Random Number; 12/16/1773

One random number, or date, connects two of my ancestors. They were related by marriage, but I doubt they actually knew each other, or even realised their familial connection. One was a captain of a brig named The Beaver, and the other was to become a naval captain later in life, but on the date in question was a merchant of Boston. Their lives connected on 12:16:1773, at Boston, when one ancestor boarded one of three ships docked in Boston, one being the aforementioned 'The Beaver', captained by the other ancestor, and took chests of valuable highly taxed tea out of the hold and dumped it over the side of the ship.

A map of Boston, dated 1775, from the Pennsylvania Magazine

Backing up just for a moment, let me explain how they were related to each other, and to me. Joseph Coffin and Bethiah Macy of Nantucket, MA were my 7x great grandparents. They had seven children, their eldest daughter Eunice Coffin (born 1707) was my 6x great grandmother.  Their third child, and second eldest son was Zacheus Coffin (born 1710). Zaccheus Coffin remained in Nantucket, and married Mary Pinkham. Together they had six children, their fourth being Hezekiah Coffin. Hezekiah Coffin was the captain of The Beaver at Boston, on the 16th December 1773, and he was my 1st cousin, 7x removed.

Eunice Coffin (Hezekiah's aunt) left Nantucket for mainland MA in the early 1730s, married to Andrew Newell. Eunice and Andrew were my 6x great grandparents. Their son, also named Andrew Newell (born 1729) married twice. His first wife, Sarah  Ayres, died young and apparently without issue. His second wife was Elizabeth Lee, of Boston. Elizabeth's father was Thomas Lee, a merchant of Boston. He was married twice, and Elizabeth was the second of two daughters from his first marriage, with Elizabeth Charnock. Elizabeth Charnock died sometime before 1737. He remarried, and his second wife, Lois Orne, bore him three more children, the middle child being Joseph Lee (born 1744). Joseph Lee was one of the 100-120 men who boarded the three ships, The Beaver, The Eleanor, and The Dartmouth, docked at Boston on the 16th December, 1773, and he was my 5x great grand-uncle.

Hezekiah Coffin was born 20th August 1741, in Nantucket, MA. He married Abigail Coleman on the 4th February 1762, at Sherburne, on Nantucket island. Together they had seven children (6 sons and 1 daughter); Elizabeth (born 1763), Owen (born 1766),  Timothy (born 1769), Ichabod (born 1771), Levi (born 1773), and Hezekiah (born 1775).  Hezekiah (senior) was a sea captain who worked out of Nantucket harbour, shipping the island's main product, whale oil, to Great Britain. 

The town on the island of Nantucket was originally called Sherburne, but was changed to Nantucket in 1795.

Printmakers include Valentine Green, Henry Bryan Hall and James Barton Longacre.
Title from Calendar of Emmet Collection. EM7792 Statement of responsibility : B. Tanner
By Scan by NYPL , Public Domain

Joseph Lee was born in Salem on the 22nd May 1744. On 9th Jun 1769 Joseph Lee married Elizabeth Cabot, in Salem, MA. Together they had 12 children; Joseph (born 1770), Nathaniel Cabot (born 1772), Elizabeth (born 1774), George (born 1776), Amelia (born 1777), Charles (born 1778), Thomas (born 1779), Nancy (born 1780), Henry (born 1782), John (born 1783), Francis (born 1784), and Rebecca (born 1785). Joseph's wife, Elizabeth, died in 1786, and he remarried in 1793 to a Deborah Cabot, the widow of his first wife's brother, Stephen Cabot. Joseph and Deborah did not have any children, but she would have been fairly busy raising his surviving children, the youngest of whom was 9 years old at the time of the marriage.

Joseph Lee worked as a merchant out of Long Wharf, in Boston, MA. Long Wharf was an important part of the commercial scene of Boston, and central to it's maritime trade. Early in 1773 Joseph Lee joined the Freemasons, and so it appears he was well connected with influential people both in the business world, and in the politics of the time. It is on his masonic membership card that we can see a reference to the event that caused these ancestors' lives to collide.

Joseph Lee's Mason Membership Card

In late 1773, while Joseph Lee was buying and selling shipments coming off, and going onto ships in the port of Boston, Hezekiah Coffin was taking a shipload of whale oil from Nantucket to England on a brig named The Beaver, owned by Joseph Rotch. Hezekiah docked in London, and after selling his whale oil, searched for a shipment with which to return to the colony of North America. He was offered a load of furniture and some chests of tea, due for the city of Boston.

At this time, the majority of legal tea in the north American colony was sold in Boston. Most of the other major ports in colony dealt in smuggled or foreign tea. The British government had passed several laws throughout the mid-late 1700s regarding the import, sale and tax of tea. Tea had become a very popular drink in Europe and Great Britain over the previous century, and the colonies of North America had swiftly joined in with the tea craze. The sole importer of the precious leaves, into Great Britain was the East India Company. The East India Company did not export to the colonies of North America. Instead, merchants would buy the tea wholesale, at auction in British ports, and then ship it out to various American ports. The tea was taxed heavily on arrival into Britain, and these taxes were passed on to the colonies when it arrived on the other side of the pond. Other European countries, such as the Netherlands, were importing tea without such a high tax, and so tea smuggling was rife, both in Britain and in the colonies. Illegal tea in Britain was costing the East India Company a huge amount. It is thought that in the 1760s the powerful company was losing up to £400,000 to British smugglers each year. 

A political cartoon published in Boston, 1767.

In an effort to help the struggling East India Company, the British government passed various acts relating to the tax on tea. This made the tea in Britain cheaper, but on the other side of the pond, the colonists were getting increasingly angry about the situation. They did not necessarily have a problem with the high tax on tea, but with the actual tax itself.  A political movement rose up around this issue, led by a group called the 'Patriots'. They argued that the British government had no right to tax people living in the British colony of north America. The Magna Carta, commonly accepted as the British constitution, outlines the principle that taxation must be by consent. The colonists did not have any representation in the British government, and therefore should not have been subjected to taxation by the British government. Their rallying cry was, "NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!" Nevertheless, the British government held firm, maintaining and asserting their right to tax the colony. 

Engraving of East India House, Leadenhall Street, London, by T. Simpson: published in John Entick, A New and Accurate History and Survey of London (London, 1766); reproduced in William Foster, The East India House (London, 1924)

The movement against tea taxation grew, and people across the land boycotted legal tea. By this point the only people allowed to deal in tea, in the colonies, were those appointed by the East India Company, as consignees. The Whigs, sometimes called the Sons of Liberty, managed to talk all the consignees into resigning from their position. All except the consignees in Massachusetts. In Boston, MA the governor, Thomas Hutchinson, encouraged the consignees to not give into the pressure. Two of these consignees were Hutchinson's sons, and so he obviously held some sway with the men. A tea/tax standoff ensued.

On November 28th 1773 the first of the three ships arrived in Boston, docking at Griffin Wharf. The Dartmouth was the sister ship to The Beaver; both sailed out of Nantucket Island, and both had been relieved of their whale oil in London, and reloaded with tea and other shipments. James Hall captained The Dartmouth, which held 114 chests of British tea. The Boston Whigs called for a mass meeting to debate what should be done with the cargo of tea. The desire was for The Dartmouth to leave the Boston harbour, without paying any of the import duty. Governor Hutchinson refused to allow the ship to leave the port, and so the stand off continued. Men were sent to guard the ship, to ensure that the cargo was not unloaded, while the matter continued to be debated.

On December 2nd, 1773, The Eleanor arrived at Griffin's Wharf, Boston, carrying another 114 chests of tea from London, Great Britain. The Eleanor was owned by Whig supported John Rowe, but captained by a Tory sympathiser and loyalist to the British crown, Captain Bruce. 

The Beaver, which had sailed with The Dartmouth, from Great Britain, was the last to arrive in the port of Boston. On the voyage over the Atlantic, the crew of The Beaver had suffered an outbreak of smallpox. The ship had been held in quarantine for two weeks, in the outer harbour, finally docking at Griffin's Wharf on the 15th December 1773, with its cargo of 112 chests of British tea.

An engraving of the Old South Meeting House, ca. 1850-1880. Held by the Boston Public Library. 

The 16th December marked the 20th day since The Dartmouth's arrival. British law asserted that cargo should be unloaded and duty paid, within 20 days of arrival, after which cargo could be forcibly removed by  customs officials. Time was running out and the pressure was on, creating a boiling point; perfect conditions for brewing tea! A large crowd gathered at the Old South Meeting House, ready to hear what was to be done. It is estimated that between 5,000-7,000 people were present, which would have been upwards of a third of the population of Boston at the time. At this meeting the people learned that Governor Hutchinson continued to refuse to allow the ships to leave Boston, without paying the tea tax. Undoubtedly Joseph Lee was in the crowd when Samuel Adams, a political philosopher who would go on to become a Founding Father of the USA, was heard to say, "This meeting can do nothing further to save the country."

A portrait of Samuel Adams, painted by John Singleton Copley, in 1772

It was shortly after Adams made this statement that people began to leave the meeting house, and move towards Griffin's Wharf. Some men, perhaps including Joseph Lee, changed their clothing and disguised themselves as Mohawk people. It is thought that the main reason for this was to make it hard for them to be recognised- what they were planning to do would have been considered treason. But the choice of using indigenous 'costumes' was a symbol of the people choosing America over the British oppressors.

W.D. Cooper. "Boston Tea Party.", The History of North America. London:
E. Newberry, 1789.Engraving. Plate opposite p. 58

Arriving at Griffin's Wharf some of the crowd, including the costumed men, began to board the three ships. Captain Hezekiah Coffin pleaded with the men who boarded The Beaver, to not damage the other cargo on his ship; to just take the tea. This transcript from an article published in The Pennsylvania Journal, or Weekly Advertiser, on Wednesday December 29th, 1773, tells the story further;

"...the people immediately, as with one voice, called for a dissolution, which having obtained, they repaired to Griffin's wharf, where the tea vessels lay, proceeded to fix tackles, and hoisted the tea upon deck, cut the chests to pieces, and threw over the side; (there were two ships and a brig, Capt Hall, Bruce and Coffin, each vessel having 114 chests of tea on board,) they began upon the two ships first, as the had nothing on board but the tea, then proceeded to the brig, which had hawled to the wharf, but the day before and had but a small part of her cargo out. The Captain of the brig begged they would not begin with his vessel, as the tea was covered with goods, belonging to different merchants in town, they told him the tea they wanted, and the tea they would have; but if he would go into his cabin quietly, not one article of his goods should be hurt. They immediately proceeded to remove the goods, and then dispose of the tea."

Captain Hezekiah Coffin's other cargo was safe, and the tea was all dumped into the waters of Boston harbour.

The Boston Tea Party, as it came to be known much later, was not the riotous event that many might imagine. I admit, I had thought it had been similar to the event in 2021 when the capitol was attacked on January 6th. But the same news article tells us how relatively calm and careful this demonstration against the ruling government actually was. In actual fact, the only aggressive behaviour seems to have been in reaction to a man who was trying to steal some of the tea, as opposed to dumping it ceremoniously in the water;

"It is to be observed, that they were extremely careful, that not any of the tea should be stolen, so kept a good look out, and detected one man filling his pockets, whom they treated very roughly, by tearing his coat off his back, and driving him up the wharf, through thousands of people, who cuff'd and kicked him as he pass'd."

The Destruction of the Tea, as it was known at the time, was to be a turning point in the history of America, and the Revolutionary War started around 18 months later. During the Revolutionary War Joseph Lee captained ships that worked as privateers; ships that would capture and plunder enemy ships, keeping their riches as a form of payment. As well as financially benefitting quite nicely from this trade, Joseph earned the rank of Captain for this activity against the British enemy. Captain Joseph Lee died at the age of 86, in Boston, MA on the 6th February, 1831. He was buried at Granary Burying Ground.

Moses King - "King's Handbook of Boston", by Moses King published 1881

Hezekiah Coffin sailed again to England in February of 1774, the year, after the destruction of the tea. Once again, he travelled on The Beaver, from Nantucket, with a ship load of whale oil. According to the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum website Hezekiah died whilst in London, and The Beaver was sold as a result. The Birth, Marriages and Death Records for Nantucket, MA do not appear to agree, however, and suggests that he died in Nantucket, in 1779. The same record also quotes that Hezekiah was "said to have been the first to heave tea overboard in Boston harbour." It would certainly be nice to imagine both ancestors working together, against the British government's unfair taxation, however unlikely this final boast might have been.

#Newell

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https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/participants-in-the-boston-tea-party

https://kinsmenandkinswomen.com/2016/09/01/capt-joseph-lee-and-the-boston-tea-party/

https://pem.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/2/resources/678

https://www.nps.gov/places/long-wharf-boston.htm

https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/history-brig-beaver

https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/dartmouth

https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/eleanor

https://familyconnectionsblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/17/hezekiah-coffin-and-the-boston-tea-party/comment-page-1/#respond

https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/2015-parliament-in-the-making/get-involved1/2015-banners-exhibition/ruth-ewan/1215-magna-carta-gallery/#:~:text=Magna%20Carta%20states%20that%20no,became%20fixed%20in%20English%20politics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_(American_Revolution)#Patriots_and_taxes

https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/phil_res_1773.asp

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party#

War; Brothers Lost in WWI Battles

As with most genealogy fans, every branch of my family tree is littered with boys and men, lost in the First and Second World Wars. There is more I would like to uncover about what some of our male and female ancestors did in WWII, but that will mostly have to wait until records are available more readily, online, which should happen in the next year or two. I'm certain there will be more opportunities to write about our WWII ancestors, so for this week's writing prompt I will be writing about my father's two uncles, Richard and Francis Holding. My cousin (first, once removed), Elizabeth Knight, has done a great deal of research on these two brothers, and their short lives as soldiers in the Great War. I have included extracts from her research to this post. I am extremely grateful to Liz for doing all this work.

Richard and Francis Langdon Bell Holding were the two eldest sons, and second and third children, respectively, of Kenyon Holding and Sarah Anne Birkett. Kenyon and Sarah Anne had a large family of 10 children. Richard and Frank can be seen in the back row of this family photo, standing either side of their big sister Edith.

Richard, the older of the two boys, was born first in 1894. Just two short years later Francis Langsdon Bell Holding (aka Frank) arrived. At the time of their births, Kenyon was working as a painter, and the family were living at 17 St Mary's Place, in Lancaster. St Mary's Place was a small yard of workers cottages tucked in at the top of Church Street, in front of the Castle, and next to the Covell Cross.

By the time of the 1911 census, the last to be taken before the outbreak of WWI, the family had grown to the size of 10, with the 2 parents, and eight children at home, including the two eldest brothers, and their sisters Lilly, Lena, and Olive, and younger brothers Joseph, John and Kenyon. Older sister, at the age of 18, had moved out to an uncle and aunt's home, to work as a domestic servant. Their father Kenyon was no long a painter, but working as a window cleaner, and managing the company from the home at 10 Gage Street. Richard was 16 years old, and working with his father, as a window cleaner, and Frank was an office boy at an oil cloth store, at the age of 14.

Frank, the younger of the two, was the first to join up. When he was just 18 years and 3 months, he signed his enlistment papers, in September of 1914, and joined the army, giving his age as 19 and 10 months. Prior to the passing of the Military Service Act of 1916, men and boys could join the army from the minimum age of 18, but could not be sent overseas until they reached the age of 19. Frank had enlisted in such a way that had somewhat sealed his fate.

My cousin Liz's words say it best....

"In early August (1916) the battalion had been to Annual Summer Training Cam, probably at Kirby Lonsdale, but had been called back to Lancaster for mobilisation. At this time the Territorials were liable for home defence duties only. As the men returned from camp they were unable to return to work so did not change out of uniform, but hung around waiting for the Royal Proclamation to be posted. When it was, they rushed to the Drill Halls & by the next evening the men of the 4th and 5th Battalions had undergone medicals and were posted along the railway line from Ulverston to Barrow.

It soon became apparent to the military commanders that the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was not large enough. The Territorials were asked to volunteer for Imperial Service. The 5th Battalion did so immediately. By 1915 the Territorials had proved the value of their pre-war training and some were already in the field. Many Battalions, such as the 1/5th King's Own, had gone to France independently with the result that territorial formations at home consisted of a mixture of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd line battalions collected in new formations were numbered when they were sent abroad.

Photolithograph after W B Woollen, 1914

On the 14th August the Battalion was transported to Didcot to carry out railway guard duties. According to Frank's mother, Sarah Anne's notebook, Frank first left on 6th September 1914, so presumably he received some training and then joined the Battalion at Didcot. He left for the second time (perhaps after some leave), and joined his comrades who were now at Sevenoaks, in Kent, on 14th February, 1915. On 14th/15th February 1915 they landed at La Havre.

I have yet to discover what the Battalion did for the next few weeks, but by April they were in Belgium preparing for what was to become the Second Battle of Ypres. The soldiers were now clothed in khaki and had new weapons and transport. Many nights were spent under the stars digging out trenches and building dug outs.

First Glimpse of Ypres, by Lieutenant Cyril Henry Barraud, Beaverbrook Collection of War Art

Extracts from the War Diaries "April 1st- resting 2nd- Church parade 10am. Battalion left RAVETSBERGH at 3pm for billet at BOESCHEPE 6th- Bathing parade. Drill & musketry under OC Coys 8th- Bayonet exercise and company drill. Short route marches. 9th- Left for Ypres. Billeted in school. Remainder of day spent cleaning up billets which were very dirty. 11th- No Sunday Service 12th- Battalion moved for trench duties 13th Trench duties. Heavy shelling throughout the day. Great shortage of sandbags. Parapitrs unhealthy. Require strengthening"

After resting the 1/5th were sent forward to the trenches at Ypres and by the 12th April the second battalion was holding a long front line in Polygon Wood, at the apex of the Salient. On 13th April the 1/5th was subjected to heavy shelling. It would seem that Frank was sent to a place south east of Ypres, to front line trenches. From his position he would have been able to see the enemy lines.

He was killed on 17th April, 1915, 'against Hill 60', which is situated south of Zonnebeke. He was hit in the head by an expanding bullet, and remained unconscious for about one hour before dying. The War Diaries show that only one soldier was killed on this day. Could this have been Frank? The records show that his age was nineteen, but he was only eighteen.

Francis Langdon Bell Holding, 1896 - 1915
Lest We Forget

It is clearly stated in letters (see transcripts below) that Frank was buried in Zonnebeke Wood, in a cemetery, according to the other letter. Locating the position has proved difficult. Certainly, soldiers were buried in cemeteries at this time, but I have found no reference so far to one at Zonnebeke. Also, the term cemetery could have been a polite term for a mass grave. I was assured, when I visited Zonnebeke, that there is no Zonnebeke Wood, however, a few minutes drive from the town is Polygon Wood. Here is a large War Graves Commission Cemetery, but the soldiers buried here were mainly Australians and New Zealanders who fell in a later battle. However, I feel that this is the most likely site and unless further information comes to light, I will assume that Frank's last resting place is somewhere in this area. Within a few weeks this area had fallen behind enemy lines, hence his body was never recovered, nor his grave marked."

In the following days Allied troops in another part of the front line were gassed. Chaos ensued, and of course the German troops took advantage with a push forward. This map from Warfare History Network shows how much land was lost between April 17th, when Frank died, and later in May. The woods at Zonnebeke are easily spotted on the centre right of the map, between the initial front line, and the final position.

Cousin Liz found letters sent to Frank's mother, Sarah Anne, and father, Kenyon Holding, amongst Sarah Anne's papers. They give a wonderful sense of Frank's character, the way the letter authors write about him, as well as reflects the sense in Britain at the time, that the war would be short lived. I also wonder at what the content would have been, in Sarah Anne's letters which we cannot see. I imagine her immense sense of loss, compounded by the reality of Frank's missing body, and place at which to grieve. To Kenyon Holding, 10 Gage Street, Lancaster 5th King's Own RLR 19th April 1915 Dear Mr Holding, You will have already head from Cat Carter of the sad death of your son Frank. He was a splendid lad in every way and was an excellent soldier and it is very hard to be deprived of such fine young fellows. He was in my company and I saw a good deal of him. He was always cheerful and knew no fear and was a splendid spirit among the men. I was with him from the time he was wounded until his death and he passed away quite peacefully and ......... of any pain. He is buried with the other boys in a small cemetery in a wood near here. I am extremely sorry and offer you and your wife my sincere sympathy in you great trouble. You will probably remember me at WE? Clarks Partners Yours sincerely, Robert Gardner 5th September 1915, Sunday To ... F Burke Yours to hand this morning and I must say that I am pleased to receive a letter from a friend of poor Frank, as I knew him well, but I am afraid that it is not possible for you to visit his grave as he was buried in Zonnebeke woods, before the retirement of May 2nd, so that at present at least, to the best of my knowledge, his grave is behind the German firing line. I was near him when he was killed and I can assure you that he knew no pain as he was hit in the head by an expanding bullet..... only lived about an hour without regaining consciousness. Trusting this will meet your inquiries. Yours truly, J Rydeane (?) Expanding bullets, also known as 'dum dum' bullets were outlawed by the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, but both the German and Allies claimed that the other side were using them on the field of battle. Often a claim of the opposition using expanding bullets was in part, propaganda. It's possible that Frank was killed by an expanding bullet to his head, but probably more likely it was a regular bullet, especially since he continued to live for a while, albeit in an unconscious state. In all honesty, it doesn't matter what kind of bullet killed him. Frank died, at an age when he shouldn't have even been overseas, in an awful, bloody battle where 59,000 British soldiers were either wounded, captured, or killed. 23rd September 1915 Private F Burke, 1824 No 2 Signal Sect RE, 146th Inf Bde Hqs, BEF Dear Mrs Holding,

Many thanks for your parcel of Good Stuff. I enjoyed them and sat down after Earing to a Good Cigarette, I am sending you a photo of a Few of our lads; I don't know if you will be able to pick me out; but I am in the back line (with a hood on) Well I am pleased to say that I am alright and in good health but am sorry our rest is over. I have had a letter from home to say that Annie is going on alright, but that she is still in the Infirmary. I did not know you had Germans as prisoners in your town, ugly lot of Brutes arnt they. How us Dick going on. Tell him I send my best regards. I don't know when this lot will be over, but I don't think it will last another twleve months. The German soldier is about beat. Whereas up to two or three months back they had everything their own way, but they don't do it now. However when it does finish there will be only one winning side. I have not much more to say this time so will conclude with many thanks for the parcel and hoping you are in good health. from yours sincerely, Frank

Our 'Little Contemptibles', 1914, by William Barnes Woollen

Richard joined the army just over a year later, in July of 1916. He may have been conscripted, since conscription began in January of the same year. Prior to his joining the army he had been working as a window cleaner. He had also continued in his family's musical tradition, perhaps influenced by his Uncle Frank Bell, and his talented cousins, who made up the Trois Cloches ensemble. Our Dick was window cleaner by day, and pianist and conductor at the Lancaster Hippodrome by night! Not only was Dick hard working, and musically talented, but he was also spiritual. He was an attender of the adult class at the Friend's Meeting House of Lancaster.

Lancaster has a long history with The Religious Society of Friends, or Quaker-ism. The founder of the Quaker movement, George Fox, began his ministry in the north west of England in 1652. Before the year was out he had caused such a fuss within the religious community, that he was brought before the court at Lancaster Castle, under a charge of blasphemy. A Friends' Meeting House was built in Lancaster in 1677. It was rebuilt on the same site, in 1708, and remains there to this day. One of the tenets of the Quaker religion is an opposition to war, and World War I was no different. Generally Quakers resisted conscription, and chose to register as conscientious objectors, but many other young male 'Friends' chose to join up in an effort to end the war quickly. Its possible that Richard was one of the latter.

The Lancaster Friends' Meeting House

Richard signed his papers in July 1916, at the age of 21, and after 5 months of training in the UK he went with his battalion, 1/5th King's Own, to France. By the 27th Aril he was wounded, and sent home to England to recover. He spent time at a hospital in Halifax, for treatment and recovery, and enjoyed some light duties in Prescot, Lancashire for a few weeks, before being sent back to France in August 1917. It was to be his last journey across the English Channel.

There was immense pressure for young men to attest, and sign up, even after the Military Service Act of January 1916, that brought in conscription.  .

Richard and the rest of the 1/5th were sent to participate in what was to become The Battle of Cambrai. The town of Cambrai in the north of France, and close to the border with Belgium, was an important supply centre for the German 'Hindenburg' line. Capturing Cambrai would be crucial to cutting off that supply to the enemy. The success of Cambrai would come to be credited to the role of tanks, as well as a new way of infantry, aircraft, artillery, and calvary working together. The first day of success in this battle caused bells to be rung in churches all across Britain. But as in most battles, the success was short lived, and was returned by the enemy by a fiercer attack which started on the 20th November, through the 30th November, and ended on the 7th December. Liz will tell the rest of Dick's story....

On 14th September, after six weeks rest the 1/5th went straight to the line, moving forward over difficult ground. By the early hours they were in position; the 1/4th was in front on the right of the division, and the 1/5th was behind in the trenches that had been held so long in an earlier battle. The 1/5th did not move from the assembly position until 7am and sustained few casualties. During the next few days the 1/5th pushed out patrols and established posts in shell holes. Four officers and 127 other ranks were lost, 67 were wounded, and six were missing. Some ground was taken. By 1st November the Battalion was camped at Villiers Guislain, and was manning the trenches there. Most days they were shelled. Both British and German aeroplanes were observed in the area. A British 'plane was shot down. There was a gradual build up of hostilities, and by 20th November the action began to accelerate. 30th November 1917 was the thirty ninth day in the trenches for the soldiers, and to give them some comfort, they were allowed to take off their boots the night before, unless they were on guard duty. The 1/5th was in support.

This, the day of Richard's death, started early for the soldiers, and by 7am they were experiencing heavy counter bombardment by the enemy. At 7:15am the Battalion was sent an urgent message from Brigade to 'stand to' (meaning be ready, with arms, for action). The shelling subsided but at 8:30am the enemy were spotted and the Commanding Officer stated that the enemy had passed through the front line and were coming over Villier's Ridge. At 9am several hundred enemy were seen appearing over the ridge to the right of Villiers Guislain, and proceeded to dig in. Rapid fire was opened on them with rifles and Lewis guns, with 'good effect'. Some ground was lost and the fighting continued. The Battalion was reinforced. By 4pm the enemy had gained more ground and British posts were surrounded. The situation remained 'obscure' until 10pm when it was reported that the garrison at Meath Post had been forced to withdraw. "A message was sent by runners and 4 men from D Coy instructing Capt Bennett to cut his way out, unfortunately these men ran into the enemy and 4 were wounded by bombs." Is this when Dick died? Sarah Anne, Dick's mother, always said that he died whilst trying to deliver a message through enemy lines. I cannot describe my feelings when I read this final sentence in the War Diaries for 30th November. Prickles went up and down my spine. Was Dick one of the soldiers referred to in the Diary? I would like to think so, and would also like to think that his final brave action was recorded in this way for me to read eighty two years later.

Richard Holding, 1894 - 1917
Lest We Forget

Richard's body was, like his brother's, never found; lost amidst the chaos of war and ever changing front lines.

Neither Frank, nor Richard's final resting place are known, but they are remembered. Frank's name appears on the Menin Memorial at Ieper (formerly known as Ypres). This memorial is close to the centre of the town centre and is in the form of an arch which crosses the Menin Road. Even today, over 100 years after Frank's death, the road is closed every day at 8pm, when the Last Post is sounded. On the archway there are many panels, each filled with the many names of the fallen and lost. Frank's name can be found on a panel here; just one name of 54,000 in total.

The Menin Gate was unveiled on 24th July 1927.

Richard is remembered at the Cambrai Memorial, which is in Louerval, a small village near Cambrai, France. The memorial itself sits within the Louerval Military Cemetery and takes the shape of a semi-circular wall, where the names of the fallen can be found. The Cambrai Memorial was unveiled on the 4th August 1930, and includes 7048 names in total.

TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND TO THE ENDURING MEMORY OF 7048 OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE FORCES OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE WHO FELL AT THE BATTLE OF CAMBRAI BETWEEN THE 20TH NOVEMBER AND THE 3RD DECEMBER 1917, WHOSE NAMES ARE HERE RECORDED BUT TO WHOM THE FORTUNES OF WAR DENIED THE KNOWN AND HONOURED BURIAL GIVEN TO THEIR COMRADES IN DEATH.

Lest we forget.

#Holding

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https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol8/pp33-48

http://www.documentingdissent.org.uk/the-quakers-and-lancaster-castle/

https://www.quaker.org.uk/faith/our-history/ww1#:~:text=Quakers%20provided%20humanitarian%20relief%20for,those%20in%20the%20war%20zone.

https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/ww1streets/casualties_index.html#365

https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/objects-and-photos/art-and-culture/official-art/first-glimpse-of-ypres/?back=132

https://www.darrellduthie.com/maps/

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/world-war-is-second-battle-of-ypres-salient-of-death/

https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/pdf/1914-1918-Online-expanding_bullets-2015-11-12.pdf

https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1979-09-2-1

https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1998-04-49-1

https://www.lfhhs.org/lfhhs_org_uk_archive_2016/lancasterquakers.htm

https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/world-war-i-articles/the-battle-of-cambrai-why-did-it-succeed-and-what-went-wrong-november-1917/

https://www.iwm.org.uk/learning/resources/first-world-war-recruitment-posters

https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/menin-gate-unveiled

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambrai_Memorial_to_the_Missing

A Cultural Tradition; Remembering the Fallen

In my home country of Great Britain, Remembrance Day has always been a big part of the cultural tradition, just like it is in so many other countries that were involved in the allied forces' fight to end the First and Second World Wars. Since it is Remembrance Day on Friday this week, I thought I would use this opportunity to write more about the men with whom my husband's grand uncle Tommy flew and died. 

Thomas Andrew McRobbie; 1923-1944

Last June, on the 80th anniversary of D Day I posted the story of my husband's grand uncle, Thomas Arthur McRobbie, aka Uncle Tommy. His story outlined his last week, in the days running up to D Day, and how on that fateful morning his plane was the only allied aircraft to be shot down where all hands were lost. This past summer my family and I were fortunate enough to be visiting Normandy, where we visited the British Normandy Memorial, at Ver Sur Mer, and the Bayeux War Cemetery, where Tommy and his fellow British flight crew members were all laid to rest. After finding Tommy's grave, we decided to find the graves of all the other flight crew, who died with Tommy on the 6th June 1944. Tommy's  friend, and crew member Morris Campbell Murray was Canadian, and was buried at the Canadian War Cemetery, close at Beny Sur Mer, and we visited his grave too.

Morris Campbell Murray's grave marker can be found at the Canadian War Cemetery, in Beny Sur Mer.

"Until the day break and the shadows flee away"

We already knew a lot about Morris' life, before the war. His story is well researched, and made available via the Juno Beach Centre, which we also visited. My husband's grandmother and aunt remained in contact with Morris' family for a long while, which also allowed us to know about his life. But it occurred to me that we don't know much about the other men who died and were buried alongside Uncle Tommy. I decided there and then, standing in the midst of hundreds of tidy white grave markers, that I would research each of the men; an homage to these seven men who died on the day that the allied forces began to win the war against  Hitler and the Nazis.

Morris Campbell Murray, 1915-1944.
You can read about Morris' life at the Juno Beach Centre website.

Morris Campbell Murray was the crew's navigator. He was the only crew member who was not British. Born in Ontario, Canada Morris was far from home. He was 29 years old when he died on the 6th June 1944.

Sitting in position #1 was Pilot Officer S A D Walker (pilot), #2 Flight Sergeant M C Murray (navigator), #3 Sergeant N J Neal (flight engineer), #4 Flight Officer I R Draper (bomb aimer), #5 Sergeant D W H Edsall (wireless operator), #6 & #7 Sergeants P Craig, and T A McRobbie (air gunners) (Sergeant was the lowest rank a flight crew member could have. Ranks lower than sergeant were relegated to ground crew.)

Sergeant Peter Craig was an air gunner in the Handley Page Halifax III that flew from the squadron's base at Holme on Spalding Moor, Yorkshire, on 6th June 1944. Peter Craig was the son of Annie and Peter Merrilees Craig. Annie (whose maiden name was Trevis) was from Dudley, Worcestershire, in England, and I believe she met Peter, from Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland, sometime during the First World War. Peter was a coal and clay miner and worked for a brick works in Dudley. They married in 1918, in Dudley, Worcestershire, and their first son was born 25th January 1920; James Thomas Craig. Tragically James Thomas Craig died on the day he turned 10 months old, after a fatal accident. A saucepan on the stove top was upset, causing the scalding hot water to hit the baby. James lived for two excruciating days before passing. The parents Peter and Annie must have been bereft at their baby's tragic loss. 

The following year, the 1921 census shows that the couple were still living in Dudley, along with her sister Florrie, and her two brothers Thomas and Henry. But they weren't to stay there for long. Perhaps as a result of trying to start afresh after the tragic loss of their first born, the couple moved to Falkirk, Scotland; Peter's home town. In 1922, Peter Craig was born, although I have been unable to ascertain his exact birth date, or if he was born in Falkirk or Dudley. Neither Scotland's People, nor the GRO have been able to locate birth records for him. Nevertheless, Peter Craig was a Falkirk son, and in 1942, at the age of 20 he married his sweetheart Margaret Miller, the daughter of a shoemaker, at St John's church, Camelon, Falkirk, Stirlingshire. At the time of their marriage Peter was working as a house painter, although the record also states that he was 'engaged in war service', and the letters "LAC RAF" were written under his name on the marriage record, meaning that when he married he was a Leading Air Craftman with the Royal Air Force. It was at the age of 20 that men in the UK were conscripted to war service, and he would have completed his basic training, enough to have achieved LAC rank. LACs were still required to be supervised and he would have been relegated to ground staff completing cooking tasks, aircraft maintenance, and/or clerical duties. I have found no record of Peter and Margaret having had any children together. Perhaps there just wasn't the time. I have been unable to find out what happened to Peter's parents, Peter and Annie. It is impossible to imagine the grief they must have felt at the loss of both their first child as a baby, and then their second child, as an adult. Peter Craig was 22 years old when he died on the 6th June 1944.

Peter Craig's grave marker is found at the Bayeux War Cemetery, in Bayeux, France.
"They Shall Grow Not Old As We That Are Left Grow Old"

Ivor Reginald Draper was the crew's air bomber. He was the youngest son of Ellen Elizabeth and Walter Reginald Draper. When Ivor was born Walter was a supervisor wharfinger at a wharf owned and run by Leach & Co, on Tooley Street, Potter's Fields, located just south of the Thames in south east central London. Walter had had quite a varied career until that point. Born in 1873, Broadstairs, Kent, Walter had worked as a fruit broker, and pawnbroker. He had been married to Ethel Hyde in 1899, but the marriage was fruitless, and clearly unhappy. Ethel filed for divorce in 1907, citing adultery and desertion as her reasons for divorce. The divorce papers didn't name the other woman or women, but it is likely that Ellen Elizabeth was the woman who had turned Walter's head. Walter married Ellen in the fall of 1908, and a year later their first child was born; Walter John Draper. Their daughter Gwendoline arrived in 1914, and then, possibly as a surprise, Ivor was born in 1921, when Ellen was 47 years old. The 1921 census shows the family living at 136 Strathyre Avenue, when Ivor was just 3 months old. In the 1939 register the family continued to live at the same address. By this point Gwendoline had married general clerk George Edward Brown in 1938, and the newly weds were living in Sutton. Walter, Ellen (sometimes recorded as Helena), and the two sons were all together at the family home, where Walter the father was a senior clerk at the Waterside Wharf, while sons Walter and Ivor were a sanitary civil engineer, and unemployed clerk respectively. 

Ivor turned 20 in 1941, and would have been conscripted in March of that year. He joined the RAF and in January the following year he married his sweetheart, 20 year old Lambeth born, Edna Margaret Filer. Ivor achieved the rank of Leading Air Craftman in March1943, and went on to climb to the rank of Flight Officer. I have not been able to establish what Ivor's brother Walter John did during the war. He married in 1934, a Jersey lass named Vera Kathleen Le Sueur. From what I can tell from records available, they lived together in Surrey, and died in the 90s. Meanwhile I believe Gwendoline's husband George Brown died during the war. I can't find a reliable record to support this, but nevertheless, Gwendoline remarried in 1956. She died in Sutton in 1988. Edna, Ivor's widow, married again in 1947, to a 35 year old architect's surveyor by the name of Herbert Todd. They lived in Surrey, and Gwendoline died in the early 2000s.  Ivor Reginald Draper was 23 years old when he died on the 6th June 1944.

Ivor Reginald Draper's grave marker is also found at the Bayeux War Cemetery.
"Ever Living In Our Hearts"

Douglas William Henry Edsall was the crew's wireless operator, and air gunner. Douglas was the son of Julia and William Edsall, and was born in Islington, London in April 1922. His father William Edsall was a true London lad, having been born in St Pancras, London, and worked as an omnibus driver for the London General Omnibus Company. Douglas' mother was Julia Mendoza at birth, and was a native of Spitalfields, London. Julia was born in 1893, at a time when Spitalfields had a reputation as being one of the most dangerous places to live. Jack the Ripper and the Whitechapel murders had come to an end just a couple of years before her birth, and notorious gangsters ruled the slums in which the residents lived. The Whitechapel murders had brought the world's attention to the awful conditions of the area, so by the time of her birth slum clearances had begun. By 1901 her family had moved to Shoreditch, a slightly safer neighbourhood, where her father worked as a leather dealer. Before marriage Julia worked as a pattern card maker, making cards for programming weaving looms.  By the time of the 1921 Census Julia and William were living in a two room apartment at 9 Elmore Street, Islington. By that time they had the first two of the four children they would have; Ronald William (born 1913), and Yvonne Lily (born 1918). The following year Douglas William Henry arrived in April 1922, and the baby of the family, Marjorie Julia Louise was born in 1932. When the Register of 1939 was taken, the family were living at 43 St John's Road, Southend on Sea, where William continued to work as an omnibus driver, and Yvonne was working as a chemist's assistant in a surgical department. Later in 1943, at the age of 25, Yvonne volunteered with the Land Girls, leaving her job as a chemist's assistant behind. Something tragic must have happened shortly before February 1944, as she quit the Land Girls, her resignation being accepted on compassionate grounds. This was several months before D Day of the same year, so I can only guess that perhaps a sweetheart had died in combat. It is probable that Douglas' older brother Ronald also saw active duty in WWII, I cannot, however, find any records as yet, relating to his service. Marjorie, the youngest sibling, was a slip of a lass in 1939, when the war began, and was recorded as a 7 year old student in 1939. She later married Ronald Stephen George Markham in 1949. Marjorie died in the 1970s. Ronald, the eldest of the four children died in 1980, and Yvonne passed away in the early 2000s. Strangely for this group of air crew members, Douglas William Henry Edsall's grave marker had no epitaph from the family, and no notes are left on the War Commission sites about those who mourned Douglas at his passing. This may have been the result of a clerical error. Douglas William Henry Edsall was 22 years old when he died on D Day, 1944.

D W H Edsall, Sergeant #1336890, is laid to rest at Bayeux War Cemetery

Norman John Neal was the flight engineer of the crew, and the eldest by far. Born in 1909 Norman was 35 years old in June 1944. As the first of five children born to Albert and Elizabeth Neal, he was used to being the eldest. Norman was also the only son and the big brother to four sisters; Phyllis (born 1910), Bertha Dorothy (born 1911), Irene (born 1913), and Margaret (born 1915). Albert, Norman's father, was  a postman, and in 1921 the family lived at 37 Princes Street, Kettering, Northamptonshire. Each of the sisters married, to men who appeared to have survived the war. Norman John Neal married Hilda Betts Tiney in the fall of 1940. Hilda was a tobacconist's ledger clerk in 1939, when she lived with her family in Thrapston, Northamptonshire. When they married Norman was 31, and Hilda was 21 years of age. There is no record of them ever having children together. It seems that Hilda remained a widow for along time after the war, only remarrying in 1983, to a John Elford. Norman's parents, Albert and Elizabeth died in 1958 and 1960, respectively.

Norman John Neal was the eldest of the flight crew.

Stanley Arthur Douglas Walker was the pilot of the Halifax III bomber. Stanley was the youngest of four children born to Ada Violet Walker. Ada and her husband, Henry James Walker were married in September 1907 at St Gabriel's, on Chrisp Street, Poplar, an area of east London now known as Tower Hamlets. Poplar was a very deprived area, and was badly bombed in the first world war, due to its thriving port. During WWI zeppelin night raids caused indiscriminate damage to buildings, and the deaths of many innocent civilians. Henry was a blacksmith and in 1911 was working for London County Council, repairing tramway lines. Unfortunately, shortly after Ada became pregnant with Stanley, Henry James Walker died, from influenza and pneumonia, in October 1918; probably 'Spanish Flu'. A few years later the small family of Walkers were living at the same home on Abbotts Road in Poplar, just one road south of the Poplar gas works. Mother Ada was recorded as a widow, with her four children, including three sons and one daughter; Henry Charles Edward (born 1909), Leslie Frederick George (born 1913), Lilian Irene May (born 1917), and Stanley Arthur Douglas (born 1919). Baby Stanley had never met his father, who died six months before he was born. 

Abbott Road runs diagonally from top left to bottom right, with the gas works just north. The colours on the map show the bomb damage done to the buildings in the area, during the WWII bombings. The dark red/black colours represent buildings that were irreparable.

It seems that Stanley's older brother Henry was a sailor, and sailed in a ship named SS Corinthic to New Zealand. In 1930 the police at Wellington, NZ issued an arrest warrant for him, due to his desertion of the ship. He was arrested on the 3rd December 1930. By all accounts, he did not return to the UK, and remained in New Zealand for the rest of his life, dying in 1980. Ada's second child, Leslie, became a fireman, and as such would have been protected from conscription. His time during the war years would have been spent doing a lot of very dangerous work, putting out fires after bombing raids on London, and so on.

At the time that the 1939 Register was taken, at the start of WWII, Ada, Stanley's mother, was working as a hospital orderly, and Lily, Stanley's sister was working as a swimming bath attendant. I have been unable to locate Stanley in the 1939 Register, so it's not possible to identify what career he had settled upon. Lily married George William Hutchinson in late 1939, or early 1940. George served as a chief petty office with the Royal Navy during the war. He was stationed on HMS Tamar, in Hong Kong when the island was invaded by the Japanese. George was taken as a prisoner of war by the Japanese, and was later put on a Japanese transport ship called the Lisbon Maru. It was on the 2nd October that the Lisbon Maru was hit by torpedoes fired by a US submarine, named Grouper. Grouper left the scene when they saw the ship going down, and Japanese sailors being taken off. What they didn't know was that in the hull of the Lisbon Maru were 1800 POW from the allied forces, who all died in the most awful of conditions as the ship sank. Lily must have been devastated to hear this news. After the war she remarried and lived in Southend on Sea. 

Ada did not appear to marry again, and died in 1967, at the age of 82. The inscription that she added to her youngest son, Stanley Arthur Douglas Walker's gravestone speaks to the grief she must have felt so keenly.

"Memories are treasures no one can steal leaving a heartache no one can heal. Mum"

Stanley Arthur Douglas Walker was laid to rest at the Bayeux War Cemetery

Thomas Andrew McRobbie was my husband's granduncle. He was the youngest child, and only son of Thomas Andrew McArthur McRobbie and Agnes Grainger Ramsey, of Edinburgh. His sister, Margaret McArthur McRobbie was 12 years his senior. It was to Margaret that the telegram was sent, advising her and the family that Tommy had died. 

"....deeply regret to inform you that SGT Thomas Andrew McRobbie is now reported to have lost his life as the result of air operations on 6/6/44 the air council express their profound sympathy [to] his mother.."

Tommy was 20 years old on the 6th June 1944, and the youngest of the flight crew.

Thomas Andrew McRobbie was an Air Gunner with Squadron 76, whose motto was "Resolute"
"At the going down in the sun and in the morning we will remember them"

The crew were initially buried by the villagers of Graye Sur Mer, where their plan had crashed, in an orchard. When we visited Normandy this summer we visited the village to see if there was any mention of their plane crashing. We found nothing, except for a very peaceful church and graveyard. After the war had ended the men were all exhumed and each was buried in the places where they remain today; the British six at Bayeux, and the lone Canadian at Beny Sur Mer. 

We happened to be staying just a block away from the Mont Fleury battery, which was their target on the morning of D Day. Bizarrely, Mont Fleury battery is now someones home. But next door, there now stands the British Normandy Memorial which we were able to walk to from the house in which we were staying. Whilst the men are no longer buried together, their names are all listed together on the British Normandy Memorial, in the central block. It is a very moving place; so very many names. This year, a special art installation was commemorating the 80th anniversary of D Day and we felt honoured to see it. I came back at day break on our last morning to watch the sun rise behind the many silhouettes of military men. This particular silhouette made me pause; that of an airman.

Whilst these men and their families lived their lives many decades ago, and the Second World War did come to an end, the world has never seen a moment's peace since their passing. This Remembrance Day my family and I will be thinking about these men, the sacrifices they made, and the loved ones they left behind, and will be hoping and praying that one day we will experience the peace for which they hoped, fought, and died. As it says on Uncle Tommy's grave,  we will remember them.

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https://www.layersoflondon.org/map/overlays/bomb-damage-1945

https://www.royalmarineshistory.com/post/the-battle-for-hong-kong-and-the-lisbon-maru-massacre-royal-marines-roll-of-honour