Kingston upon Hull War Memorial 1914 - 1918
The story of Hull in World War 1
Over, 7,500 Hull men died in the First World War. Over 1,200 of these were sailors working with the fishing fleet, or serving with the Merchantile Marine, the Royal Navy and the Royal Navy Reserve. They carried out vital war work, bringing in supplies, transporting troops and minesweeping the seas
There were nearly another 1,500 men who were born in Hull, but who lived elsewhere. They died fighting for Australia, Canada, New Zealand and America. There are many others, who enlisted in Hull or who were associated with the City, but are not usually remembered on Hull war memorials. As Hull had four large hospitals and was the port of entry for repatriated prisoner of wars, servicemen from all over the world are buried in Hull. The Kingston Upon Hull Memorial aims to remember all those with a Hull connection who died in the First World War.
There are over a hundred families on the Hull Memorial that lost two or more of their family. Sometimes fathers, sons and brothers were lost on the same day. Some families lost three sons, other Hull families lost four sons, including all their children in the First World War. At least one in six Hull families lost a direct relative. Many others would lose close friends, work colleagues or others known to them. Each death was irreplaceable and an individual tragedy for someone.
Unfortunately, not all deaths were recorded in official casualty figures, particularly if soldiers died of sickness, accidents or were discharged home with wounds, of illness. By 1924 the Ministry of Pensions reported that there were 20,000 war wounded living in Hull. Although they survived the war, they are rarely recorded on war memorials. What follows here are snippets of some of those people who died, whose deaths were reported in the local newspapers.
Rifleman, George William Harbron, was killed in action on the 6th June 1916, aged 20. He had served in France for 12 months and just returned from home leave. Within 24 hours he was killed by a shell burst in the trench. He was a former employee of the British Oil Cake Mills in Wincolmlee … Read more
Private, Ernest Barrass, who before the war had run the ‘Coach & Horses’ pub in Myton gate, died of gas wounds in Warrington on the 5th September 1919. He is buried in Hedon Road Cemetery.
Pte, Charles Arthur Lockton, of the Northumberland Fusiliers, had been diagnosed as ‘mentally unfit’ on the 15th May 1917. He was finally discharged from the Army on the 24th April 1918. He died in an asylum, aged 38, on the 13th November 1918, two days after the war ended. His wife Clara, who lived at … Read more
Sydney Herbert Cook, from 4 Baker Street had survived the sinking of HMS Cook on 15th August 1918. He died of severe burns in Harwich Hospital on the 20th August 1918.
Pte, Arthur North, from Walker Street, died of Gas poisoning on the 26th June 1916. He had received these wounds three weeks earlier on the 4th June. He had joined the 10th Hull Pals and was 26 years old.
Pte, Charles Henry Wilson, who had been discharged from the East Yorkshire Regiment in 1916, died of heart failure at home on the 19th May 1915.
Private, John Henry Brown, EYR Depot, died of Tuberculosis at home aged 29. He was the Son of William & Mary Elizabeth Brown from Dansom Lane. His younger brother James had been killed in 1916. Pte, George William Robinson, Royal Engineers, from 60 Ella Street, died of gas poisoning on the 30th June 1918. Private, SidneyJack from 1 … Read more
L/Cpl, John Arthur Settrington, 31025, 1st East Yorkshire Regiment, killed on the Somme, 26th September 1916, aged 24. He enlisted in December 1915 and was the Manager of the Boulevard Picture Palace. He was the son of John & Emily Settrington who lived at 3 Laurel Villas, Regent Street, Hull. He is commemorated at St … Read more
Able Seaman, Frederick Wheal, was accidentally killed by a shell explosion in Church Street on the 1st June 1918. The shell had been wrapped up and used by his Daughter as a dolly.
Pte, George Frederick Williamson, of 31 St Andrews Street, had been one the first to join the 10th East Yorkshire Pals Battalion. He died of mushroom poisoning, while on leave on 26th November 1916. He was 21 years old and is buried in Hull Western Cemetery. He left his mother Emma who lived at 1 … Read more
Pte, Thomas Dalton, 1/4th EYR, died on the 6th May 1917, searching for his wounded brother Percy Dalton. It was later discovered that Percy had been captured, and had died a week earlier of wounds, after his left leg was amputated. Within a fortnight, Herbert and Mary Ann Dalton and lost both sons.
Pte, Walter Murray, had worked at Reckitt’s since 1900 before enlisting. He was killed when his rifle accidentally discharged and is buried at Ypres. He lived at 93 St Georges Road and was 37 years old.
Gunner, John Thomas Wigglesworth, enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery, in Easter 1915. He was gassed in France, on the 23rd May 1917, and never recovered. He died at home on the 7th December 1919, aged 23, and is buried at Hedon Road Cemetery. He was the son of Alfred Wigglesworth who lived at 18 … Read more
09/01/2015 by admin – Paul Bishop St Matthews Church, Boulevard, Hull. Built in 1870, with a landmark spire. The Church served the Community for over 150 years, before closing in 2014. St Matthew’s Church Memorial, is one of Hull’s most impressive War Memorials. The community paid for a magnificent West Window, and two marble tablets, which record … Read more
Private, William Lee, cut his throat in Billet, on Beverley Road, on the 19/10/15. He was a Hull man aged 36. He served as 23186, in 3rd Battalion of the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. His wife lived at 53 Luke Street, Liverpool. (Hull Daily Mail 20/10/15) Robert Hume, a discharged soldier from Hull, cut … Read more
William John Smart who died falling into the dry dock at Hull was listed as “drowned’ on the 12th November 1915. His body was not recovered from St George’s Dock, until six months later, on 30th May 1916
Arthur James Holmes died falling into the dry dock at Hull on 12th November 1915. Lieutenant, Edward Allen Kitching, Royal Field Artillery, 27th Bde., was injured when dismounting from his horse, he was thrown in front of a lorry. He died at Hull Royal Infirmary on the 8th September 1915, aged 27 years. 2nd L/t, … Read more
Pte, Thomas Adams, a printer, enlisted in the 10th Hull Pals. He died shortly after of a brain fever on the 18th September 1914. He was 30 years old, lived at 10 Greek Street and is buried in Hull Western Cemetery
Pte, George Wilson Beckett, 8th EYR, a former Reckitt’s Worker had tried to join the army on the 27th February 1911. He was rejected twice by the Military, but joined up under the Derby scheme. He was killed at Ypres on the 13th June 1916, aged 21. His parents Ann and John Beckett lived at … Read more
Harold Statham enlisted with his brother William in November 1914. His three brothers Robert, Edward and Leonard had already signed up. Harold was underage when he joined the East Yorkshire Regiment and he died in France on the 26th October 1915, aged 17 years old. His parents Thomas Statham and Jane Pinder lived at 4 … Read more
Herbert Twell had enlisted under age and died at Ypres on 15th February 1915, aged only 16 years old. His younger brother Jack Twell, joined the Durham Light Infantry and was to die of wounds in Hull in 1918, aged just 18. These teenage brothers were the sons of Jane and John Twell at 2 … Read more
Gunner, Arthur Bickers, Royal Garrison Artillery, was a former Blundell’s Paint worker who enlisted underage in 1914. He had been gassed in July 1917 and was killed on the 20th September 1918, just before the war ended. He was aged 21 years old and is commemorated at Thiepval memorial to the missing. His parents Francis … Read more
The last teenager to die was probably Private, Edward Goy, 2/4th York & Lancaster Regiment, who died at Rouen on the 10th November 1918, a day before the war officially ended. He was eighteen years old and lived at 30 Sandringham Street, Hull.
One of the first to die was Private, Andrew Ernest Elton, 10469, 3rd Coldstream Guards, killed on the Marne, on the 14th September 1914, aged 17 years old. He lived at 1 Normans Terrace, Campbell Street, Hull.
The City Treasurer, Thomas George Milner, from 283 Beverley Road, lost his son – Cpl., Thomas George Milner, RGA, died of wounds, at Calais, on the 26th September. 1918 aged 27 years.
The Lord Mayor of Hull Alderman Gaskell, lost his only son in the war. 2nd Lt/ Reginald Robinson Gaskell, Royal Flying Corps,died on the 15th December 1916, aged 27. He is buried in Hull Northern Cemetery.
John and Fanny Binnington, from 49 Newbridge Road lost their only child Arthur. He lies buried in Hedon Road Cemetery in Hull.
Mr and Mrs Arnold. from 14 Worship Street, lost their only son John, two days before the war ended. Private, Arthur Mowforth, 2nd East Yorkshires, died of wounds in Greece on 1st June 1917. He was the son of George & Ruth Mowforth at 40 Louis Street. He was 21 years old.
Mr Daniel and Mrs Sarah McDonald of 4 Mason Street, also lost two sons. Both, John and Joseph McDonald were aged 21 when they died. Their third son Daniel also committed suicide in 1917 aged 17. Robert and Elizabeth Wilson, lost their son Paul of heart failure, serving with the Canadian Engineers on 22/1/17. … Read more
Charlotte Pearson from Sidmouth Street was left with six children when her husband Edwin died in 1917 from wounds received six months earlier.
Ann Maria Paxton from Alexandra Street, was widowed with six children. Harriet Ann Foster from 67 Dorset Street, Hull, lost her husband Arthur on the 18/09/1918. Her two sons George and Arthur had been killed in April 1917.
Mary Eliza Pawlett from 1 Dee Street, Hessle Road was left with 4 children to support, when her husband was lost on the steam trawler ‘Quair’, sunk in 1916.
Mary Elizabeth Popplewell, from 143 Regent Street was widowed with six children when her husband Joseph was lost at sea on Christmas Eve 1914 .
Mrs Emma Morrison from 10 Breamar Terrace, Walcott Street, lost her nineteen year old son John at Arras in 1918. Her other son William who lived next door with his wife and four children was also killed.
The mother of John William Sawyer killed on the 20th October 1917 lived to be 101 years old, but never got over the loss of her son in the First World War.
Hull Newspapers report that Minnie Storr from 7 Wassand Street ‘died of shock’, on the 29th May 1917, aged 42 years old. She had never recovered from the loss of her son Pte. Arthur Storr, 13th EYR. who was killed on the Somme on the 13th November 1916, aged 21. His body was never found … Read more
Mrs Charlotte Fenn, who lived at 16 Springfield Villas, Stoneferry Road had already lost two sons in the war. Her husband George Edward Fenn died of wounds on the 20th January 1919. He was given a military funeral and buried at the Hedon Road Cemetery. She had also lost her younger brother Arthur Jarvis, on … Read more
Mrs Sarah Ann Cuthbertson, from 12 Richmond Terrace, Harrow Street, lost four of her seven sons in the war.
Laura Ann Davis married George Stephenson, in 1917. They livedat 5 Raikes Street. Pte, George Tom Stephenson, 1/4th EYR, was killed in France on the 27th May 918, aged 21.
Maud Arrand married Richard Newmarch, in June 1917 and lived at 27 Courtney Street. Pte, Richard Newmarch, 12th Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, was killed six months later on the 23rd October 1917, aged 27. George William Eddom, Skipper, of the Steam Trawler, ‘Windward Ho’ sank with his ship on the 9th May 1917. … Read more
Alice Maud Brown married on the 31st January 1916 at St Mathews Church, Anlaby Road. Her husband Pte, Stephen Johnson was killed on the 10th September 1916, serving with the East Yorkshires. His name is remembered by her on the memorial inside the church.
Fanny Weymss of 78 English Street, lost her husband and two sons within 18 months. Her son George was killed serving with the East Yorkshire Regiment on the 4th August 1916. Her second son Leonard Wemyss was killed with the Yorkshire Regiment on the 9th April 1917. To compound her misery, her husband William was … Read more
Charles Wakerley married in 1915. He was drowned on the 5th November 1915 when the steam Trawler ‘Jersey was lost at sea. He left his widow Ethel (Wharton) at 61 Haverlock Street, Hessle Road. His mother Mary Jane Wakerley also died in 1915. His brother Joseph Wakerley, was later lost with all hands, on 27th … Read more
Private, John Backmore, 13th EYR, from 28 Naburn Street, was killed on the 25th March 1918, aged 23. He was engaged to Annie Williamson at the time of his death.
Sgt, George Ernest Atkinson, 1st EYR, ‘B’ Company was engaged to be married when he was killed on the 25th April 1918. He was 41 years old and lived at 32 Colonial Street, Hull. Private, Sidney Marritt, from the Machine Gun Corps, was killed on 10th January 1917. He was 22 year old and … Read more
Arthur Colby, from 6 Wassand Street, was another early casualty in the War. He had been married only 4 months before he died of wounds at Bordeaux on 22nd October 1914. Ernest Sidney Waine, a ship’s carpenter for the Wilson Line, drowned in 1914. He had only been married for three months. Tom … Read more
Robert James Cressey, Skipper of the ‘Stirling’ sank with his steam ship on the 24th February 1915. His son George James Cressey, died on the Trawler ‘Hermia’ on the 1st August 1916. They were the Husband and son of Mary Cressey who lived at 11 Shaw Street, Holderness Road.
Second Officer, Alfred Buchacan Cheetham, sank with the Steam Ship ‘Prunelle’ on the 22nd August 1918. It was sunk on a voyage from London to Dundee carrying a cargo of Jute when it was torpedoed by the U-Boat 112, 2 miles South East of Blyth. He left a widow Eliza and daughter Carrie at number … Read more
THOMAS MOOR LEACH WAS BORN IN HULL ON 25/12/1867. SON OF WILLIAM ALLEN & ELIZA LEACH. HIS WIFE EMMALINE LEACH, LIVED AT 6 SARAH TERRACE, ROSAMOND STREET, HULL. A MERCHANT MARINE, FIREMAN. HE DIED OF DISEASE ON 15/04/1915, AGED 49 AND IS BURIED AT HULL’S HEDON ROAD CEMETERY. HIS SON, ALLAN LEACH, DIED AT SEA, ON … Read more
Charles Crosby Johnston, Snr, was lost at sea on the Steam ship ‘ Sappho’ on the 27th December 1915. His son also called Charles Crosby Johnston, died fighting with the Canadian Expeditionary Force at Ypres on 19th April 1916. They lived at 199 Hessle Road.
