Sunday 5th September 1915

Nort-Leulinghem

The rain of the previous few days continued.

Orders were received for 69^th Brigade to march next day, via Tilques and Arques, to new billets in the vicinity of Wallon Cappel. Orders were duly communicated to 10DWR to be ready to move early next morning.

Pte. Albert Nixon (see 5^th August) was reported by Cpl. William Henry Sheehan (see below) as having been ‘late with pack mules on CO’s parade’; on the orders of Capt. Herbert Montagu Soames Carpenter (see 27^th August 1915) he would be confined to barracks for three days.

William Henry Sheehan was 19 years old; he was from Halifax. His father, Charles Henry Sheehan, had served 19 years as a regular soldier with the West Ridings.

Pte. Joseph Simpson was admonished for ‘throwing a stick to knock down fruit’; his offence had been witnessed by Capt. Bathurst (see 29^th August) and L.Cpl. Wright Firth (see 1st March).

Joseph Simpson had enlisted along with a number of others on 20^th September 1914 in Ilkley and had been among the recruits added to Tunstill’s original contingent. He was 19 years-old when he signed up and had been working as a farm labourer for John Garth, who farmed at Yates House, Thornthwaite, Dacre, not far from where he had been born and brought up. His father, also Joseph, had lived for many years at Redlish House, Thornthwaite, where he and his wife, Hannah, had brought up their five children.

Sgt. William Edward Gibson (see 26^th August) was discharged from 2^nd General Hospital at Le Havre following treatment for an abscess to his back; he was posted to one of the convalescent depots (details unknown), from where he would re-join the Battalion.

Pte. Frank Swindlehurst was admitted to 4^th Stationery Hospital at Arques, suffering from scabies; he was 21 years old.

Several more of Tunstill’s Company completed their wills (see 26^th August); among them were Ptes. Charlie Branston (see 26^th August) and Harry Iredale.

William Henry Iredale, known as Harry, was born in late 1896. He was the only child of an unmarried mother, Emma Iredale, who was 26 years of age when her son was born. Harry was named after his grandfather, a retired policeman, with whom he and his mother were living, at 26 Water Street, Thornton-in-Craven, in 1901. Also living with them at the time were two lodgers, both of them schoolmistresses. By the time of the 1911 census Harry (aged 14) was working as a weaver, and still living with his mother and grandfather, though the family had by then moved to 10 Aspen Lane, Earby. Harry was working for Messrs. J.S. Watson and Sons.

In September 1914, although aged only 17, Harry had enlisted in Keighley and was among the contingent posted to join ‘A’ Company.

Pte. Frank Hargrave (see 14^th August) returned to England, having been transferred to 3^rd (Reserve) Battalion DWR, based near North Shields. It may be that he was one of the men who had been admitted to hospital a few days earlier (see 1^st September), but this cannot be confirmed due to the partial nature of his surviving service record.

At home in Huddersfield 10 month-old Lettie Davis died from gastritis and convulsions; she was the daughter of Pte. Alfred John Davis. He had enlisted aged 29 while working as a firer at an iron works in Huddersfield, though he was originally from Walsall. He and his wife had had five children, two of whom had already died in infancy.