Birmingham Places Archives - Page 5 of 12

Eric Birch: the first Castle Bromwich casualty of World War I

March 4, 2015 by William Dargue Leave a Comment

Over 16 million people died during the Great War. The first casualty from Castle Bromwich was Rifleman Eric Gordon Birch, a regular soldier aged 24, whose name is one of the 32 commemorated on the War Memorial on The Green.

Before he was born, Eric’s parents, Thomas and Clara had moved from Stechford to Castle Bromwich, both rural areas at that time. Thomas was a jeweller and was presumably doing very well as they moved to The Beeches, a large house on the Coleshill Road on the edge of Hodge Hill Common.

Eric Birch was born in 1889 and christened at Castle Bromwich church by Rev Richard Rigden.

The 1891 Census lists eight children in the family home aged between one and 18 years. Thomas was only two years old at the time and his name is not recorded in the census, he must have been away from home on the night the census was recorded.

Eric was only nine in 1898 when his mother, Clara died at the age of 46. His father remarried the following year, so Eric had a step-mother, Ampless Fox to care for him. The census of 1901 recorded Thomas’s job at that time as that of Foreign Stamp Importer.

Joins the King’s Royal Rifles

By 1911 Eric, now 21, had joined the army as a regular soldier and had been promoted to Lance Corporal with the 2nd Battalion, King’s Royal Rifles. He was stationed at Shorncliffe Camp in Kent which was soon to be used as a staging post for the British Expeditionary Force en route to France during the First World War.

The 2nd Battalion are known to have returned from India in 1910, so it is likely that Eric had served there. However, Eric’s service record has not survived; many were destroyed by bombing during World War 2. Brief information from his medal index card records that he entered the Theatre of War on 13 August 1914.

Britain had declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, Eric may have then been at Aldershot Garrison. One month later, Eric now aged 24 landed at Le Havre, a member of first British force en route for Belgium.

Halting the German Advance

Eric’s rifle corps took part in the battles of Mons and the Marne, part of a line holding back the initial German advance towards Paris. On 14 September at daybreak his battalion had orders to cross the Aisne river. The morning was wet and foggy and visibility was very poor.

The 2nd Battalion of the King’s Royal Rifles were part of the advance around the village of Cerny-en-Laonnois. The Germans had the geographical advantage and halted the British who were to lose 2000 men on that day, one of whom was Rifleman Birch. (Altogether it is thought that some 12,000 were killed during the Battle of the Aisne.)

The battle was inconclusive and, in order to keep their positions, the British dug trenches, the first of the war. And the Germans followed suit. It was the beginning of a type of warfare that would typify the Western Front of the First World War and would eventually stretch along the whole of the front line from the English Channel to the Swiss border.

La Ferte Sous Jouarre War Memorial — La Ferte-sous-Jouarre War Memorial

The dead were later buried in war graves; those who could not be unidentified had a gravestone marked with the words ‘Known Unto God’. The fatalities of this engagement are commemorated at the La Ferté-sous-Jouarre Memorial which shows the names of almost 4000 British soldiers who fell near here between August and October 1914.

In 1920 Lady Ida, the Countess of Bradford unveiled the War Memorial on Castle Bromwich Green, which also bears the name of Rifleman Eric Gordon Birch alongside that of her own son, Cmdr Richard Bridgeman.

Acknowledgements: This article has been developed from research by Terrie Knibb and the Castle Bromwich Youth & Community Partnership. For more information about the Castle Bromwich Graveyard Project go to http://castlebromwichgraveyard.co.uk/.

The photograph of Castle Bromwich War Memorial is By Carl Baker on Geograph and is reusable under a Creative Commons licence. The the image of La Ferté-sous-Jouarre Memorial is in the public domain.

Richard Bridgeman, a Hero of the Great War laid to rest in Africa

March 2, 2015 by William Dargue Leave a Comment

Richard Bridgeman was the fifth child of George Bridgeman, 4th Earl of Bradford and Lady Ida. He was born on 15 July 1879 and baptised at Castle Bromwich church – the family lived at Castle Bromwich Hall. Richard ‘s godfather was the former prime minister Benjamin Disraeli, a close friend of the family who had recently been ennobled by Queen Victoria as Lord Beaconsfield from whom Richard took his middle name.

In 1898 Richard Bridgeman joined the Royal Navy. He sailed as First Lieutenant on the Royal Yacht, RMS Medina on the voyage of King George V and Queen Mary to India in 1911-1912, and was promoted to Flag Commander when that ship was put back into public service. (Richard Bridgeman’s mother, Lady Ida was a close friend of Queen Mary.)

Awarded DSO

When the First World War began he served in Africa and was made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) by the King in 1915. His citation stated that he had ‘displayed great courage and coolness . . . though subjected to a heavy and accurate fire . . . worthy of the best traditions of the Royal Navy.’

He had been in command of two whaling ships with orders to board and destroy the SS Markgraf in Tanga Harbour, the military port of German East Africa, now mainland Tanzania. Due to heavy fire from German guns on land, Bridgeman was unable to carry out the task and the German ship was subsequently destroyed by HMS Severn which had been covering the raid.

Mentioned in Despatches

He also took part in the attack on the German cruiser SMS Königsberg in the Battle of the Rufiji Delta in German East Africa in 1915 and was mentioned in the despatches of the Vice Admiral of the Fleet.

In January 1917 Cmdr Bridgeman was undertaking reconnaissance flights as the observer around the Rufiji River delta in a seaplane operating from the depot ship HMS Hyacinth. Squadron Leader, Flight Lieutenant Edwin Moon was in the pilot’s seat. As they were making their way back to the ship, the seaplane’s engine failed and Moon was forced to land in a creek of the river. He was unable to get the engine started again and they decided to burn the plane.

Desperate Attempt To Evade Germans

The two men walked and waded and swam for three days making for the mouth of the river where the Hyacinth was moored. Finally they managed to make a raft from the resources of the jungle. Unfortunately the raft was swept out to sea and Bridgeman died of exposure. The raft then floated back to land where Moon was captured by German troops to spend the remainder of the War as a prisoner of war in Africa. He was awarded the DSO for ‘the greatest gallantry in attempting to save the life of his companion.’

Memorial Plaque — The Plaque in Christ Church Cathedral, Zanzibar

Richard Bridgeman’s body was recovered and later buried in the war cemetery in Dar-es-Salaam and, after the War, his family had a plaque put up in Christ Church Anglican Cathedral in Zanzibar.

In 1920 his mother, the Countess of Bradford unveiled the War Memorial on Castle Bromwich Green bearing the names of local men who had died fighting for their country in the Great War.

A Great War Memorial Plaque, Presented to — A Great War Memorial Plaque, presented to the the Bridgeman family in memory of their son

Her own son’s name is one of those carved on the Altar of Remembrance.

A Mysterious Death on the Railway

March 2, 2015 by William Dargue Leave a Comment

John Joseph Bateman's Grave in Castle Bromwich Churchyard — John Joseph Bateman’s Grave in Castle Bromwich Churchyard

John Joseph Bateman was the son of the noted Castle Bromwich architect John Jones Bateman. The Batemans were a wealthy family who lived in a very large house known as Hawkesford House on the Chester Road near Castle Bromwich Hall (A block of flats with the same name now stands on the site). The 1861 Census records him living there with his parents and five sisters; his one-year-old brother had died that same year and his youngest brother Charles Edward, who also became a noted architect, had not yet been born. The family lived very comfortably, having three servants and a governess living in.

John Joseph became a valuer and auctioneer working in Birmingham. On a personal level he was interested in religion and politics and was very active in the 1886 General Election campaign which resulted in a landslide victory for the Conservatives under William Gladstone and their allies, the Liberal Unionists led by Joseph Chamberlain.

Bateman suffered from depression after the election. It may be that he was a supporter of the Liberals which party suffered an acrimonious split over the Irish Question. His doctor recommended that he should go travelling to take his mind off home affairs and this he agreed to do.

Sketching Holiday

John Joseph hired one Charles Boston as a companion and attendant and set off on a sketching holiday. Like his younger architect brother, he was interested in the Middle Ages and wanted to visit historic sites and draw ancient ruins .In February 1886 the two of them went to Kenilworth presumably to make pictures of the castle there and then they made their way to Battle in Sussex, famous for the ruined abbey built on the site of the Battle of Hastings.

The pair stayed in lodgings on Whatlington Road at Battle for about a month and spent their days together sketching and their evenings discussing religion and politics over a glass of milk and soda, a popular drink at the time rather like a milkshake; Bateman was a teetotaller. The two got on well and Bateman seemed relaxed and cheerful

On 27 April 1886, the Tuesday after Easter, John Joseph and Charles went for a long walk in the afternoon. When they got back to their lodging, John complained of a severe headache and retired to his room. When he did not come down for the evening meal, Charles went up and found him missing. He immediately went in search of him and headed in the direction the two of them walked earlier in the day. Failing to find him, Charles Boston reported the matter to the stationmaster and to the police who came with him to help in the search. But to no avail.

A Body Is Found

However, at sunrise the next morning a body was discovered alongside the railway line by James Wilmhurst, a platelayer making his morning inspection of the track. A doctor was called and the stationmaster and the police were informed.

The deceased was identified as John Joseph Bateman.

The inquest was called that very Thursday and John Joseph’s younger brother Charles came down to Battle immediately. The hearing took place at the Railway Hotel at Battle with the Hastings coroner, Charles Sheppard presiding. .

Railwayman James Wilmhurst described how he had found the body lying face down, fully clothed but, strangely, not wearing boots. Odd too was the fact that the place where the deceased lay was not near any footpath, so John Joseph must have walked along the railway line for some distance.

The stationmaster, William Breach testified that, with the discovery of the body, he had gone to straight to Hastings to examine the locomotive that had last passed along the track. He found that the connection bar at the front of the engine bore traces of blood and hair.

The doctor who had been called to the scene described the position of the body. Footmarks between the rails, the position in which the body lay and the stance of the arms suggested that Bateman had been hit by the train while running down the track between the lines. The top of the deceased’s head had been sheered off by the impact and lay a metre away from the rest of his head, his brains spilt on the ground. He must have been killed in an instant.

The Inquest’s Verdict

Following a lengthy summing up by the Coroner, the jury returned a verdict of Accidental Death, the chairman declaring that in the opinion of all the jurors, no blame could be attached to Charles Boston.

John Joseph Bateman's Family Grave — John Joseph Bateman’s Family Grave

John Joseph Bateman’s body was brought back to Castle Bromwich where he was buried in the family grave near the cemetery gate. He was laid to rest beside a brother and sister and his mother who had died when he was just 14. His father, John Jones would live to the ripe old age of 85, dying in 1903 and his younger brother Charles died in 1947 in his 85th year.

Two Accidents At Castle Bromwich

February 25, 2015 by William Dargue Leave a Comment

The First World War saw the deaths of many young recruits who were training to be pilots at Castle Bromwich airfield. These were the very early days of aviation and knowledge and understanding of flight was in its infancy.

There was also a very great urgency to get pilots to the Front to fight the German invaders. Safety measures then were not what they are now. Indeed the engineers working on the planes and those training the new pilots had themselves little experience of aeroplanes and aviation.

2nd Lieutenant David Billings

Not all of the young pilots were British. They came to Castle Bromwich from the countries of the British Empire and some of them died and were buried here far from home.

2nd Lieutenant David Billings was of Canadian origin, although at the time of his training in England, his father was a church minister in Chicago, USA. Surprisingly, the squadron to which Billings was attached was the 71st, a unit that had been set up in 1916 as part of the Australian Flying Corps in Melbourne, Australia, after which it was stationed at Castle Bromwich.

In September the following year Lieutenant Billings fell to his death. Part of the training of the Royal Flying Corps was aerial acrobatics.

While his Avro training plane was upside down, Billings’ safety straps broke and he fell out of the plane and was killed outright when he hit the ground. His aircraft crashed into a wood near Water Orton.

David Kitto Billings was buried in Castle Bromwich graveyard and is commemorated in the Canadian Book of Remembrance in the Peace Tower in Ottawa.

When the War ended, sadly the deaths at Castle Bromwich airfield did not.

Edwin Hayne DSC

1919 Edwin Tufnell Hayne — Edwin Hayne DSC

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1895, Edwin Hayne joined the Royal Navy Air Service in 1916. He was posted to France in 1917 with the No.3 Naval Squadron and flew Sopwith Camels, a fighter plane noted for its manoeuvrability.

Hayne became his squadron’s top ace with a record of downing 15 German planes in the air between August 1917 and June 1918. On one of his first sorties in August 1917, he attacked a German airfield and put a whole flight of aircraft out of action with his machine gun.

In 30th November 1917 Hayne carried out 48 special missions. Flying at low altitude he inflicted heavy casualties on enemy troops and transport.

Edwin Hayne was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

After the end of the First World War, Hayne continued to fly with RAF.

1919 Edwin Hayne Bristol_F2 — Bristol F2

In April 1919 he took off from Castle Bromwich in a Bristol F2 with a passenger, Major Maurice Perrin, on board. When the aircraft’s engine stalled, he turned to come back in to land but the plane crashed killing Edwin Hayne on impact; the Major died later in hospital.

Edwin Tufnell Hayne is buried in a private grave in Castle Bromwich graveyard.

The inscription reads: Faced danger and passed from the sight of men by the path of duty and self sacrifice.

William Moorwood Staniford

February 25, 2015 by William Dargue Leave a Comment

William Moorwood Staniforth was born in Hackenthorpe near Sheffield in 1884. He had joined the army as a regular soldier before the outbreak of the First World War serving with the Queen’s Own Yorkshire Dragoons Yeomanry based in Sheffield. He rose to the rank of sergeant and was awarded the Long Service medal. When war broke out, he was sent with his regiment to France and Flanders on active service where he served until December 1915. In January 1916 William was enrolled with the Royal Flying Corps to be trained as a pilot with the 28th Reserve Squadron at Castle Bromwich. He was promoted to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.

Later that year William Staniforth was married. The details of the wedding were reported in the West Yorkshire Post on 1st July 1916. The previous Saturday William had married Gladys Burrows at St Mary’s, the parish church of Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire. The marriage was presided over by Rev A S Commeline, rector of Beaconsfield, coincidentally formerly of York.

It is likely that William had met Gladys while in Sheffield. Gladys was the second daughter of Mr and Mrs Sam Burrows, then living in Beaconsfield but formerly of Sheffield.

Short Lived Happiness

Gladys’s happiness was to be short-lived. The next year Gladys’s father died and was buried in Shepherd’s Lane Cemetery just along the road from the parish church where his daughter’s wedding had been celebrated.

And then in March, Gladys’s husband of only 9 months crashed his plane while training at Castle Bromwich aerodrome and was killed outright. He was 32 years old. William Staniforth was buried in Castle Bromwich graveyard with others who had shared the same sad fate.

William Staniforth Memorial Inscription — William Staniforth Memorial

A tablet was erected in William’s memory bearing the words: To the dear memory of Billie, killed while on flying duty in England, Gladys. Gladys also had her husband’s name inscribed on her father’s gravestone at Beaconsfield.

After the war ended Gladys remarried and was last heard with her husband in Southern Rhodesia at the site of a prospective gold mine.

« Previous Page
1
…
3
4
5
6
7
…
12
Next Page »