HomeTown Heroes
by
Ian L. Norris
INTRODUCTION AND UPDATE FOR 2021
The ten volumes of HomeTown Heroes, documenting the lives, WW1 military service and deaths of 172 men associated with the districts of Neston and Burton, was published in October 2018. Since that date two men, included within the original work but whose identity was uncertain, have been recognised and their accounts are included here – William Jones and George Palin. Additionally, two other men omitted from the work are now included – Walcot Harmood Banner and Frank Steele. The account of Edwin Evans DCM has been revised and some minor amendments have been made elsewhere. In essence, however, this online version of HomeTown Heroes mirrors the 2018 work.
Please do take time to read at least some of the general and background introductory information in Volume 1 as this may assist you when reading the accounts of the men who died. And, yes, they are all men; whilst the varied and significant rôles played by women during the war are recognised (see Women and the War, pages 190 – 192 in this work), and some are known to have died whilst being involved in military work, no female casualties related to Neston and Burton are known.
Finally, a plea. Whilst HomeTown Heroes is a detailed and wide-ranging account it remains incomplete. It is quite possible that there are local men, uncommemorated and known only to their descendants, who died in, or as an immediate consequence of, the First World War. Even for two men commemorated on the WW1 tablets in Neston Parish Church I have been unable to find identification; just who were Privates John Devine and William Williams and just who was Private Joseph Jones who died on 5 April 1916 in Iraq when he was just 18? If you can help with any of these men, or have information on others who may or may not appear in HomeTown Heroes, please get in touch with me either at the email address below or through the NestonPast website. All information on the men I have covered, however trivial you think it may be, adds to the story and I am always willing to research and write the stories of those who are currently unknown to me.
If you have any other comments or queries, of whatever form, about this work I would be pleased to hear from you.
Ian L Norris hometownheroesneston@gmail.com
February 2021
A very few copies of the entire 2018 work – all 10 volumes – is available for private purchase at cost price, in pdf format, on DVD and USB FlashDrive (Memorystick).
Contact me for details.
The only paper-based copy of this work is kept at Neston Library on Parkgate Road.
Centenary of the Armistice in Belgium and Northern France – November 2018
In November 2018 the Centenary of the First World War Armistice was commemorated throughout the world. The occasion was marked by the author of HomeTown Heroes, and his wife, on a visit to three of the principal European Memorials to the Missing to lay a wreath and remembrance crosses in memory of those from Neston and Burton who sacrificed their lives. This is a brief account of that visit and of these Memorials where 25 of our local servicemen, missing in action, are honoured.
WHAT’S ACTUALLY IN THIS WORK
(A) Who’s been included – and who’s not 3 – 6
(B) The time-range of this work 6
(C) The terminology and main abbreviations used in this work 6 – 8
(D) Where are the local war memorials, windows and memorial plaques?
A: Neston & Parkgate 9 – 24
B: Burton 25 – 27
C: Willaston 27 – 28
D: Thornton Hough 29
E: Hoylake & West Kirby War Memorial, Grange Hill, West Kirby 30 – 31
F: The Port Sunlight War Memorial 32 – 33
G: The Gamon and Logan Windows, Chester Cathedral 34
(E) Why aren’t all war fatalities recorded on memorial plaques? 35 – 37
(F) Why, sometimes, are there anomalies in the data? 37 – 41
(G) Attestation, enlistment, conscription, basic training & mobilisation – what do these mean? 41 – 46
(H) Service Records – what they are and their limitations 46 – 51
(I) The significance of the Service Number 51 – 53
(J) The structure of the British Army in WW1 53 – 60
(K) What was a Corps? 61 – 71
(L) Military commendations and medals 72 – 82
(M) How much were soldiers paid? 82-89
(N) What pensions were paid to war widows? 89 – 90
(O) Discipline in the ranks 91 – 93
(P) Some key dates and significant events 94 – 109
(Q) The progress of the war and the changing face of Europe 109 – 139
(R) An outline of trench warfare 140 – 142
(S) The principal Theatres of War 143 – 167
(T) When did WW1 actually begin and end – and what was the Armistice? 168 – 169
(U) How many served, and how many died – and other interesting Statistics 170 – 176
(V) The Commonwealth War Graves Commission – graves, memorials and cemeteries 177 – 186
(W) What’s it worth now? 187 – 189
(X) Women and the War 190 – 192
(Y) The resources and sources used for this work 193 – 202
(Z) A little about the author 203 – 204
THE DATABASE, DATA TABLES AND A BRIEF SYNTHESIS AND ANALYSIS OF THE DATA
The Database 205 – 219
Data Tables 221 – 265
A Brief Synthesis and Analysis of the Data 267 – 284
THE MEN WHO DIED
(Please click on the sections below)
Copyright © 2018 & 2021 Ian L. Norris
All rights reserved. This publication, in its entirety, may not be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, photographing, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods (including the use of information storage and retrieval systems), without the prior written permission of the author. However, permission is granted (notwithstanding the ownership and/or copyright restrictions of material used from credited or referenced sources) for the photocopying, or other method of reproduction, of sections of this work not exceeding a maximum of twenty-five pages providing that this material is then used only for personal or educational purposes and not for material gain. In all cases, authorship of the work must be acknowledged and no part of this work must then be republished, reproduced on the internet or elsewhere, sold or rented.
Recognition should be made of ownership and/or copyright restrictions and potential infringement of such copyright with respect to the materials used in this work. A list of the major sources is given on pages 193 – 202 within this link to 187-204 and other sources are credited within the body of the work.
In its entirety HomeTown Heroes remains the Intellectual Property of the author. hometownheroesneston@gmail.com