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.
The conditions experienced by soldiers in the trenches of the Western front were unique. The use of mechanical warfare, with high explosive and rapidly firing heavy artillery. aimed at men, restricted in trenches with no route of escape, meant that conditions were more destructive and oppressive than had ever been previously experienced. High explosives, gas, … Read more
Hull City Police Force WW1 Memorial Plaque Name Rank Regiment Died Age Buried No: Address Mitchell, Ernest Frederick Pte Coldstream Guards, 3rd 15/09/1916 24 Thiepval, Somme, France 3 Wyndham Street, Hull Edlington, MM, John Holmes Pte Coldstream Guards, 1st 27/08/1918 24 Croisilles British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France 7 Park Terrace, Seaton Street, Hull Bird, William … Read more
“TO THE HONOUR AND GLORY OF GOD AND IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THE MEN FROM THIS PARISH WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918. THIS ORGAN AND OAK TABLET WITH NAMES INSCRIBED THEREON WERE GIVEN BY THE PEOPLE OF NEWLAND AND DEDICATED BY THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF YORK ON THE 11TH NOV 1920. JESUS SAID … Read more
St John The Baptist Church WW1 Memorial, Newington, Hull St John The Baptist Church, Newington, Hull. Unveiled on 11th August 1921, the white marble, WW1 Memorial, records 302 names, in five columns in alphabetical order. St John The Baptist Church, is a large red-brick, Victorian town church, built in 1878 in the Hessle Road area … Read more
30/05/2015 by admin These 27 Hull Teachers died in the 1914-18 War. Their names are recorded on a Memorial, Bronze Plaque, located at the Hull Guildhall. The following provides details of their full name, rank, serial number, regiment, date and place of death, their age and their last known address. Hull Teachers WW1 Memorial Plaque, Guildhall ALEXANDER, … Read more
This section is work in progress. The Hull Museum’s page notes that: “Hull also formed its own 32nd Divisional Ammunition Column, from members of the City Police Force and Tramways. This was commanded by Lt Col, James Walker. The original artillery of the 32nd Division moved to France to join the 31st Division on 8 December … Read more
Reckitt’s is a Hull based company, formed in 1842, internationally renowned for its health and cleaning products. By the time of the Great War it had already pioneered a number of scientific breakthroughs to create revolutionary cleaning products, such as Robins Starch (1899), the UK’s first liquid metal polish Brasso (1905), and the silver polish, … Read more
Here are 10 facts that tell the story of World War One at sea. Although primarily a land-war, there were significant skirmishes at sea. 1. The Battle of Heligoland Bight (August 1914) was the first naval battle of WW1 The British fleet ambushed and sunk three German light cruisers and one destroyer. 2. In 1914 SM U-9 (a German … Read more
‘HMT ARGYLL H923’ sunk 15th June 1915 On the 15th June 1915, the Hull vessel, was torpedoed by the submarine UC-11, off the Harwich coast. All seven Hull fishermen were lost: * ALDAN Albert (46), 4 St Andrews Street, Hull. Chief Engineer * BOWLES Fred (35), 6 Rugby Terace, Rugby Street, Hull. Deckhand * COWLAM Jack (29), 3 … Read more
During the First World War, Hull was a much smaller, more crowded city, than it is today. Most people lived in the City Centre or were crammed around the fish docks of Hessle Road and the warehouses of Wincolmlee. In 1914, Hull’s population was around 300,000 people, a much larger number than the 248,000 now. … Read more
New Laws – Restricting Public Rights to win the war. The Government introduced new laws to help pay for and win the war. This started with the ‘Defence of the Realm Act or (DORA) in 1914‘. Basic tax increased from 6% to 30% and the number of people in Britain who paid tax, tripled to … Read more
Hull Citizens celebrated the end on the war on the 11th November 1918. Bells pealed from the church towers; the shipyard closed down until Thursday; munitions works closed all day; and schools that were not already closed by the ‘Spanish Flu’ epidemic got a half day holiday. The streets were thronged with people all afternoon … Read more
On the 7th August,1915, the Yorkshire regiments landed at Sulva Bay to capture a number of commanding hills. Tekke Teppe Hill above was most prominent and its capture promised a break through to the stalemate at Gallipoli. THE GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN Background. The Gallipoli Peninsula runs in a south-westerly direction into the Aegean Sea between the Hellesport (now known as the Dardanelles) … Read more
OPPY WOOD, 3rd May 1917 – The Hull Pals Attack After the fall of Vimy Ridge, the Germans withdrew to the high ground of Oppy Wood, North East of Arras, The Capture of Oppy Wood was an engagement between May and June 1917. The Germans were in possession of a fortified wood, to the west of the village of … Read more
World War 1, lasted four years, three months and one week (1,564 days). About about 10 million military personnel and about 7 million civilians died in World War 1, with some 23 million wounded – an estimated casualty total of 40 million people. As calculating casualties is often complex and controversial, others estimate that the … Read more
‘SOUTHWARD HO’ was a 169 GRT steam trawler completed in 1899 by Doig & Broadley for S. T. While & Co. Ltd. and registered at Hull as H.456. She was reported missing on 27 May 1915 and is believed to have been lost approximately 88 nautical miles East by North of Spurn Head as a result … Read more
HMT ‘EMLEY 123’ sunk in the Firth of Forth, on 28th April 1918, with the loss of 8 crew. COLLEY, ROBERT , Trimmer (no. 7801TS), H.M. Trawler Emley, †28/04/1918, Memorial:Chatham Naval Memorial FITZPATRICK, GEORGE WILLIAM , Deck Hand (no. 9198DA), H.M. Trawler Emley, †28/04/1918, Memorial: Portsmouth Naval Memorial MACDONALD, JOHN (20), Leading Deck Hand (no. 14142DA), H.M. Trawler Emley, †28/04/1918, … Read more
HMT ‘COMMANDER FULLERTON’, was a destroyer, lost on 12th December 1917, trying to protect a convoy in the North Sea. She was sunk by SMS EMDEN and destroyers of the German Third Half-Flotilla on 12th December 1917. Destroyers PELLEW and PARTRIDGE, together with trawlers COMMANDER FULLERTON, LIVINGSTONE, LORD ALVERSTONE and TOKIO were escorting a Scandinavian convoy when attacked by the Germans. The … Read more
On the 15th June 1915, the Hull vessel, was torpedoed by the submarine UC-11, off the Harwich coast. All seven Hull fishermen were lost: * ALDAN Albert (46), 4 St Andrews Street, Hull. Chief Engineer * BOWLES Fred (35), 6 Rugby Terace, Rugby Street, Hull. Deckhand * COWLAM Jack (29), 3 Willows Grove, Somerset Street, Hull. Fireman * SOARDES … Read more
CREW LOST ON ‘CELIA (H989)’, in the North Sea, 8th January, 1915. Never seen again. HALDENBY, Thomas (43), 7 Claremont-Villas, Liverpool Street, Hull. Cook KINGDOM, Thomas (23) , 2 Clumber-Ave, Flinton Street, Hull. Deckhand LAVERACK, Daniel (18), 9 Florence-Terrace, Wassand Street, Hull. Fireman LONGTHORNE, Wilfred (27), 8 St. George-Avenue, Selby Street, Hull. Skipper MITCHELL, Alfred (20), Florence-Avenue, Westbourne Street, … Read more
CREW LOST ON ‘SEBASTIAN’, lost in the North Sea, 22nd May, 1915. Lost with all hands. AGNES, W. A (26), 12 Arthurs-Terrace, Walcott Street, Hull. Trimmer COWLING, Frederick (23), 13 Seaton-ter, Walcott st, Hull. 2nd/Engineer ELLIS, Herbert (26), 12 Fern-Grove, Eastbourne st, Hull. Cook FLEY, Albert (28), 11 Welton-ter, Wassand Street, Hull. Bosun GILLARD, Arthur (16), 34 Edinburgh … Read more
EARL (H436) was a Hull steam trawler, reported missing in the North Sea on 21/1/1916 BROWNHILL, A (51), 140 Regent Street, Hull. Cook BUCHAN, William (17), 30 Haddon Street, Hull. Trimmer COATES, William (20), 6 Empringham-Place, Daltry Street, Hull. 3rd/Hand COATES, William (59), 25 Buxton-ter, Daltry Street, Hull. Skipper JACKSON, Frederick (34), 236 Boulevard, Hull. 2nd/Hand … Read more
‘EROS’ was mined in the North Sea on the 8th June 1918. 7 lives, lost including Skipper. LOST CREW – HMT EROS AVERY, STEPHEN FREDERICK (32), Spare Hand, Steam Trawler Eros, †08/06/1918, Son of Robert Avery and the late Florence Avery; husband of Bertha Louisa Avery (nee Linkins), of 8, Princes Avenue, West Dock St., Hull. Born at … Read more
‘SOUTHWARD HO’ was a 169 GRT steam trawler completed in 1899 by Doig & Broadley for S. T. While & Co. Ltd. and registered at Hull as H.456. She was reported missing on 27 May 1915 and is believed to have been lost approximately 88 nautical miles East by North of Spurn Head as a result … Read more
CREW LOST ON ‘SHAKESPEARE (H994)’, sunk on 7th February 1917 by a U-boat gunfire. BRYON, Arnie, (-), 346 St. George’s Road, Hull. Skipper FARNSWORTH, James (28), 26 Brighton Sreet, Hull. 3rd/Hand HARRISON, James (40), 13 Flinton Street, Hull. Mate HUTCHINSON, John (30), Calthorpe-Gardens, Newington Street, Hull. Chief Engineer LAWRENCE, Charles (31), 8a Bedford-Place, Boston. 2nd/Engineer LEE, … Read more
‘INDUSTRIA‘, was built by Cook, Welton and Gemmell Ltd, Hull, 1887. It was sunk in the North Sea, on 21st March 1917, with the loss of nine lives. ACUM, John, (17), Trimmer, 18 Ireland terrace, Gillette Street, Hull BARKS, Thomas, (65), Cook, BURNETT, Walter, (53), Chief Engineer, 380 Boulevard, Hull CARNEY, Peter, (42), Deckhand, 22 Gillette … Read more
‘MALABAR’ was a steam trawler, completed in 1903 by Cook, Welton & Gemmell Ltd., for the Hull Steam Fishing & Ice Co. Ltd. and registered at Hull as H.754. She had left Hull on 20th December 1915 and was posted missing on 3rd January 1916 in severe weather. The cause of her loss is unknown.There were … Read more
These 27 Hull Teachers died in the 1914-18 War. Their names are recorded on a Memorial, Bronze Plaque, located at the Hull Guildhall. The following provides details of their full name, rank, serial number, regiment, date and place of death, their age and their last known address. ALEXANDER, James, Lance Bombardier, 151758, RFA, died 05/12/1918, … Read more
St Matthew’s Church Memorial, is one of Hull’s finest War Memorials. The community paid for a magnificent West Window, and two marble tablets, which record 139 men from St Matthew’s, who were killed in the 1914-1918 Great War. The West Window Memorial is a series of 46 beautiful, stained glass, windows, measuring approximately 6.5 m … Read more
PRIVATE, JOHN (JACKIE) SMITH, 10TH KOYLI. A PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLER AND PROLIFIC GOAL SCORER, FOR NINE CLUBS, BETWEEN 1903-1914. HE SIGNED FOR HULL CITY FOOTBALL CLUB, IN JUNE 1905, AS A TEENAGER. PLAYED AS RIGHT BACK AND CENTRE FORWARD AND SCORED 98 GOALS IN 156 APPEARANCES, FOR HULL CITY, BETWEEN 1905-1910. HE SCORED A CLUB … Read more
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Britain’s War Memorial. We tend to approach war memorials with pathos and a narrative about the futility of war, but the generation that built them were actually proud of them. People wanted to show the pride of sacrifice. They even experienced joy that their fathers, husbands and sons, had stepped up to the plate in the time … Read more
A wide variety of sources have been used to compile the information presented on this website. Not all material is original and due credit is given to all original sources. Where possible they are listed below: Wikipedia Imperial War Museum Bing images Hull Daily Mail BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww1 Wreck Site – http://wrecksite.eu/Wrecksite.aspx Ancestry.co.uk The Mann Index collections – … Read more
My name is Paul Bishop. I have lived and worked in Hull, for the last 35 years. My interest in the Hull Memorial started in the mid 1980’s, when I lived in Folkestone Street, off Sculcoates Lane, in Hull. While waiting outside a white, telephone box (this was before mobile phones!), I noticed the ‘Great … Read more
‘OTHELLO II’, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell, Ltd., Beverley in 1907 and operated at the time of her loss by Royal Navy, was a British navy trawler of 206 tons. On October 31st, 1915, ‘OTHELLO II’, was sunk by a mine from the German submarine UC-6 (Matthias Graf von Schmettow), off Leathercoat. 9 persons were lost. LOST CREW … Read more
The youngest to die in the war were often served in ship crews. For example, George Edward Johnson,George Edward Plewes and Vincent Michael Nolanwere all lost on different ships in 1917. Each was only 14 years old when they died. Over 1,200 Hull sailors died in the war. One of many sad stories to tell wasLeonard Barmby, from … Read more
Britain’s submarines had spectacular successes in the Baltic and Dardenelles. However, its’ most important role was to blockade Germany’s coastline, and protect Britain against invasion. Out of Britain’s 86 submarines at the start of the war, 76 were also used to protect British coastlines and shipping. They were also used to lay mines, observe enemy … Read more
Hull lost 68 fishing vessels in the First World War. Here are a few. On February 19th, 1917, the Hull fishing trawler, ‘HALCYON’ was torpedoed by the German submarine U-71 (Hugo Schmidt), off Butt of Lewis. The following 11 persons were lost. CREW FV HALCYON BLAND, J W , Skipper, Halcyon, †19/02/1917, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial DAVIDSON, D , … Read more
The steamer ‘ROMEO’, James Neale, master, left Scapa on 23 February 1918 bound for Liverpool. She was on Admiralty charter for carrying meat and provisions to the Fleet, but was returning to Liverpool in ballast after having called in at Stornoway, remaining there for six days. She was equipped with a twelve pound gun for defence … Read more
‘DIDO’ was a British Merchant steamer of 4,769grt. On the 26th February 1916 when on route from Hull for India, she hit a mine, when 4 miles NNE from Spurn Light Vessel, North Sea. 28 lives were lost, including Master. Owned by Wilson Line, Hull. While lying at anchor at 6.15 a.m. during gale … Read more
Nearly 250 Hull men died in the First World War serving with the Royal Navy. Eleven men sank with HMS Good Hope, on the 1st November 1914. Ten died when HMS ‘Bulwark’, mysteriously exploded in the River Medway, on the 26th November 1914. Fifty Eight Hull men died at the Battle of Jutland on the 31st May 1916, … Read more
Hull has historically been a recruiting ground for the Royal Marines, who are world famous for fighting ‘On Land and Sea’. Thirty Seven Royal Marines from Hull died in the First World war, and another thirty Hull men died serving with the Royal Navy Division. At the start of the war there were between 20-30,000 … Read more
The Merchant Navy descibes Britain’s commercial ships and crews. It has existed throughout British history, and expanded greatly with the growth of the British Empire, and the resulting increase in trade. At the start of the war Britain controlled over 40% of the world’s merchant shipping. This proved vital during the First World War, in … Read more
The Steamship ‘CALYPSO’ was a 2,876grt British Merchantship built in 1904 by Earle’s SB. & Eng. Co., Ltd., Hull and owned by T. Wilson, Sons & Co., Ltd., Hull . There was accommodation for 57-1st, 44-2nd and 863-3rd class passengers.Taken up by the Admiralty in November 1914, she was renamed HMS CALYX and armed with … Read more
The ‘ZARA’ was a 1,331-ton cargo-passenger ship that measured: 257.0 x 35.2. Wm. Hamilton & Co., Port Glasgow built and completed her as Yard No.130 in June 1897 for Bailey & Leetham, Ltd., Hull. In 1903 she was owned by T. Wilson, Sons & Co., Ltd., Hull. In 1917 the registered owner was Ellerman’s Wilson Line, Ltd., … Read more
The Trawler ‘EGRET‘ was Launched on 30/09/1898; It was originally a Hull registered trawler (H.21) and owned by Great Northern Steamship Fishing Co., Hull; Requisitioned by the Admiralty in 1918, the Vessel was torpedoed and sunk without warning, 2 miles E x N of Spurn Light vessel; 11 lives were lost including the Master. LOST … Read more
Hull provided experienced sailors and a large number of ships to the war effort. They served in all the World’s Seas. Hull ships Crew’s often contained many sailors from abroad, who lived either on board or around the docks of Hull. Some of these overseas seamen are remembered here:- Emanuel KARIOTHIS, from Crete, Greece, lost on … Read more
The following are examples of some Hull Seamen, not recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission:- Fireman, Joseph Smith, lost at sea, on the Steam Ship, ‘Hildago’ on the 28th August 1917, aged 27. Cook, George Nunn, lost on the ‘Montebello’ on 21st June 1918. He was a 32 year old fisherman. Son of Sarah Nunn, 95 … Read more
Another Hull FC Rugby player, Lieutenant, Jack Harrison, VC, MC, of the East Yorkshire Regiment, was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously, at Oppy Wood, on the 3rd May 1917. Jack Harrison was a record try scorer for Hull, scoring 52 tries in one season and 106 tries in 116 matches up to 1916. He was … Read more