Monday 22nd January 1917

Front line trenches in Sanctuary Wood (I.24.b.2½.8½ to I.24.b.8½.3½)

In the continuing freezing weather little work could be done, but conditions remained generally quiet.

Pte. George Wilson Thompson (see 8^th October 1916) died at no.17 Casualty Clearing Station and would be buried at the adjacent Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery. In the official records he is simply recorded as having ‘died’, rather than as ‘killed in action’ or ‘died of wounds’ as is usually noted; given this, and the fact that it was subsequently recorded that one man had been killed accidentally during January, it is possible that Pte. Thompson was this man.

Pte. Mark Henry Sutcliffe (see 31^st October 1916) was admitted via 69^th Field Ambulance to 23^rd Division Rest Station, suffering from an abscess to his left knee; he would be discharged to duty after seven days.

Pte. William Baxter (see 29^th May 1916), serving as a sanitary labourer with 8^th Division Permanent Base Company, was transferred to 17^th Prisoner of War Company.

Sgt. Robert William John Morris (see 18^th December 1916), serving with 3DWR at North Shields having been evacuated to England suffering from bronchitis, was reported as ‘absent off sick leave at tattoo’; he would not return until the following day and would also be charged with ‘breaking into his billet’. He would be severely reprimanded.

The London Gazette published confirmation of the award of the Military Medal to Sgt. Charles Edward Parker (see 17^th January) earned during the trench raid carried out in November 1916. The same edition also published notification of the award of the Military Medal to L.Cpl. Lawrence Tindill, serving with 1^st/5^th Yorkshires (see 11^th June 1916); the date and circumstances under which he had earned the award have not been established. He would later be commissioned and serve with 10DWR.  

Sgt. Charles Edward Parker MM (standing centre)

Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton

2Lt. John Selby Armstrong Smith (see 22^nd December 1916), who had left 10DWR a month earlier as ‘unfit’ returned to France but on his return was posted to 9DWR, joining them, along with six other officers, at La Neuville, south-east of Albert.

Pte. Harold Illingworth Cawthra embarked at Folkestone to sail overnight to Boulogne, as part of a draft of 29 men who would later be posted to 10DWR. He was 19 years old and had been called up under the Military Service Act in September 1916 since when he had been in training in England. He was the third of four children of Joseph and Sarah Cawthra of Bradford and had been working as a warehouseman for Mr. J. Townsley. On arrival in France, he, along with the rest of the draft, joined 34^th Infantry Base Depot at Etaples.

Sunday 21st January 1917

Front line trenches in Sanctuary Wood (I.24.b.2½.8½ to I.24.b.8½.3½)

The weather was cold and the ground so hard after a period of prolonged frosts, that little work could be done on improving the trenches, so work focussed on putting out extra wire defences.

Conditions were reported as generally quiet, with little shelling, although several men were wounded. Pte. John James Cowling (see 29th December 1916) suffered a severe wound to his left arm; he would be admitted via 70^th Field Ambulance to 3^rd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station. Pte. Willie Holmes (see 11^th January), who had only joined the Battalion ten days previously, suffered wounds to his left thigh; he would be evacuated via 70^th Field Ambulance and 17^th Casualty Clearing Station to 13^th General Hospital at Boulogne. Pte. Harold Wider (see 11^th January), who had joined in the same draft as Pte. Holmes, was wounded in the chest and head; he was treated locally in the first instance.

Cpl. Thomas Flaxington (see 4^th October 1916) was admitted to 4^th Stationary Hospital at Arques, suffering from scabies; he would be discharged and re-join the Battalion after four days.

Pte. Mark Beaumont (see 5^th January), who had suffered severe shrapnel wounds to his left thigh when the Battalion billets in Ypres were shelled, was evacuated back to England from the General Hospital in Rouen, where he had spent the previous two weeks. On arrival in England he was admitted to the Red Cross Hospital in Gloucester.

2Lt. Charles Archibald Milford (see 13^th January), who had spent just three weeks with the Battalion in October/November 1916, and had been recently released from hospital, was formally recorded as no longer serving with the Battalion.

Pte. Arthur Herbert Procter (see 20^th October 1916), who had been severely wounded at Le Sars, went home for ten days from hospital in Aberdeen to the family home in Eldroth. He was joined at home by his older brother Pte. Edward Alexander Procter who was on sick leave from France where he had been serving with 10^th West Yorks.

Saturday 20th January 1917

Billets in the Infantry Barracks in Ypres

The weather remained bitterly cold. The Battalion moved into front line trenches in Sanctuary Wood, relieving 11^th West Yorks, from I.24.b.2½.8½ to I.24.b.8½.3½. Two Companies were in the front line, with one Company in Wellington Crescent, one in Ritz Street and Battalion HQ at the Tuilleries.

Pte. Edwin Kenyon (see 27^th August) departed for England on ten days’ leave.

Pte. Ernest Morrison (see 5^th January), who had been wounded two weeks previously, was evacuated to England from 3^rd Canadian General Hospital at Boulogne, travelling onboard the Hospital Ship Jan Breydell. On arrival he would be admitted to 4^th Scottish General Hospital, Stobhill, Glasgow.

Cpl. George Wallace Fricker (see 16^th September 1916), serving with 3DWR at North Shields, was married to Alice Marion Robinson in Halifax. He would be posted back to France a week later.

A payment of £11 11s 8d was authorised, being the amount outstanding in pay and allowances to the late of Sgt. Wilfred Blackburn, (see 18^th August 1916). The payment would go to his next of kin, his married sister, Mrs. Jessie Kendall.

Sgt. Wilfred Blackburn

Friday 19th January 1917

Billets in the Infantry Barracks in Ypres

Another bitterly cold day. Training, and the provision of working parties, continued.

More men departed to England on ten days’ leave; among them were Sgt. William Edmondson Gaunt (see 6^th January); and Cpl. Frank Christelow, who had joined the Battalion in June 1916. He had attested under the Derby Scheme in November 1915, when he had been 21 years old and working as a wool salesman in Bradford. He had been called up on 20^th January 1916 and had been in training in England until departing for France on 17^th May, joining 10DWR three weeks later. He had been promoted Corporal on 24^th September and was a member of the Orderly Room staff.

Lt. John Edward Lennard Payne (see 1^st October 1916) was promoted (Temporary) Captain whilst commanding a Company, taking over from Lt. Henry Kelly VC who had returned to England having been taken ill (see 25^th December 1916).
 

Lt. Henry Kelly VC

Cpl. George Mitchell (see 6^th October) was promoted Sergeant.

Four new subalterns arrived in France en route to join the Battalion. 2Lt. George Patrick Doggett was 21 years old; he was the youngest of ten children of George and May Doggett of Cambridge. He had previously served in the Cambridgeshire Regiment, arriving in France in February 1915 and had been mentioned in despatches. He had risen to the rank of Corporal before being posted back to England to undertake his officer training. He had been granted his commission on 5^th August 1916. 2Lt. Arthur Neill was 23 years old (born 16^th February 1893 in Bradford). He was the son of a solicitor, Alexander Neill, who was originally from Scotland, but had lived in Yorkshire for some years. Arthur had been working as a journalist before the war and had been commissioned on 5^th September 1916. 2Lt. Charles George Edward White was just 19 years old; he was the fifth of nine children of Charles and Elizabeth White and had been born and brought up in Walthamstow, where his father worked as a ‘carman’. Charles himself had been working as an office boy but had enlisted, under-age, in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and had served in France from 17^th May 1915. He had been commissioned on 24^th October 1916. 2Lt. Stanley Reginald Wilson was 26 years old. He was the third, and youngest, child of Alfred and Lydia Wilson. His father was a commercial traveller from London and Stanley himself had worked as a clerk for a shipping company. He had been commissioned, like Arthur Neill, on 5^th September 1916.

 

2Lt. Stanley Reginald Wilson

Pte. Albert Edon (see 25^th November 1916) who had spent the previous two months in hospital (cause and details unknown) re-joined the Battalion.


Pte. John Onion (see 8^th January), who had been under treatment for ‘trench foot’ while serving in France with 2DWR, was posted from 34^th Infantry Base Depot at Etaples to re-join his Battalion.

Following two months’ treatment for sickness (details unknown) Cpl. Fred Hopkinson (see 20^th November 1916) was discharged from Keighley War Hospital; in the absence of a surviving service record it has not been possible to establish any details of his subsequent service beyond the fact that he would be transferred (date and details unknown) to the Army Ordnance Corps.

A payment of £10 13s 4d was authorised, being the amount outstanding in pay and allowances to the late Pte. George Edward Bush who had died of wounds following the action at Contalmaison (see 19^thJuly 1916). The payment would go this father, Thomas.

A payment of £1 11s. 10d. was authorised, being the amount outstanding in pay and allowances to the late Pte. William Henry Harris (see 6^th October 1916) who had been killed in October. The payment would go this father, Henry; he would also receive a parcel of his late son’s personal effects (details unknown).

Thursday 18th January 1917

Billets in the Infantry Barracks in Ypres

The very cold weather continued, with a hard frost. Training, and the provision of working parties, continued.

Capt. Adrian O’Donnell Pereira (see 8^th December 1916), currently on light duty with 3DWR at North Shields, and with a pending application for a permanent commission in the Indian Army, appeared before a Medical Board at Tynemouth. The Board found him fit for general service.

Capt. Adrian O'Donnell Pereira

Aidan Nicholson (see 6^th May 1916), who had previously been dismissed from his officer training course, as being “of insufficient physique”, wrote to the War Office asking that his case be reconsidered. He told them that, “Since being discharged I have endeavoured to improve my physique and my measurements are now – 5ft 4 ½ inches; 30 – 34 ½ inch chest. I should be grateful if you could do anything for me as regards resuming my course and should I not be sufficient for the Infantry I should be only too pleased to offer myself as an observer or otherwise for the Flying Corps. This I suggest on account of the training and theory I obtained, firstly during the twelve months OTC training and secondly in the Cadet Battalion where I was for two months”. He would later serve with 10DWR.

Aidan Nicholson

Image by kind permission of the Trustees of the DWR Museum

Wednesday 17th January 1917

Billets in the Infantry Barracks in Ypres

The men of the two recent drafts were given intensive arms drill whilst upwards of 160 men were employed each night in working parties for the front line. There was a considerable snowfall, of around three inches, during the day.

Pte. George Edward Milner (see 19^th December 1916) was amitted to hospital, suffering from influenza; he was transferred via 69^th Field Ambulance and 17^th Casualty Clearing Station to 12^th Stationery Hospital at Boulogne.

Pte. Ernest Pearson (see 6^th March 1916) was granted one months’ leave to England. His original three year engagement from the Army Reserve had now expired but, under the terms of the Military Service Act, he was deemed to have re-enlisted.

The Slaidburn Parish Magazine recorded the provision of various items of clothing for local men serving at the front. The list included: “Mrs. Tunstill (for the Settle Company): 6 shirts, 12 pairs of socks, 8 pairs of mittens”. There was also specific mention for the two remaining Slaidburn recruits from among the six who had originally joined Tunstill’s Company in September 1914; Sgt. Charles Edgar Parker MM (see 20^th November 1916) was still serving with the Company but Pte. George Whitfield (see 17^th October 1916) had been posted to 1^st/7^th Durham Light Infantry, having recovered from wounds suffered at Le Sars in October 1916. Both men (along with a number of other local soldiers) received parcels comprising of “1 sweater, 1 muffler, 3 pairs of socks, 1 pair of mittens”.

Sgt. Charles Edward Parker MM (standing centre)

Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton

2Lt. Sydney Charles Ernest Farrance (see 10^th January) reported for duty with 3DWR based at North Shields.

A payment of £2 1s. 8d. was authorised, being the amount outstanding in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Frank Horner (see 21^st August 1916), who had been killed in action in August 1916; the payment would go to his father, Robert.

Tuesday 16th January 1917

Winnipeg Camp

The weather was much colder and there was a light dusting of snow. The Battalion made its now familiar journey back to Ypres, marching to Vlamertinghe and by train at 6.10pm from there. Billets on this occasion were in the Infantry Barracks and the Battalion’s numbers were swelled by a further draft of 109 men from the Base. These men were part of a larger draft from England, others of whom were posted to different battalions of the Dukes, notably 9^th Battalion.

A number of the men from this draft have been identified. The majority of them had been called up in August and September 1916 and had trained with 3DWR before being posted to France in early January. Cpl. Albert George Ashton was a 31 year-old musician from Halifax; he had previously served 13 years as a regular soldier with 2^nd Battalion Royal Warwickshires. Pte. Nathaniel Bather was 32 years old and from Baildon; he was married, with one daughter. Pte. Stanley Barker was a 26 year-old mechanic from Bradford; he was married with one daughter. Pte. Herbert Bayfield, 33 years old, was originally from Stockton-on-Tees but had lived for many years in Bradford, where, in 1902, he had married Alice Bottomley. The couple had one son, Alfred, who was 13 years old. Prior to being called up to the Army, Herbert had worked as a grocers’ assistant. Pte. Joe Arthur Bentley was a 35 year-old married man with two children; he lived in Huddersfield, where he had worked as a boiler firer. Pte. Sidney Best was a 31 year-old labourer from Uppersmill; he was a married man but had no children. Pte. Christopher Smith Birch was a 30 year-old confectioner and baker from Huddersfield. Pte. Ambrose Birdsall was a 36 year-old publican from Otley; he was married with one son. Pte. John Blackburn was a 33 year-old winding machine fitter from Keighley; he was married with three children. Pte. Joseph Blackburn (29722) was a 39 year-old postman from Mold Green; he was married with one one daughter. Pte. Ronald Bray was a 19 year-old clerk from Huddersfield. Pte. Leonard Briggs was a 31 year-old mason from Bailiff Bridge, near Brighouse; he was a married man, but he and his wife, Rachel, had no children. Pte. Robinson Butterfield was a 34 year-old textile worker from Bradford; he was married with one daughter. Pte. Thomas Caton was a 23 year-old weaver from Barnoldswick. Pte. Thomas Charnley (in the absence of a surviving service record I am unable to make a positive identification of this man). Pte. Robert Cheshire was 39 years old; he was also from Bradford, was unmarried, and had worked as a postman. Pte. Harold Clarkson was 19 years old and from Ilkley where he worked as an apprentice motor mechanic. Pte. James Frederick Coldwell was a 23 year-old glazier from Meltham, near Huddersfield. Pte. George William Corby was a 22 year-old ‘cloth finisher’ from Holywell Green, near Halifax. Pte. Willie Cottrell was a 33 year-old woollen warper from Delph, near Oldham; he was married, with one daughter. Pte. Willie Cowgill was a 31 year-old cotton weaver from Kelbrook, near Colne; he was married with two children. Pte. Henry Downs was a 23 year-old railway carriage cleaner from Newcastle upon Tyne; he had had a temporary exemption from service due to his occupation, but this had expired and he had been called up in September 1916. Pte. Ernest William Evans was a 40 year-old commercial traveller from Bradford; he was a married man with five children and his wife, Agnes, was pregnant with their sixth child. Pte. Walter Evans was a 32 year-old dyers’ labourer from Bradford. Pte. Robert Fiedler was a 35 year-old warehouseman from Bradford; he was married with four children. Pte. John Foster was a 31 year-old wool warehouseman from Bradford; he was married but had no children. Pte. Willie Davenport Frame was a 33 year-old draper’s assistant from Huddersfield; he was married with four daughters and his wife was pregnant with their fifth child. Pte. John Straton Graham was a 40 year-old builder’s labourer from Bradford; he was married with four children. Pte. Arthur Greenbank; in the absence of a surviving service record I am unable to make a positive identification of this man. Pte. Arthur Greenwood was a 24 year-old silk dresser from Halifax. Pte. George Bernard Hardy was a 31 year-old married man from Bradford; he had been working as a tobacconists’ salesman before being called up. He had married Sarah Ann Garforth in 1911 but the couple had no children. Pte. Fred Hardwick was a 30 year-old brace stamper from Cleckheaton; he was married but had no children. Pte. Richard Harold Haresnape was a 34 year-old motor mechanic from Sedbergh. Pte. Fred Hargreaves (29267) was a 37 year-old stonemason from Sutton-in-Craven; he was married with two children. Pte. Joseph Harpin was a 19 year-old butcher from Newsome, near Huddersfield. Pte. Fred Heap was a 27 year-old master shoemaker from Halifax.  Pte. Arthur Heeley was 25 years old and one of 12 children of Elliott and Sarah Jane Heely of Thongsbridge, near Huddersfield. Before being called up to the Army Arthur had been working, along with most of his siblings, in the local woollen mills. His younger brother, Pte. Harold Heeley, had been killed in action in September 1916 while serving with10^th Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. Pte. Thomas Hemingway was a 24 year-old grocer from Liversedge. Pte. Smith Hesselden was a 29 year-old warehouseman from Bradford; he was married with three children. Pte. John Hirst was a 33 year-old married man from Barnoldswick. Pte. Herbert Hodgkins was a 20 year-old woolcomber from Bradford. Pte. Joseph Hirst (29641) was a 33 year-old fitter’s labourer from Milnsbridge; he was married with one daughter. Pte. James Edward Hollingworth was a 34 year-old bobbin turner from Meltham; he was married but had no children. Pte. Norman Holmes was a 26 year-old carter from Hepworth near Huddersfield; he was a married man but had no children. Pte. Walter Horne was a 21 year-old cotton weaver from Sowerby Bridge. Pte. Menhell Hudson was a 33 year-old gardener from Thackley, Bradford. Pte. George William Jameson was a 33 year-old joiner from Huddersfield; he was married but had no children. Pte. Henry Jarratt was a 37 year-old window cleaner from Huddersfield; he was a married man with one stepson. Pte. Matthew Henry Jubb was a 29 year-old textile worker from Huddersfield; he was married but had no children. He had been reported absent without leave for three days off his final pass before embarking for France and had been confined to barracks for three days. Pte. William Kay was a 30 year-old quarryman from Idle, Bradford. Pte. Joe Kaye was a 30 year-old accountant’s clerk from Huddersfield. Pte. Fred Kershaw was a 19 year-old machine boot finisher from Huddersfield. Pte. Willie Lee was a 29 year-old textile worker from Guiseley; he was married, with two children. Pte. Arthur Leeming was 33 years old and had been working as a labourer in Huddersfield. He had married Elizabeth Ann Lindley in 1909 and she was now pregnant with their first child. Arthur had been confined to barracks for three days in November 1916 having been smoking on parade. Pte. Arthur Lund was a clerk for a textile merchants; he was 19 years old and from Bradford. Pte. Charles Edward Lund was a 20 year-old clerk from Bradford. Pte. Lewis Lunn was a 32 year-old weaver from Marsden, near Huddersfield; he was a married man with one son, Stanley, aged nine months. Pte. Clifford Mackrell was 18 years old and had worked as a ‘motor body builder’ in Halifax. Pte. Walter Mallory was a 19 year-old butcher and farmer from Kirkburton, near Huddersfield. Pte. James Arthur Markinson was a 19 year-old labourer from Leeds. Pte. John Thomas Mason was a 19 year-old iron turner from Huddersfield.  Pte. Joseph McDermott was a 34 year-old bricklayer from Bradford; he was a married man with four children. Pte. Frederick McKell was a 25 year-old assistant chemist (working for Taylor’s Drug Stores) from Undercliffe, Bradford. Pte. Richard Metcalfe was a 29 year-old bobbin turner from Bradford. Pte. Basil Middleton was a 34 year-old gardener from Yeadon; he was married but had no children. Pte. Albert Moore was a 32 year-old grocer from Bradford. Pte. Norman Moorhouse was 25 years old and had been working as a manager for a cardboard box manufacturer in Meltham, near Huddersfield. Pte. Fred Morrell was a 33 year-old labourer from Idle; he was a married man with one son and his wife was pregnant with their second child. Pte. Ernest Needham was a 31 year-old weaver from Halifax. Pte. Richard Nelson was a 20 year-old paper maker from Otley. Pte. John Thorp Newsome was a 28 year-old piano and organ tuner from Huddersfield; he was married but had no children.  Pte. Herbert Newton was a 24 year-old iron planer from Otley. Pte. John William Oates was a 35 year-old tailor from Bradford; he was married, with two children. Pte. Charles Oldham was 33 years old and from Meltham, where he had worked as a ‘bobbin turner’; he was married but had no children. Pte. Richard Palliser was a 33 hyear-old woollen weaver from Huddersfield; he was married, with three children. Pte. James Frederick Palmer was a 20 year-old woollen blender from Mirfield. Pte. Harold Pape was 19 years old and from Bradford, where he had worked as a bookbinder’s apprentice. Pte. Reginald Parish was a 19 year-old warehouseman from Halifax. Pte. Walter Pedley, from Saltaire, was a 33 year-old married man with a two year-old daughter. He had been reported absent without leave from his final pass before being posted to France and had been apprehended by the Military Police and returned to barracks at Tynemouth. Pte. Luther Pickles was a 28 year-old gardener’s labourer from Bradford; he was married, with two children. Pte. Edward Shaw Powell was a 33 year-old upholsterer from Bradford; he was a married man but had no children. Pte. John Myles Raw was 30 years old and from Dent, near Sedbergh. Pte. Martin Reddington was a 27 year-old yarn warehouseman from Huddersfield; he was married but had no children. Pte. Oliver Rhodes was a 33 year-old fireman from Greenfield, near Oldham; he was married but had no children. Pte. Charles Frederick Riddial was a 23 year-old textile worker from Huddersfield. Pte. Harry Robinson was a 29 year-old warehouseman from Little Horton, near Bradford. He was married and had one son, Leonard, who had been born in May 1914. Pte. Francis Seed was a 38 year-old labourer from Dunsop Bridge, near Clitheroe; he was a married man and his wife had given birth to their second child in October 1915. Pte. Samuel Sharp was from Wibsey, Bradford. He was 31 years old and married to Alice (nee Willman); the couple had a six year-old son, Jack. Sam had been working as a wool sorter before for Messrs. F. Ripley & Co., Thornbury, and was a well-known rugby player, having played for both Buttershaw and Stanningley. Pte. Alfred Shaw was a 36 year-old print works labourer from Oldham; he was married but had no children. Pte. Fred Slater was 27 years old and had previously served three years in the territorials. He had been working as a stoker in the electricity works in Keighley. In October 1915, whilst in training, he had married Elizabeth Butterfield. He had attested under the Derby Scheme in December 1915 and had only been called up in October 1916. Pte. James Slinger was a 21 year-old labourer from Lunds, near Hawes. Pte. Charles Smith (29004) was a 33 year-old warehouseman from Bradford; he was married to Ann (nee Holmes) and the couple had a five year-old son, Gilbert. Pte. Clarence Smith was a 32 year-old mohair cloth weaver from Huddersfield; he was married but had no children. Pte. Ernest Smith (29167) was a 21 year-old textile worker from Huddersfield. Pte. Edward Somers was a 30 year-old warehouseman (working for J. Cawthra & Co.) from Great Horton, Bradford. Pte. Selwyn Stansfield was a 24 year-old cotton mill worker from Sowerby Bridge. Pte. Fred Stokes was a 32 year-old married man from Huddersfield; his wife, Mary Emma, was pregnant with their first child. Pte. Charles Arthur Stott was a 32 year-old clerk from Skipton; he was married, with a five year-old daughter. Pte. Herbert Stott was a 28 year-old weaver from Marsden, he was married, but had no children. Pte. Harry Sugden was a 30 year-old ‘fettler’ from Keighley. Pte. James Sugden was a 19 year-old cotton piecer from Salterhill. Pte. Albert Sunderland was a 25 year-old chimney sweep from Bradford. Pte. Ellis Sutcliffe was a 23 year-old labourer from Halifax. Pte. Ernest Taylor (29168) was a 29 year-old railway goods porter from Huddersfield; he was married with five children. Pte. Joseph Barber Taylor was a 32 year-old woollen trader from Huddersfield; he was married with three children. Pte. Luther Taylor was 24 years old and one of four children of Arthur and Alice Taylor who had farmed land in Bradshaw, near Halifax. When Arthur died the family had moved in to Gibbet Lane, Halifax, the home of the West Riding Regimental Depot; before being called up Luther had been working as a ‘horse driver’. Pte. Bertie Thurling was a 19 year-old spinning overlooker from Keighley. Pte. John Edward Varley was a 31 year-old weaver from Huddersfield; he was married, but had no children. Pte. William Edward Varley was a 27 year-old butcher and cattle drover from Earby; he was married, with one son. Pte. Harold Wall was a 34 year-old twister from Stainland; he was married with one daughter. Pte. Edwin Waterworth was a 37 year-old railway platelayer from Denholme, near Bradford. Pte. Isaac Wells was a 19 year-old butcher from Halifax. Pte. Henry Percival Widdop was 24 years old and from Bingley. Pte. Albert Victor Wilcock was a 26 year-old dyers’ labourer from Bradford; he was married with one son. Pte. Victor Alexander Wildman was a 19 year-old farm worker from Skipton. Pte. Ernest Wilson (28985) a 36 year-old married man, with two children; he had been working as brewer’s drayman in Halifax. Pte. Herbert Wood was a 21 year-old twister from Rastrick.

Pte. Fred Hargreaves (29267)

Image by kind permission of Patrick Hargreaves

Pte. Herbert Stott

Image by kind permission of Barry Gartside

Pte. Fred Hird (see 10^th December 1916), serving in France with 2DWR, departed on ten days’ leave to England.

Pte. William Hissett (see 23^rd December 1916) re-joined 9DWR from 34^th Infantry Base Depot at Etaples.

Pte. John Whitham (see 27^th September 1916), who had been in England since having been wounded in July 1916, was transferred to 1^st Garrison Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment. He would be posted to India (details unknown).

A final payment of £1 0s 4d was authorised on the account of the late Lt. Harry Harris (see 29^th December 1916) in final settlement of pay and allowances due.

 

Lt. Harry Harris

A payment of £1 16s. 4d. was authorised, being the amount outstanding in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Cecil Rhodes (see 6^th October 1916), who had been killed in action in October 1916; the payment would go to his father, James.