‘Our Wolstanton lad had a crucial role to play in the defeat of the Kaiser’
On the eve of Remembrance Sunday, North Staffordshire historian MERVYN EDWARDS delves deeper into the stories of the brave men and women listed on a Wolstanton church memorial...
WITH preparations taking place across the county to mark Remembrance Sunday, I note that an eye-popping poppy display created by Let’s Make Jam – the North Staffordshire Women’s Institute group - has been attached to the railings outside Wolstanton church.
It’s an appropriate place to hang poppies, as Wolstanton Cenotaph stands adjacent the lychgate of St Margaret’s.
The memorial was dedicated by the Bishop of Lichfield in 1920, with all due pomp.
Made by a London firm in the shape of a cross, the memorial is 19ft high, and as The Sentinel pointed out at the time, it was a project that was promoted by the entire Wolstanton community, not merely St Margaret’s.
Four additional tablets of names were unveiled on the cenotaph in 1948.
An ex-servicemen’s meeting took place on Wolstanton Marsh as early as June 1919, and it’s worth mentioning here that there came to be branches of the British Legion in both Wolstanton and May Bank, with parades and carnivals formerly being held around the area.
Though eminently respectful, the carnivals were often joyous affairs, offering entertainment provided by jazz bands, dancing troupes and fancy dress characters.
The club held its annual dinners at such venues as the Dimsdale Hotel and the Milehouse Inn at Cross Heath. Of course, it ultimately became Wolstanton Social Club and is today located in Pitgreen Lane.
Wolstanton British Legion Club was a popular club, though its leading lights were at pains to point out the futility of war.
At the club’s 1934 annual dinner, President S H Wood remarked that he did not believe that every member of the club was a spineless pacifist, but he thoroughly believed that any man who had served his country was convinced of the beastliness and hopelessness of war.
“They wanted no more war,” he asseverated. “They had seen it, and they realised its futility and realised that all matters could be settled round the table.”
Unfortunately, the backstory of another world war was already beginning to unfold even at that time.
I must mention here that local historian Geoff Mayer produced a 2010 book entitled Call To War: The Story of the Men on the Wolstanton War Memorial Who Fell In the First World War.
What is laudable about this impeccably-researched book is that the author goes beyond merely giving service record details of those men whose names grace the cenotaph.
He personalises their stories by
telling us whereabouts in Wolstanton they came from – Dimsdale Parade, Pitgreen Lane, Southlands Avenue, Albert Terrace, New Street, etc – even including photographs of some of the properties.
In the churchyard itself, there are several memorials to those brave souls who fought for their country, but perished in doing so.
Some came from potting families, notably Harold Clifford Bennett who had been the London representative of Burslem earthenware manufacturers Dunn, Bennett and Company Limited. He was killed in action in 1915.
If you look at the memorial to Thomas Wood Bennett, on the Chetwynd Street side of the churchyard, you’ll see that he died in 1928, aged 79, the head of the firm of Dunn, Bennett and Company Limited.
Also on the memorial are the names of his sons who died in the Great War. His obituary in the local press indicated that he never recovered from the loss of his sons, who died serving their country.
Other men in the churchyard have military connections and stories to tell that demand our attention.
The importance of one of those memorials has recently been highlighted by Ken Glover, above, who spoke to me recently about a national tragedy that occurred just over a century ago – on August 21, 1921.
Ken, aged 37, is a local military and aviation history enthusiast, and living in Wolstanton, is keen to relate a story with a local connection.
“In 1921,” he explains, “Britain built the world’s biggest airship – the R38. She was almost 700ft in length, 85ft wide and was constructed to be sold to the American Navy.
“At the time, the airship appeared to be the future of aviation, offering great endurance. Even the Atlantic could be crossed non-stop in this aerial monster.
“However, the dream was shattered when, during flight tests over the Humber, the great airship broke up and crashed into the sea. Out of 49 people on board that day, a mere five survived. Sixteen Americans lost their lives and 28 British also died.
“Of those 28 British crew members, one was a First World War veteran. His name was Richard Withington, of 2 New Street, Wolstanton. He was only 21-yearsold, and you can find his grave in St Margaret’s churchyard today.”
It occurs to me that shockwaves would have been felt on both sides of the Atlantic at the time, as Britain and America began to deal with the catastrophe as well as recalibrate the whole subject of passenger aviation. “That’s true,” asserts Ken. “An inquiry found that the airship’s structure was not up to the job.
“The era’s engineering and technology was pushed beyond its limits. In fact, the development of British airships was set back many years, until the R101 disaster in 1930 stopped British airships permanently.”
Ken feels strongly that we need to shout louder about the memorial in Wolstanton churchyard: “We should remember the debt we owe to those early pioneers such as this Wolstanton lad who paid the ultimate price in the battle to advance aviation.
“Perhaps their greatest legacy is that out of all their experiments, the dead ends, their achievements and their accidents, aviation has reached the point where today it is the safest form of transport.”
Ken has been in touch with Jane Harvey, who runs an aviation history website that offers biographies of the airship pioneers, and they are eager to discover more about Richard.
“They’ve even managed to source a slightly grainy photograph of him, and have tracked down Richard’s great nephew who lives in Warrington.
Ken himself conveys that Richard Withington was born on June 1, 1900 in Newcastle – the son of George Withington. He served his country in the RNAS between April 1918 to December 1920 at East Fortune and Pulham. In March 1920, he was transferred to Howden and is listed as a rigger.
I ask Ken to explain some of the information that he, as a specialist, has unearthed: “The RNAS was the Royal Navy Air Service – effectively the Royal Navy’s aviation department.
“East Fortune and Pulham were airship stations. I must point out that the story of British airships during the First World War is pretty much unknown, as it was not publicised due to wartime secrecy.
“The Navy had upwards of 200 airships during the First World War for convoy protection, and made a significant impact in helping to defeat the U-boat threat.
Only one ship was ever sunk in a convoy protected by an airship. This means that our
Wolstanton lad had a crucial role in helping to prevent Britain from starving during the German blockade, and so defeat the Kaiser.
“After the war, all the airships and airshipmen were transferred to the newlycreated RAF – hence Richard is listed on his gravestone as an RAF member.”
Listed as Aircraftman 2nd Class, 313300, Royal Air Force, Richard died on Wednesday, August 24, 1921.
If you are among the Remembrance Sunday gathering at Wolstanton Cenotaph tomorrow, I am sure you’ll appreciate the effort made by Let’s Make Jam and their subsidiary group, Jammie Hookers, in fashioning around 2,000 crocheted, knitted or felted poppies.
It’s a creative and uplifting way of reminding us all of the sacrifices made by those who went before us.