Harry Frederick Poulson

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Bradmore, caricature, drawing, George Street, Harry Poulson, Lower Villiers Street, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, sketching, Somerset, South Staffordshire Regiment, South Wales Borderers, Star Street, Unilever

“Some of the Remains of a Once Beautiful Belgian Village”

These sketches were printed in the Express & Star on 14 May 1915. They are the work of Private H. F. Poulson, of D Company, 1/6th South Staffordshire Regiment, a son of Mr and Mrs Harry Poulson of George Street, Wolverhampton. He had been a compositor before the war, and was always “dextrous with his pencil”. Apparently he was “popular among his comrades, who often persuade him to caricature certain individuals in the regiment.” As a battalion scout, Private Poulson had climbed onto the roof of one of the dilapidated cottages with his captain to sketch the German trenches and positions. His drawings were produced while the 1/6th South Staffords were in the front line near Wulverghem, holding positions that crossed the Wulverghem-Messines Road.

“Remains of a Pretty Little Church near our Trenches (Note how the clock remained)”

Harry was born in Wolverhampton on 15 October 1893, the son of Harry and Elizabeth Poulson. In 1901 they were living at Lower Villiers Street. By 1911 they were living at 39 Star Street, Bradmore, Wolverhampton, together with Harry’s siblings Constance Maude, Emma Elizabeth, Bertha Mary, Frank and Albert Clarborough. Harry was listed as an apprentice compositor for a printer.

He enlisted in the South Staffordshire Regiment (number 3030 and later 240608), first entering the war on 5 Mar 1915. On 15 January 1917 he became a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and later a Lieutenant in the South Wales Borderers. Harry survived the war.

He married Helena Margaret Daniels on 19 Dec 1919 in Wolverhampton, and the couple had three children – Richard Harcourt (1921), Frederick Rofer (1922) and Audrey Margaret (1927). After the war, Harry joined Lever Bros, working at Port Sunlight. He became a Director of Unilever in 1937, and retired in 1958. He died on 2 Mar 1986 at Taunton, Somerset.

Many thanks to Harry’s granddaughter who provided some of the information for this blog post.

 

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John William Alfred Bywater

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Aston, Bayliss Jones & Bayliss, Belgium, Chester Street, Eagle Street, Express & Star, John Bywater, Monmoor and Victoria Works, South Africa, South Staffordshire Regiment

John was born in Wolverhampton in 1883, the son of William Gaunt and Mary A. Bywater. His father, William, died in 1888, and his mother remarried a Frederick Alfred Jackson in 1895. By 1901, John was living with his mother and step-father at 42 Chester Street, Wolverhampton, along with his siblings Amelia, Mary A., and Phoebe, and niece Eveline May. John married Annie Britton Godfrey in 1906 in Aston. In 1911, they were living at 2 court, Eagle Street, Wolverhampton, together with two children, John and Rose. Apparently they eventually had five children, but I have not been able to confirm details of the other three. John was a labourer for a nut and bolt manufacturer. He later worked for Bayliss, Jones and Bayliss

John served in the South African War. When the First World War broke out, he was called up to the 2nd Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment (number 6744), disembarking on 12 August 1914. On 30 January 1915, he was reported missing and an article about him appeared in the Express & Star on 20 January 1916 (it is this article which claims he had five children). This stated that the Army Council had communicated to his wife, concluding that his death took place on 27 October 1914. It was later confirmed that he had been killed in action on that date. He is commemorated at the Oosttaverne Wood Cemetery in Belgium, as well as on the Monmoor and Victoria Works Memorial.

 

William Bertram Northall

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Blakenhall, Charles Northall, Dudley, Dudley Road, France, Midland Counties Express, Percy Waddams, Silver War Badge, South Staffordshire Regiment, Tramways, William Northall, Wolverhampton Council

William was born in Dudley on 19 November 1892, the son of Francis B. and Emma Northall. In 1901 they were living at 8 Brooke Street, Dudley, but by 1911 he was living with his grandmother, Naomi Hemmings, mother, aunt Mary Jane Lowe and siblings Emma Naomi and Charles Stewart at “Adelaide Villa”, 273 Dudley Road, Wolverhampton. William was working as a clerk in the Wolverhampton Tramways Office.

William enlisted in the 6th Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment (number 3463 and later 240830) on 20 October 1914. He served in France from 5 March 1915  until 13 October 1915, when he received gun shot wounds in his right foot and his left leg. He was discharged on 28 November 1919 due to sickness, and was issued with a Silver War Badge (number B237366) on 14 January 1920. He died in 1976 in Wolverhampton at the age of 84.

William and his brother, Charles, were mentioned in the Midland Counties Express on 30 October 1915. The photograph shows the two brothers (right and centre) along with Percy Waddams.  All three men were from Blakenhall and worked for Wolverhampton Council. The article confirmed that William had been wounded in the right foot and left thigh and was in hospital in Manchester.

Ernest Hodson

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Bescot, Bushbury, Concrete Terrace, Ernest Hodson, Fordhouses, France, Hussars, London and North Western Railway, Silver War Badge, Stafford Road

Ernest was the son of William and Frances Hodson. His birth was registered in Wolverhampton in September 1892. In 1901 and in 1911 they were living at Fordhouses, Bushbury, together with Ernest’s brother Herbert and sisters Beatrice, May, Ada, Mary Ann and Dasey [sic]. By 1911 Ernest was an engine cleaner for the London and North Western Railway. His railway employment record gives his date of birth as 10 May 1891. He was engaged on 18 January 1911 at Bushbury station as a cleaner, and was transferred to Bescot station on 28 October 1912.

Ernest enlisted with the 15th Husssars (number 11299), serving in France from 23 November 1914. His address on his Medal Rolls Index Card was given as 61 Concrete Terrace, Stafford Road, Wolverhampton. He was wounded and discharged from the Southern Cavalry Depot on 8 June 1916, and awarded the Silver War Badge (number 127651). On 30 April 1917 he was reengaged as a cleaner by the London and North Western Railway at Bushbury, but resigned spontaneously on 5 October later that year. I have not been able to confirm whether or not he got married, but he died at the age of 76 in Wolverhampton in 1968.

James William Flavell

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Balkans, Bilston, James Flavell, London Gazette, Military Medal, Millfields Road, South Staffordshire Regiment, Wolverhampton Street

James was born in Bilston in 1888, the son of Joseph and Eliza Selina Ann Flavell or Flavill. In 1901 they were living at 41 Wolverhampton Street, Bilston, together with James’s siblings Arthur, Joseph Israel, Benjamin, Thomas Henry and Nellie. His father, Joseph, died in 1908. By 1911 they were at 7 Millfields Road, Bilston. James had become a horse driver for a hauling company. He married Gertrude Cox in Wolverhampton in 1917, but they do not appear to have had any children.

James enlisted in the 1st/5th Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment (number 10020). He first served in the Balkans from 21 July 1915, and was awarded the Military Medal, as announced in the London Gazette on 4 February 1918. However, he was killed in action on 12 October 1918. He is commemorated at the Busigny Communal Cemetery Extension, as well as being listed on the Bilston Town High Town Ward Roll of Honour.

Who is Lillie Dicks?

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Albert Dicks, Finchfield, Gordon Street, Labour Corps, Lillie Dicks, Queen Street Congregational Church, Royal Field Artillery, Steelhouse Lane, Thomas Dicks

The Queen Street Congregational Church War Memorial (whose inscription reads “To our glorious dead 1914 – 1918”) includes the rather intriguing name of “Lillie Dicks”. I was not able to find anyone in the whole country born by that name who would be of a suitable age. Narrowing it down, and assuming this is a nickname of a man born in Wolverhampton, we have the following possible candidates:

• Albert Ernest Dicks, born 1875, but died in 1891
• Thomas Frank Dicks (also known as Frank Thomas), born 1883
• Frederick William Dicks, born 1894, but died in 1896
• Albert Edward Dicks, born 1897
• Fred Dicks, born 1900, but died in 1901

Leaving aside the three who died before the First World War, I have not been able to find any information about the military service of Frank Thomas/Thomas Frank. He was the son of Alfred and Hannah Eliza Dicks, and had a sister, Ellen Gertrude Lilly, so it is possible that he picked up this nickname from his sister. They were living in Finchfield, Wolverhampton, in 1911, and Thomas was a travelling draper. He died in 1928, and without a coroners inquest we cannot find out the cause of his death. However, as the memorial was presumably erected before this date it is unlikely to be him.

Albert Edward Dicks does appear on the official Wolverhampton Roll of Remembrance. He was the son of Joshua Frederick and Esther Elizabeth Dicks, living at 21 Gordon Street, Steelhouse Lane, Wolverhampton in 1911 (when Albert was a heel trimmer at a boot factory). He became a Battery Quartermaster Sergeant in the 285th Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery (number 676808) before being transferred to the 42nd Prisoner of Way Company in the Labour Corps (number 605883). He died on 20 February 1919, and is buried at the Ste. Marie Cemetery, Le Havre.

He seems the most likely candidate, but if anybody has any further information to corroborate this, please let us know!

Frederick Cheese

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Ashland Street, Frederick Cheese, Great Brickkiln Street, Royal Engineers, South Wales Borderers, St John's Church

Frederick was born in Wolverhampton in 1890, the son of John James and Elizabeth Cheese. In 1901 they were at 25 Ashland Street, and in 1911 at 205 Great Brickkiln Street, Wolverhampton, together with Frederick’s sister Nellie and brother Ernest. Frederick was a bricklayer. In 1914, Frederick married Nellie Weaver, and the couple had a son, Frederick N., in 1916. Unfortunately, Nellie died in the same quarter, March 1916, so it is possible she died in childbirth.

Frederick enlisted with the Royal Engineers (number 187793) and then with the 11th Battalion of the South Wales Borders (number 44380), rising to the rank of Lance Corporal. He was killed in action on 31 Jul 1917, and is commemorated at the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial. He is presumably the “F. Cheese” listed on the St John’s Church War Memorial.

Edward James Hugh Meynell

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Edward Meynell, Meynell & Sons Ltd, Penn Fields, South Staffordshire Regiment, St Mary & St John's Church

Edward was born in Wolverhampton in 1896, the eldest son of Herbert and Agnes Meynell. In 1901 he was living with his parents at 1 Oak Crescent, along with siblings Madeline, Margaret, Cuthbert, and Laurence. They later lived at Eagle House, Penn Fields, Wolverhampton. The family were in charge of Meynell & Sons Ltd.

Edward became a Captain in the 5th Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment. He was awarded the Military Cross for leading his Company in a brave action. Unfortunately the same action, on 4 October 1918, also resulted in his death. He is commemorated at Tincourt New British Cemetery and there is a plaque in his honour at St Mary and St John’s Church in Snow Hill. Further details about the family Business, including a photograph of Edward, can be found here.

Thomas Cyril Morrell

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Bilston, East Yorkshire Regiment, Thomas Morrell, Wellington Road

Thomas was born in Wolverhampton in 1894, the son of Theophilus and Sarah Ellen Morrell. In 1911 they were living at 20 Stowheath Lane, Priestfield, Bilston, together with Thomas’s siblings Lilian May, Theophilus, Leslie Charles and Kathleen Nellie. Thomas had become a plumber. Later, they lived at “Avondale”, 110 Wellington Road, Bilston.

Thomas enlisted with the 10th Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment (number 25394) but died of wounds received on 12 March 1917. He is buried at Sucrerie Military Cemetery in Colincamps. More locally, he is commemorated on the Bilston Town Hall Ward Roll of honour, as well as on the memorial at Salem Baptist Church.

Thomas Coombs

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Bilston Wales, Dudley Street, France, Monmouthshire Regiment, Thomas Coombs

Thomas was born in Wolverhampton in 1892, the son of Thomas and Eliza Annie Coombs. In 1901, they were living at the back of 9 Dudley Street, Bilston, along with Thomas’s siblings Martha, Ada Florence, Amy, William Harold, Ernest and Wilfred Cross. By 1911, the family had moved to Newport, Wales, and had an additional child, Alice Maud. Thomas was working as an iron worker breaker down at a sheet iron mills.

Thomas enlisted with the 1st Battalion of the Monmouthshire Regiment (service number 2756), and became a Lance Corporal. He was killed in action on 13 October 1915 on the Hohenzollern Redoubt. He is remembered on the Loos Memorial.