Friday 16th November 1917

In billets at Sacca.

Maj. James Christopher Bull (see 1^st November) re-joined the Battalion having been in England since being wounded on 7^th June.

Maj. James Christopher Bull

Image by kind permission of the Trustees of the DWR Museum

Cpl. Harry Smith (12240) (see 16^th April 1917) was promoted Sergeant.

Pte. Harry Bailey (25248) (see 5^th July) was appointed Lance Corporal.

Pte. John Gayton (see 29^th October) was reported by Sgt. William Henry Mears (1^st April) as having “a dirty rifle on parade”; on the orders of Capt. John Edward Lennard Payne (see 15^th November) he would be confined to barracks for three days.

Pte. James Stott (see 11^th September) was reported by 2Lt. Edwin Everingham Ison (see 24^th October) and Sgts. William McGill (see below) and Willie Nichols (see 24^th August) as having been ‘out of bounds without a pass’; on the orders of Lt.Col. Francis Washington Lethbridge DSO (see 10^th November) he would undergo 28 days’ Field Punishment no.1.

L.Cpl. Edward Shaw Powell (see 15^th June) was placed in confinement to await trial on a charge of “disobeying a lawful command given by his superior officer” (the details of the offence are unknown).

L.Cpl. Fred Wilson Fawcett (see 9^th July) and Pte. John Thorp Newsome (see 24^th July) were admitted via 69^th Field Ambulance and 38^th Casualty Clearing Station to 11^th General Hospital in Genoa; both were suffering from boils.

L.Cpl. Louis Feather (see 20^th September) was also admitted via 69^th Field Ambulance and 38^th Casualty Clearing Station to 11^th General Hospital in Genoa; he was suffering from diarrohea.

Pte. Menhell Hudson (see 10^th September), who had been serving in France with 2/6^thDWR, was evacuated to England, suffering from rheumatic fever.

Ptes. Charles Oldham (see 28^th September), who was in England having been wounded on 20^th September, was discharged from hospital and posted to Northern Command Depot at Ripon.

2Lt. Fred Baume (see 3^rd September), currently on light duty with 3DWR at North Shields, appeared before a further Army Medical Board which declared him fit for general service and instructed him to re-join his unit.

The father of the late Capt. Leo Frederick Reincke (see 13^th November) replied, through his solicitors, Messrs. Goldberg, Barrett and Newall, to the recent letter from the War Office, regarding a claim for his son’s loss of kit in a fire in April,

“I beg to say that I have no evidence such as dated and receipted bills in support of the claim. I only heard from my son verbally that part of his kit was burnt when his Mess was destroyed by fire and that he made a claim for various kits destroyed by such fire … I do not know the amount he claimed but believe it to be between £20 and £30”.

The weekly edition of the Craven Herald reported news concerning a number of current and former members of 10DWR.

SETTLE - LANGCLIFFE SOLDIER’S DOUBLE HONOUR

Mr. John Hoyle, of West Side House, near Langcliffe, has received an official intimation that his son, Lance Corporal William (Billy) Hoyle (see 20^th September), has been awarded a bar to the Military Medal he has already won at the Front. The circumstances under which this second recognition of Lance Corporal Hoyle’s bravery is awarded are given as follows:

“On the day of the first attack this NCO, as company runner, displayed great daring during a heavy bombardment. When the enemy counter-attacked he organised a party and brought up ammunition at a very critical stage under heavy shell and machine gunfire. Throughout the engagement he showed great bravery and devotion to duty”.

Lance Corporal Hoyle is to be congratulated on his splendid example of British pluck.

LONGPRESTON

Corpl. Hitchin, M.M. (Cpl. John Henry Hitchin, see 24^th August), who was severely wounded last summer and has since been in a convalescent camp in Ireland, has had a short leave before returning to France.

 

Cpl. John Henry Hitchin

SETTLE - DEATH OF MR. JOSEPH BELL

A well-known and highly respected townsman passed away on Sunday morning, in the person of Mr. Joseph Bell, joiner and wheelwright, Chapel Hill. Sixty-nine years of age, the deceased had been ailing for twelve months, but he had only been confined to the house for the past six weeks. His father, who belonged to Long Preston, came to Settle in 1829, and founded the business to which deceased in due course succeeded and carried on with much success. The latter had also during the last forty years added to the business that of furniture broker, and he was a well-known figure at sales in this district. In the public and social life of Settle Mr. Bell also played a useful part for many years. He served on the Parish Council for a number of years, was an enthusiastic member of the old Volunteer Company, retiring with the rank of colour sergeant, and was also a keen supporter of the Settle Cricket Club, undertaking the duties of umpire for many years. In Friendly Society work also he was greatly interested, and was secretary of the Friendly United Order cf Mechanics for forty years, only retiring from this position a few months ago. He leaves a widow and five grown-up children. One of his sons, Private R. W. Bell (Pte. Robert William Bell, see 11^th November), West Riding Regiment, was killed on the Somme on October 4th, 1916, while another, Sapper J. Bell, is serving with the Royal Engineers. At the funeral, which took place at Settle Church on Tuesday afternoon, representatives were present from the Friendly United Order of Mechanics and several other of the organisations with which deceased had been associated. The service was conducted by Rev. R. Wilson.

EARBY FAMILIES BEREAVED - One Son Killed, Another Missing

News of the death of two more Earby soldiers came to hand last weekend. In the case of Private William John Williamson (see 1^st October), a stretcher-bearer in the Duke of Wellington's Regiment, who is officially reported killed in action on October 1st, the blow has fallen all the heavier by reason of the fact that his brother, Private Sydney Geo. Williamson, K.O.Y.L.I., was reported missing on April 9th, since when no tidings have been heard of him. They are the sons of Mrs. Williamson, widow, residing at 42, Skipton Road, Earby, who has another son fighting on the Western Front. The first mentioned was 29 years of age and single. Before joining the Army he was a warehouseman employed by the Earby Co-operative Society. A letter from one of his comrades, Pte. John William Atkinson, M.M., of Skipton (see 1^st October) dated October 3rd states that Pte. Williamson was rather badly wounded by a German shell while in a dugout. "He got a wound about the size of half-a-crown just over the heart, but we hope he is in good old England now making a speedy recovery. He was a stretcher-bearer along with me, and I am very sorry to lose such a good pal. He was a good willing worker whose one thought on the battlefield was to get his wounded comrades away to a place of safety. He had got over the push safe and sound, but his Company was called into the line again, so he had to go with them."

Following the above letter, Mrs. Williamson received no further news until the announcement of her son's death.

 

Pte. William John Williamson