Wales, has decided to open a local fund to deal with any distress that may arise in consequence of the war. Subscriptions should be
made payable to the Prince of Wales and addressed to the Chairman at the Town hall, Waterloo, to be forwarded to the fund.
Soldier thanks little girl from Birkdale 26/12/14
anyone who may be willing to assist, any Thursday morning, should report at the work room.
More troops arrive 21/08/15
Some 500 members of the East Lancashire Royal Engineers are expected to arrive in Southport on Friday. Billeting arrangement have been made for them in the area formally occupied by the 2nd East Lancashire Division, in the Lord Street and Duke Street area.
A parcel of clothing from the Birkdale centre of the Southport National Aid Committee contained a pair of mittens knitted by Miss Edith Buckler aged 12. Miss Butler received a letter from W Jones of the transport Section, 12th battalion of the Canadian troops at Bulford. In which he says he is very proud to have received the mittens and to think that one 23/12/15 so young had tried to help the defenders of England. In connection with the arrival of further troops, we learn that the billeting has been cancelled in the Tithebarn Road, Blowick Street district. As previously announced about 4.000 24/03/15 troops, from the Manchester The members of the West Regiments 25th, 26th and Lancashire Branch, Crosby 27th brigades, will arrive in Division, of the British Red the New Year, They will be Cross Society, are carrying billeted in the quarters out their work at the Wesley- previously occupied by the an Hall, Mersey Road. We Lancashire Fusiliers in are asked to state that more between Neville Street and workers are wanted, and Leicester Street.
The coming of troops
Red Cross Work at Crosby
Birkdale - How to deal with slackers 01/02/16
Mr John Rutherford, Chairman of Birkdale Conservative Association (speaking in Birkdale) showed no sympathy with the single ‘Slackers’ who hold back and still refuse to offer their services to their country. The sooner the slacker was put in his proper place, as an outcast, the better he said. His blood boiled to think that we had been at war for eighteen months and there were still fellows, with no dependants, walking down Lord Street. They should be made to join up, and lick the boots of soldiers fighting for King and country.
Formby and War Savings 10/08/16
A meeting was held last night of Formby Urban District Council. The chairman referred to the progress of the War Savings Certificate Scheme, in Formby. 2159 certificates has been taken out, representing a cash payment of £1673 4s 6d. There were 1200 houses in the district. Local residents were reminded that War Savings were an extremely good investment, yielding a 5 ½ per cent interest return.
Liverpool Cymric Vocal Union. It should be noted that wounded members of the Royal Welch Fusiliers 10/08/16 The Formby Urban District and South Wales Borderers Council is feeling the pinch have been invited to attend. because of the drafting of men into the army. At the council meeting it was reported that the brigade now only has five men. The 26/01/17 report, from the Fire Brigade Member of the Litherland captain, shows that there is War Savings Committee met no keenness amongst council workers to join the on Wednesday evening, at
Formby and its fire brigade
Blowick’s welcome to their VC hero
The residents of Norwood Road, Blowick are determined to give a warm welcome home to their VC Hero Private Richard George Masters. Thinking he was returning at the weekend the neighbours decorated the street with flags and a red banner proclaiming ‘Welcome home to our VC’ As yet a date for Private Masters the district offices. There return has not been was a fair attendance. announced.
Litherland & War Savings
brigade.
The Cymric Union’s visit to Crosby 11/01/17
Residents of Crosby District are asked not to forget the opportunity of helping the Waterloo-with-Seaforth committee for the ‘Entertainment of our sick and wounded Soldiers,’ which is afforded them by means of the concert to be given at Waterloo Town Hall on Monday evening by the
Various
points
were
discussed whereby it was suggested financial
that
aid
further
might
be
afforded the Government. It was announced that a War
Returned from Germany 21/11/18 Among the prisoners of war who arrived at Hull, from Germany on Monday was Sergeant W Rowand, West Yorkshire regiment. After three and a half years in Germany,
Peace Sergeant Rowand expects to home Rejoicings in Southport in the next few days. in Ainsdale 16/11/18
Saving Association had been Flags in abundance are seen flying from practically every formed at the Diamond residence in Ainsdale, as a Laundry, Tattersall Road, sign of our victory, At near Beach Road. In reply Ainsdale camp made for to a question Mr Evans said prisoners of war, but now dismantled, the that local membership, of being soldiers on hearing the good War saving Associations news assembled in one field, was about 3.5% of the local dancing around one another population. and cheering.
World War One ended officially at 11.00am on the 11th November 1918. At that precise time, in the main, the guns fell silent for the first time in more than four long years of fighting. During hostilities, more than 37 million military personnel from all participating nations were injured or killed; almost 4,000 men from the Sefton area were killed. As news of the 1918 Armistice spread, celebrations took place all over the UK and Sefton was no exception. In Southport the illuminations along Lord Street were turned on for the first time since war was declared as people danced in the streets. At the Vulcan Motor Factory in Crossens, workers bedecked the building with a huge Union Jack flag, bunting, and a banner proclaiming that the war was over. Employees at the factory had joined up, gone off to fight and had supported the local VAD Hospitals by providing ambulances and drivers to ferry the sick and injured from the railhead at Aintree Hospital to St John’s VAD hospital in Southport. Across Sefton, people gathered for victory parades, thousands gathered in Bootle for a Victory march through the streets in spring 1919.
The Vulcan factory celebrates victory
The Bootle victory parade
More than 37 million military personnel from all participating nations were injured or killed during World War One.
Unveiling of the Cenotaph in Whitehall, November 1920.
Lest we forget Sefton remembers those who died During the years that followed 1918, War Memorials to commemorate the great loss of life and heroism shown by individuals and communities, were built across Sefton.
In Sefton, 162 War Memorials were erected to honour the heroes of World War One.
There are 10 Civic memorials in Sefton, honouring a total of 3,790 men, who died in World War One. Other memorials were erected in schools, churches and places of work across the borough.
Ainsdale
St John’s C of E Church St Johns Road, Birkdale
Ainsdale Civic Memorial Village Green, Liverpool Rd, Ainsdale
St Peter’s C of E Church St Peter’s Road, Birkdale
St John’s C of E Church 708 Liverpool Road, Ainsdale
Birkdale United Reformed Church Grosvenor Road, Birkdale
Ainsdale Methodist Church Liverpool Road, Ainsdale
Birkdale Methodist Church Liverpool Road, Southport
Ainsdale United Reformed Church Station Road, Ainsdale
Aintree Old Roan Railway Station Copy Lane, Aintree
Altcar St Michael & All Angels C of E Great Altcar, Formby
Bootle
Blundellsands Crosby With Blundellsands Civic Memorial Alexandra Park, Blundellsands St Michael’s C of E Church Downhills Road, Blundellsands St Nicholas’ C of E Church Bridge Road, Blundellsands St Joseph C of E Church Warren Road, Blundellsands
Birkdale
Blundellsands Methodist Church Mersey Road, Blundellsands
St James’ C of E Church Lulworth Road, Birkdale
West Lancashire Golf Club Hall Road West, Blundellsands
Bootle Civic Memorials King Edward VII War Memorial Bootle South Recreation Ground, Stanley Road, Bootle
St Matthew's C of E Church Stanley Road, Bootle
Crosby
Hightown
St James' R.C. Church Chesnut Grove, Marsh Lane, Bootle Stanley Road Baptist Church Stanley Road, Bootle Ash Street Baptist Mission Ash Street, Bootle Marsh Lane Wesleyan Methodist Church Marsh Lane, Bootle St Paul's Presbyterian Church Merseyside Records Office Pier Head, Liverpool Welsh Presbyterian Church Trinity Road, Bootle Bedford Road Primary School Quarry Road, Bootle Christ Church C of E School Cornewall Road, Bootle Harrison's Wood Turners Hemans Street Bootle (Now Closed) J Bibby and Sons, Ltd. Now - Cargill Brocklebank Mill & Refinery Regent Road, Bootle Johnson Bros Dyers Mismay Road, Bootle (Now Closed) Bootle Cricket Club Wadham Road, Bootle St Matthew's C of E Church Boy Scouts Monfa Road, Bootle
St Faith’s C of E Church Crosby Road North, Crosby St Luke’s C of E Church St Luke’s Church, Crosby
Hightown Civic Memorial Highway Roundabout, Hightown
St Peter and Pauls R C Church Liverpool Road, Crosby
St Stephen’s C of E Church Kerslake Way, Hightown
Crosby Congregational Church Warren Road, Crosby Crosby Methodist Church Moor Lane, Crosby Merchant Taylor School Crosby Road North, Cosby Liverpool Ramblers Football Moor Lane, Crosby
Ince Blundell The Hightown Club Thirlmere Road, Hightown Ince Blundell Civic Memorial Back O‘ Th’ Town Lane, Ince Blundell
Northern Cricket Club Elm Avenue, Moor Park, Crosby
Holy Family RC Church Ince Blundell
Churchtown and Crossens
Formby
Linacre
Churchtown Congregational Church North Meols, Southport
Formby Civic Memorial Junction of Three Tuns Lane and School Lane, Formby
Linacre Primary School Thornton Road, Bootle
St John’s C of E (Graveyard) Rufford Road, Crossens, Southport
Holy Trinity C of E Church Rosemary Lane, Formby Our Lady of Compassion RC Church School Lane, Formby St Luke’s C of E Church Church Road, Formby St Peter’s C of E Church Green Lane, Formby Formby United Reformed Church Church Road, Formby Formby Golf Club Victoria Road, Formby St Peter’s C of E Church - 12th King’s (Liverpool) Regiment Cross Green Lane, Formby
Litherland St Andrew’s C of E Church St Andrew’s Road, Litherland Litherland Civic Memorial Sefton Road, Litherland St Philip’s C of E Church - Lad’s Brigade Church Road, Litherland St Elizabeth of Hungary’s R C Church Webster Street, Litherland Linacre Methodist Mission Linacre Road, Litherland Beach Road Primary School Now Rimrose Hope School Sandy Road, Seaforth Lander Road Primary Lander Road, Litherland
Bryant and May Match Factory Garden of Remembrance Orrell Road, Litherland
Lydiate Our Lady’s R C Church Hall Lane, Lydiate
Maghull St Thomas’s C of E Primary Church Lane, Maghull Maghull Civic Memorial St Andrew’s Primary School, Deyes Lane, Maghull
St Simon & Jude’s C of E Church Old Park Lane, Southport
Sefton
St Marie on the Sands R C Church Seabank Road, Southport
St Thomas C of E School Church Lane, Maghull
Chapel Street Congregational Church Chapel Street, Southport
Sefton Civic Memorial St Helen’s Church, Bridge Lane, Sefton Village
Hampton Road, Congregational Mission Hampton Street, Southport Hoghton Street Baptist Church Hoghton Street, Southport
Marshside Methodist Church Church Street, Southport Russell Road Methodist Church Russell Road, Southport
St George’s RC Church Station Road, Maghull
St George’s Presbyterian Church Lord Street, Southport
Orrell
St Mark’s Methodist Church Church Street, Southport
Orrell Presbyterian Church Springwell Road, Orrell (now Closed) Orrell Football Club Orrell Lane, Orrell
Southport
Southbank Methodist Church Southbank Road, Southport Southport Unitarian Church Hawkshead Street, Southport Southport Hebrew Congregation 3 Arnside Road, Southport New Scarisbrick Road Baptist Church New Scarisbrick Road, Southport Trinity Wesleyan Methodist Church Duke Street, Southport Victoria Methodist Church Sussex Road, Southport St Philip’s C of E Primary School Hampton Road, Southport Southport College Mornington Road, Southport Southport Main Post Office Lord Street, Southport
Southport Civic Memorial Lord Street, Southport
Hesketh Golf Club Cockle Dick's Lane, Southport
Christchurch C of E Church Lord Street, Southport
Seaforth
Emmanuel C of E Church Cambridge Road
Waterloo with Seaforth Civic Memorial Great Georges Road, Waterloo
Holy Trinity C of E Church Hoghton Street, Southport
St Thomas’ C of E Church Seaforth Road, Seaforth
St Andrew’s C of E Church Eastbank Street, Southport
Our Lady Star of the Sea RC Church Church Road, Seaforth
St Cuthbert’s C of E Church Botanic Road, Southport
Seaforth Congregational Church Liverpool Scottish Regiment Museum Botanic Road, Kensington, Liverpool
St Luke’s C of E Church St Luke’s Road, Southport St Philip and Paul’s C of E Church Scarisbrick New Road, Southport
Waterloo
Leyland Road Methodist Church Leyland Road, Southport
St Andrew’s C of E Church Damfield Lane, Maghull
St John and St James C of E Church Mount Avenue, Bootle
St Helen’s Church Bridge Lane, Sefton Village
Waterloo with Seaforth Civic Memorial Great George’s Road, Waterloo Christ Church C of E Church Alexander Road, Waterloo St John's C of E Church St John’s Road, Waterloo St Mary the Virgin C of E Church Park Road, Waterloo Waterloo Baptist Church Crosby Road North, Waterloo Waterloo Congregational Church Liverpool Scottish Regiment Museum Botanic Road, Kensington Bethania Welsh Presbyterian Church Crosby Road North, Waterloo United Free Church Crosby Road North, Waterloo St Andrew's Presbyterian Church Liverpool Scottish Regiment Museum Botanic Road, Kensington Waterloo Grammar School Now St Michael’s High School, St Michael’s Road, Crosby Waterloo (1st Liverpool) Boy Scouts URC Church Hall, Warren Road, Blundellsands Waterloo Rugby Football Club Waterloo Rugby Club, St Anthony’s Road, Waterloo
Almost 4,000 men from the Sefton area were killed.
Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps at Abbeville, February 1918.
Volunteers Wanted We have set a series of missions for you, soldier. Lets see if you have got what it takes! 1 Research a relative. With nearly 37 million
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people killed or injured during World War One, most families will have lost a friend, neighbour or relative during the conflict. You can start with just a name and place of birth by using the Ancestry website, which you can access free at any Sefton Library. If your ancestor was local then there may be information about them at Crosby Library.
8 Cook a trench meal. Try a taste of history
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and create a typical meal cooked in the trenches. See the section 'Food for thought' for a recipe and have a trench Tommy tea. Dig in!
9 Visit The Atkinson, Southport. The
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2 Visit your local library. Sefton Libraries
Atkinson Museum and Gallery has collections of objects, paintings, photographs and documents which bring to life the impact that the war had on local people and their communities.
3 Write a war diary. The National Archives
The Atkinson will be screening archive WW1 film footage and exhibiting objects from its museum collections between 6th September and 16th November 2014.
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will commemorate the centenary of World War One with a series of photographic exhibitions, during 2014 - 2018, come and have a look.
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now have the war diaries of the first three cavalry and the first seven infantry divisions of the British Army in the First World War. These are not personal diaries, but list troop movements and battles. Have a read, then write a diary yourself.
4 Write a poem. The War Poets captured the
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horror of the trenches in verse. Read a little Wilfred Owen or Sassoon and then write your own poem.
5 Write a letter. Soldiers and their families
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wrote avidly to each other during the war. Imagine you are writing to a loved one fighting abroad, or sending a reassuring letter home. An example can be found on the BBC website.
6 Create a cartoon. Many soldiers turned to
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art as a way to escape from the drudgery of life in the trenches, and to pass the time while they recovered from injuries. Many of the cartoons they drew poked fun at military life or senior officers.
7 Create a World War One map of
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your local area. The map could contain the location of your local War Memorial, any local army camps, war related factories or the addresses of local War heroes.
From July 2014 through to 2018, The Atkinson will also be programming theatre performances, concerts and film screenings which commemorate and explore personal stories and themes relating to the war and its legacy.
Useful websites:
Facebook - seftonlibraries Twitter - seftonlibraries www.ancestry.co.uk - free access is available at any Sefton Library. www.sefton.gov.uk/libraries www.nationalarchives.gov.uk Imperial War Museum - www.iwm.org.uk www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/
Further info is available from:
• Liverpool Museum - Archive for the King’s (Liverpool) Regiment • Imperial War Museum North, Salford • The Akinson Museum, Southport
War Memorials.
More information about the names honoured on individual memorials is available at Sefton’s Information Unit at Crosby Library or online at: www.merseysiderollofhonour.co.uk/memorials/memorials.htm
Written by: Dave Ewing Lesley Davies Editors: Laura Barker Andrew Farthing John McCabe We would like to acknowledge the following people for their help on this project: Local Historians: Dr John Rowlands Marie McQuade Bruce Hubbard The photograph of Captain Harold Ackroyd is reproduced by kind permission of This England Magazine. sefton.gov.uk/libraries
ISBN 978-1-874516-20-0