War Supplement 1

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Evening Post Special Supplement, Saturday, November 8, 2008

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Our tribute Two brave men among the to the local heroes

AS we approach the 90th anniversary of the Armistice, the Evening Post today remembers the fallen servicemen of the First World War listed on Preston’s Harris Museum Roll of Honour. Many of their poignant and forgotten stories on the frontline have been retold by reporter CHRIS VISSER, pictured, along with memories and photos. Lest we forget.

● Did your relatives fight in the Great War. Do you have a story to tell? ● E-mail Chris on chris.visser@ lep.co.uk ● Or write to Chris Visser, Newsroom, Lancashire Evening Post, Oliver’s Place, Fulwood, Preston, PR2 9ZA

O

N August 4, 1914, the British declared war on Germany after neutral Belgium was invaded. Staying true to a pact signed back in the 1830s protecting Belgian sovereignty, the British sent an expeditionary force of 100,000 men across the Channel to combat the Germans as they battered their way through to France. Miraculously, the British Expeditionary Force managed to hold off nine German battalions at the Battle of Mons on August 23 and 24. It was hailed as a “miracle” thanks to the “Angels of Mons”. But after the triumph, the British were forced to retreat as the Germans stormed forwards killing 50,000 British Expeditionary Force fighters. Among them were Prestonborn William Henry Richardson, of the 1st battalion of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, and Sgt Sam Newton, of the East Lancashire Regiment – both are listed on the Harris Museum Roll of Honour. Sgt Newton died on September 9 as the Allies pushed the Germans back over the Rivers Marne and Aisne. His grandson John Ianson, of Leyland Road, Penwortham, says: “I have been over to France to take photos of his grave – it was always some-

first to fall FRONTLINE: A contemporary picture of Sgt Sam Newton, killed in the early months of the war. Inset, the Menin Gate at Ypres, where Pte William Richardson’s name is inscribed thing my mum wanted to do. “I have put a wreath on there. We do remember him.”

Sgt Newton was a fully-fledged soldier before he signed up and is today buried in a small

cemetery at La Ferte-sousJouarre – 66km east of France. Also, on the frontline early on

School’s search for history boys HISTORIANS from the former Preston Grammar School are tracing old boys in a bid to build up a record of former pupils who went on to fight for our country in the First World War. Though every effort was made by the school to note the deaths at the time, recent research has disclosed that several names are absent from the war memorials, now resting in Preston Minster. The approach to the 90th anniversary of the Armistice has seen the expansion of the school’s archives via computerised data and internet search engines. However, the list of names that has been collated is

far from complete. Spokesman Alick Hadwen explained that all the sources available from school archives had been exhausted. “The 300 names already listed can now only be added to with information supplied by the present generations of families whose sons were educated at Preston Grammar School and who served in the Great War.” The association’s annual remembrance service is to be held tomorrow at 3pm at Preston Minster. The school’s former pupils and families are invited to attend the service. Visit pgsassociation.org.uk or telephone 01772 733544.

was Private Richardson, of Heysham Street, Preston, who fought in Belgium as part of the First Battle of Ypres. His great grandson Steve Wallace, of Fulwood, found key documents with his mother Kathleen Wallace which pinpoint what his great grandfather could have been doing on the day he died - November 4, 1914. He was 29-years-old. The battalion war diary for the day reads: “Heavy rifle and artillery fire about 10am and inflicted several casualties. I think this is the heaviest shrapnel and artillery fire we have as yet had to put up with since the commencement of war. “The bearing of the NCOs (non-commissioned officers) and men of the regiment was worthy of all praise. Total casualties of 250 men in the trenches was 15 killed and 35 wounded. “ Mr Wallace says: “I’m very proud of him and that he was one of the first to go over. “His role in the war helped shape the rest of it.” Private Richardson’s body was never found but his name features on the famous Menin Gate at Ypres, Belgium, which remembers 54,000 men whose graves are not known.

Father buried abroad

SEARCH: The former Preston Grammar School

FATHER-OF-ONE Edwin Stocks died in the conflict. The private served with the 9th battalion of the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry after leaving behind his son, also called Edwin, and wife Margaret, who lived on Avenham Road, Preston. He was killed near Ypres on October 3, 1917, aged 28. He is buried at the Hooge Crater Cemetery in Belgium.