Loughborough Corinthian player moved to Canada
THROUGHOUT the centenary of the First World War, we have been remembering the soldiers from the Loughborough area who lost their lives while serving their country. Here, with the help of Marigold Cleeve and a small number of researchers from the Loughboro
Gerard Bardsley Taylor.
Gerard Bardsley Taylor, known to his family and friends as ‘Gerry’ was born in Loughborough on 12th May 1886 and baptised on 6th February 1887 at Holy Trinity Church, Loughborough.
He was the son of John William and Annie Mary Taylor (née Bardsley) who were married at All Saints Church, Loughborough, on 30th April 1884.
In 1886 the Taylor family was living at 74 Russell Street but they later moved to Bell Foundry House, Freehold Street.
Gerry had three brothers John, Arnold and Pryce, and three sisters Josephine, Phyllis and Gwendoline. Another brother Robert died in infancy in 1892.
Gerry attended Shaftesbury Grammar School from September 1893 to July 1902. He was captain of the cricket and football teams, and was Champion Athlete in 1901 and 1902.
After leaving the school he entered University College, Nottingham and subsequently worked for Messrs, Griggs and Co. builders’ merchants, in Loughborough.
He also played regularly for the Loughborough Corinthians Football Club.
On 2nd March 1905, in the year after his mother died, Gerry went to Canada where he became a farmer in Red Deer, Alberta, until the outbreak of the war.
Gerry’s sister Phyllis joined him in Canada in 1910 for at least a year. She also returned temporarily to Canada, possibly to check out Gerry’s farm, in October 1915.
In 1909/10 Gerry’s father was married again to Edith Lea from Manchester. Jerry had two step-siblings by his father’s second wife, Margaret and Paul.
On 14th December 1914 Gerry enlisted in Alta, Calgary, and joined the 31st Battalion (Alberta Regiment) of the Canadian Infantry as Private 80066.
After initial training in Calgary he entrained for Quebec as part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force on 12th May 1915.
He sailed for England on 17th May 1915 on the SS Carpathia and reached Shorncliffe, Kent, on 29th May.
After training at Dibgate, Lydd and Otterpool Camps and after an inspection by HM The King and Lord Kitchener Gerry’s battalion was sent to France on 18th September 1915.
The battalion crossed the Channel from Folkestone to Boulogne on the SS Duchess of Argyll and marched to Ostrohov Rest Camp. On 19th September they entrained for Cassel and marched to St. Sylvestre. Over the next five days they moved via Aldershot Camp, Meteren, and Neuve Eglise to Kemmel.
Between October 1915 and the end of March 1916 the battalion completed fourteen trench tours at Kemmel. Breaks were taken at Kemmel Huts, at Locre or at Berthen.
In the trenches the battalion came under repeated heavy enemy shelling and bombardment.
On 20th December 1915 Gerry was taken ill with colitis, sent to No. 4 Canadian Field Ambulance and then to a Divisional Rest Station to recover. He rejoined the battalion on 29th December.
On 1st April 1916 the battalion moved to Bailleul for five days rest but was suddenly ordered to the Ypres Salient.
They moved to Camp A, west of Dickebusch, in order to take up a new front from the south bank of the Ypres-Comines Canal to St. Eloi. In the line on 4th and 6th April they suffered from two massive enemy bombardments causing 187 casualties.
Between 11th and 18th April there was an outbreak of Germen measles among the men and on 18th the battalion was sent into Brigade reserve at Dickebusch and Scottish Wood. Two days occupying the Vormezeele Switch followed and then a move to I Camp to provide working parties.
On 29th April 1916 Gerry was granted eight days leave and may have visited his family in Loughborough.
He rejoined the battalion in Brigade reserve at Vormezeele. During the rest of May the battalion was at Camp E, Reninghelst, followed by another period in Brigade reserve at Vormezelle and a trench tour.
After short stays at Quebec and Winnipeg Camps at the beginning of June the battalion moved by lorry and bus to the front at Menin Hill, Ypres. In two trench tours between 5th and 15th June they suffered 229 casualties.
The month ended with the battalion in Brigade reserve at Scottish Wood and Vormezeele, followed by a move to Ontario Camp. On 18th June Gerry was sent on a pigeon course at Corps HQ.
During July there were two trench tours in the Bluff sector, with breaks at Ontario and Micmac Camps.
On the 31st July the battalion was in the trenches at Vormezeele. In early August one company was in Micmac Camp, one in Scottish Wood, and one on the Vormezeele defences.
On 20th August the battalion began an eight day transfer by march via Steenvoorde and Bollezeele to Ganspette, near Watten, for training and practice in night operations.
On 5th September they entrained at St. Omer for Candas, Somme, and marched via Vadencourt to a bivouac area in the brickfields at Albert.
On 6th September Gerry was promoted to Lance Corporal. On 10th September the battalion moved to Pozières and La Boiselle.
On 15th September the battalion took part in the first day of the Battle of FlersCourcelette and incurred 350 casualties.
The battalion was withdrawn to the brickfields at Albert on 16th and then marched via Warloy and Vicogne to Fieffes.
The return march to the front began on 22nd September and on 25th they moved up to the Sunken Road near Contalmaison where heavy casualties again occurred.
On 15th September Gerry was promoted to Acting Corporal and on 1st October to Sergeant.
Between 1st and 13th October the battalion moved between Pozières, Albert, Warloy, Pernoy, Gezaincourt and Maizières.
Between 16th October 1916 and 14th January 1917 the battalion completed eight trench tours in the Souchez sector, with breaks at Ablain St. Nazaire, Noulette Wood and Bouvigny Wood.
On 11th January 1917 Gerry was transferred to the Canadian Division at Shorncliffe, Kent, and proceeded to England to train for a commission. On 16th January he was transferred from the 31st Battalion to the 8th Officer Cadet Battalion at Whittington Barracks, Lichfield.
On 27th June 1917 he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Leicestershire Regiment and discharged from the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
In early December 1917 Gerry was granted leave to visit his farm in Canada for three months. He sailed on the SS Missanabie and arrived at St. John’s, Newfoundland, on 10th December 1917.
On 19th September 1918 Gerry returned to France, this time as an Officer.
He joined the 11th (Service) Battalion (Midland Pioneers) of the Leicestershire Regiment at Tertry, Somme and was posted to D Coy.
On 23rd September he was attached to the 2nd Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry near St. Quentin where preparations were being made for an attack on 24th.
The Durham Light Infantry had applied to his regiment for three officers to go over the top with them next day. Gerry was one of the three selected, and had scarcely crossed the parapet when he was instantaneously killed by machine gun fire.
He was aged 32 when he died.
Gerry was buried in Trefcon British Cemetery, Caulaincourt, Aisne, Grave D. 29.
Gerry’s brother Arnold Bradley Taylor, a 2nd Lieutenant with the 9th Leicesters, had been killed on 12th July 1916 and his brother John William Taylor, who served with the 31st Battalion, Canadian Infantry and 66th Battalion (Edmonton Guards) was killed on 15th/16th September 1916. His brother Pryce Taylor who served with the Royal Fusiliers survived the war but died in 1927.
Their sister Josephine served with the Red Cross in France during the war.
Gerry is remembered on the Shaftesbury Grammar School War Memorial, on the memorial in All Saints Church, Loughborough, and on the Carillon.
The largest bell in the Carillon itself was given by the Taylor family in memory of the three Taylor brothers lost in the war.
A bell was also cast to commemorate all three brothers for the church the Taylor family attended, Holy Trinity Church, Trinity Street, Loughborough. When the church closed in 1998 the bell was given to Palayamcottai Cathedral, Tamil Nadu, India.
Gerry is also remembered on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Arthur Leonard Dawson.
Arthur Leonard Dawson was born in Loughborough in late 1896.
He was the son of Baxter William Dawson and his wife Emily Frances (née Heel, known as ‘Fanny’) who were married in Loughborough in 1892. Arthur had two brothers William and Harold and one sister Dorothy.
In 1899 Arthur’s father was a carpenter and joiner and the Dawson family lived at 21 Hastings Street, Loughborough.
By 1901 they were at 29 Paget Street. Between 1901 and 1911 Arthur’s father became an agent for the Royal London Mutual Assurance Society and the Dawson family moved to Glen Dhoon, Knightthorpe Road. They later moved to Greeba, Fairmount Drive.
Arthur’s father served on Loughborough Council for about 16 years, representing Storer Ward.
He was chairman of the Health and Education Committees and eventually became mayor of Loughborough in 1932. He was an ardent temperance leader and local Wesleyan preacher.
When Arthur left school he matriculated at London University and became an assistant teacher in local council schools.
Arthur enlisted in the summer of 1916.
The precise dates of his enlistment and when he was sent abroad are unknown as his service papers have not survived. He joined the 1/5th Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment as Private 203881.
The 1/5th Leicesters in France received drafts of reinforcements in November 1916 and also in February 1917. Arthur could have been in either of these drafts but the more likely one is that of February 1917.
The battalion was at Souastre during February and until 11th March 1917. They then moved up to the line taking over 2,600 yards of frontage from the La Brayelle road to the HannescampsMonchy road.
On 17th March they moved into Gommecourt for road mending before moving to Bertrancourt, Raincheval and then Rainvillers not far from Amiens.
On 28th March the battalion marched to Saleux, entrained for Lillers in the north, and marched to Laires. Training took place until 13th April and continued for three further days at Manqueville, after which the battalion moved to the western outskirts of Lens. From there they marched to Bully-Grenay and went into the front line trenches where they were heavily shelled.
On 29th April the battalion went into rest billets in cellars at Cité St. Pierre until 3rd May when they went into support trenches. On 8th they went into billets at Fosse 10 near Petit Sains for training and on 12th into reserve at Angres.
Further trench tours south-west of Lens followed until 26th May when the battalion went into billets at Marqueffles Farm for training in bayonet fighting and bombardment and to practise methods of attack.
On 6th June the battalion was back in the line and on 8th June went into the attack, suffering 96 casualties.
Apart from two breaks at Red Mill from 9th-13th and 18th-20th June the battalion was in the trenches until 22nd June. On 21st June C Coy was accidentally gassed by the Royal Engineers, resulting in 94 casualties of whom 22 died.
Back at Marqueffles Farm from 22nd the battalion had Lewis gun and signalling classes as well as attack training over a flagged course.
On 27th June the battalion moved up to the line ready to attack on the following day. As they climbed out of the trenches on 28th June they met with the inevitable machine gun fire and over the next two days 60 Ordinary Ranks were killed.
Relieved from the trenches at Lievin on 3rd July the battalion moved to MonchyBreton for reorganisation and
training until 22nd July when they moved to Vaudricourt before going into the line at Hulluch until 28th July. After respite at Noeux-les-Mines the battalion was at Fouquières until 14th August, practising for an attack.
Moving to Noyelles the battalion went into the trenches on 15th August and carried out a raid on the German trenches at Hulluch on the night of the 16th/17th August. After a break at Noyelles for training the battalion returned to the trenches. The end of August was spent at Philosophe, providing carrying parties.
During September, October and early November 1917 the battalion completed six trench tours at St. Elie, with breaks at Fouquières and Philosophe.
During one tour the battalion was visited by a Mr. Wilkes of the Leicester Mail. ‘attired in a grey suit, steel helmet and box respirator’.
On 14th November the battalion moved to Mazingarbe for a trench tour in the Hill 70 sector. November ended with the battalion billeted at Verquin, Vaudricourt and Drouvin for training and a battle rehearsal.
Three more trench tours took place in December, this time in the Cambrin right sector where there were a number of very heavy bombardments and gas attacks by the enemy.
New Year’s Day 1918 was marked by another heavy bombardment on the battalion’s trenches near Hulluch. During early January when away from the front line the battalion also provided wire carrying parties and working parties.
On 20th January the battalion began a four-day
transfer by march to Chocques. Between 24th January and 28th February the battalion was in training at Chocques, Allouagne, Fiefs, and Reclinghem.
Between 28th February and 2nd March the battalion moved via Delettes and Ligny-lès-Aire to Ecquedecques where inspections took place.
On 6th March they went into Brigade support on the Annequin-Cambrin road, at Annequin Fosse and at Sailly-Labourse. On 8th they marched to the front line trenches in the Cambrin right sub-sector where, until 15th March, they experienced considerable enemy shelling.
After moving into Brigade reserve at Sailly-Labourse, Factory dugouts, Windy Corner and Central Keep on 16th they were again shelled by the enemy.
On 20th March the battalion went into Divisional reserve at Beuvry. On 24th March they returned to the Cambrin right sub-sector trenches (now renamed the Hohenzollern sector) where all available men were employed at night on wiring.
After a break at SaillyLabourse the battalion marched to Fosse 7 and into Hill 70 Support on 28th March. Two companies moved up to the front line on 1st April and inter-company reliefs took place on 5th April.
The men were in the trenches for nine days, suffering repeated bombardments of all kinds, including mustard gas shelling. On 10th April the battalion moved back into Hill 70 support, but the back areas were filled with gas and the men were sent to Coupigny Huts, Bracquemont.
Training began on 15th April but two days later 100
men became sick with what the medical specialists considered to be influenza.
Sixty men were evacuated and a special rest station was set up. Those men who were well were moved to Hersin and another 100 evacuated.
On 24th April the battalion moved to Bruay and went into Reserve at Fouquières on 25th, only to be shelled in their billets. As the battalion was marching to the trenches at Le Hamel on 28th April the enemy opened fire near Essars. Three men were killed and thirty-five wounded or gassed.
The battalion reached the trenches on 29th April and remained there until 7th May. During this time they were heavily shelled and a night wiring party was ambushed by the Germans.
During the rest of May, June, July and August the battalion did trench tours in the Gorre sub-sector and at Essars/Le Hamel. Breaks were taken at Vaudricourt Park Camp and in August there were four days of training at Hesdigneul. The men also enjoyed a concert party by The Whizz-Bangs at Verquin.
By 7th August there were signs that the enemy was withdrawing and at the beginning of September, when the battalion pushed forward to Richebourg, they found a number of notices pinned up which said: ‘Dear Tommy, You are welcome to all we are leaving.
When we stop we shall stop and stop you in a manner you won’t appreciate. Fritz.’ The day after the note was found the battalion front was severely bombarded by the enemy.
From 9th -11th September the battalion was in training at Gosnay sandpits and
between Béthune and Verquin. On 12th September they entrained at Chocques for Ribemont-Méricourt. Between 14th and 18th September they continued training, at Sailly-le-Sec in field firing and using a compass at night, at Franvillers in a Brigade tactical scheme, and at Teutry in attack procedure.
After this they marched to the Brigade support position in a newly captured sector east of Le Verguier and prepared for an attack on Pontruet. On 24th September the battalion took part in this operation, during which Arthur, aged 21, was killed in action.
Arthur was buried in Bellicourt British Cemetery, Grave IV. K. 3.
Thomas Hoe.
Thomas Hoe was born in Walton on the Wolds, Leicestershire, on 2nd January 1884 and baptised at St. Mary’s Church, Walton on the Wolds, on 24th February 1884.
He was the son of George Hoe and his wife Mary (née Dolman) who were married on 13th May 1883 at All Saints Church, Loughborough.
At the time of his marriage Thomas’s father was a baker in Barrow on Soar, but not long afterwards he became a bricklayer’s labourer and he and his wife initially settled in Walton on the Wolds.
Between 1895 and 1898 the family lived in the Ashby de la Zouch but had moved back to Burton on the Wolds by 1901.
By 1904 they had moved again, this time to 24 Charles Street, Loughborough.
Thomas had three brothers John, George and Albert. Two other brothers Arthur and
Alfred and two other sisters Mary and Sabina died in infancy.
Another brother William died aged six.
In 1901 Thomas, aged 17, was a brickmaker. On 10th June 1905 and now a labourer he married Lucy Burton at All Saints Church, Loughborough.
On 18th June 1907 Thomas and Lucy emigrated to Canada, sailing from Liverpool for Quebec on the SS Empress of Ireland. Thomas’s parents and his brothers John, George and Albert joined Thomas and Lucy in Canada in 1910.
The entire Hoe family took up residence at 59 Albion Street, Brantford, Brant County, Ontario. Between 1910 and 1915 Thomas and Lucy moved to 53 Duke Street, Brantford.
Thomas Hoe enlisted to join the Canadian Expeditionary Force on 12th June 1916 and his brother John enlisted on the following day. Both had previously served in the militia.
Thomas was posted to the 215th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry as Private 270428. After initial training Thomas sailed for England on 29th April 1917 and arrived on 7th May.
Thomas and Lucy’s son Richard was born in Brantford in 1917. Whether Thomas ever saw his son is unknown.
From Otterpool Camp near Shorncliffe, Kent, Thomas was transferred to the 2nd Canadian Reserve Battalion and taken on strength at North Sandling Camp, Saltwood, Kent. On 27th May he was transferred to the 125th Battalion at Witley Common, Surrey.
On 4th April 1918 Thomas proceeded overseas for service with the 54th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry. He joined the battalion at Ecurie, near the Oppy front where the men were occupied burying cables or in training.
On 11th April the battalion went into the support trenches in the Acheville sector.
Amid some enemy shelling patrols were carried out and the battalion provided wiring and carrying parties. From 23rd-28th April the battalion was in the front line before moving to Cellar Camp in the Acheville sector.
On 1st May the battalion moved to Neuville St. Vaast for training in open warfare and instruction in a new type of rifle grenade.
From 7th-24th May they were based at Cambligneul for intensive training in musketry, close order drill and warfare manoeuvres. There were also Lewis gun classes, rifle range exercises and special classes for signallers.
Training continued until 9th July at Beugin, MonchyBreton, Ourton and Pernes.
On 10th July the battalion marched to Dieval, entrained for Maroeuil, and marched to billets at St. Aubin. During the rest of July the battalion completed two trench tours in the Oppy-Gavrelle sector as well as a period of duty in Divisional reserve.
During the first week of August the battalion moved between Warlus, Oisement, Prouzel and Bois de Boves.
On 7th August they went into position in the Bois de Gentelles in preparation for an attack on Amiens.
The attack took place on 8th August and after some very hard fighting all objectives were gained, with the battalion establishing an HQ in Beaucourt.
After a break at Meharicourt and a short trench tour in the nearby front line the battalion entrained at Longeau for Acq and went by bus to Dainville on 28th August. On 29th they moved to a concentration area at Neuville-Vitasse and then on 1st September to the assembly positions.
On 2nd September the attack began and the enemy retaliated with heavy artillery and machine gun fire on the battalion all day. From 3rd September the battalion held the line west of the Canal du Nord.
On 6th September the battalion was withdrawn to Neuville Vitasse for training until 24th September.
On 27th September the battalion again went into the attack, moving forward past Inchy Wood to Bourlon Wood.
The attack was renewed on 30th September and Thomas, aged 34, was killed in action.
Thomas was buried in Cantimpre Canadian Cemetery, Sally, Grave C. 27. He is commemorated on the County of Brant Honor Roll, on the memorial plaque at Massey-Harris, Toronto, and on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
When the news of Thomas’s death reached Canada Thomas’s wife Lucy was ill with influenza which made the situation doubly difficult. On 4th March 1919 Lucy and her son Richard travelled to England on the SS Metagama.
They stayed with Lucy’s widowed mother at 8 Warner’s Lane, Loughborough, until 31st July 1926 and then returned to Canada aboard the SS Montclare.
Lucy died on 9th December 1928 at 322 St. Paul Avenue, Brantford. What became of 11 year old Richard is unknown, but he is likely to have been looked after by his father’s brothers in Canada.
Thomas’s brother John survived the war and returned to Canada.