The War Memorial in Middlesmoor
Tim The Transcriptions War Memorial overlooking the valley in the churchyard of St Chad’s Church, Middlesmoor IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF BUSFIELD, WHITEHEAD DOLPHIN, WILLIAM H EGLIN, JOHN K HARKER, ROBERT P METCALFE, JOSEPH PARKINSON, JAMES B TELFER, THOMAS VERITY, GEORGE T WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR GOD, KING AND COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS THAT A MAN LAY DOWN/ HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIEND ERECTED BY/ VOLUNTARY SUBSCRIPTION 1920 ALSO OF CPL ERNEST CALVERT L/CPL JOHN CAMERON GDS JOHN DOLPHIN CPT HESKETH ADAIR RAMSDEN MC THESE MEN DIED /IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR/ THAT WE MIGHT LIVE 1939-1945 THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE 2 - Wesleyan Church War Memorial (now kept in Lofthouse Methodist Church) LIEUT ROBERT P HARKER PTE WHITEHEAD BUSFIELD CPL JOHN K. EGLIN PTE JOSEPH METCALFE PTE GEORGE T. VERITY PTE WILLIAM H DOLPHIN PTE THOMAS TELFER PTE JAMES B. PARKINSON TIM THE FALLEN Those who Fell in WW1 BUSFIELD, Whitehead Private, 16th (Service) Battalion (1st Bradford), The Prince of Wales’s Own (West Yorkshire Regiment), 93 Brigade, 31st Division. Army no 32002. He was killed in action on Monday 13 November 1916 in the Battle of the Ancre. He was 23. He was the son of Martha and the late William Busfield, Low Farsipe, (is it Farside?) Greenhow Hill, Pateley Bridge He is buried in Euston Road Cemetery, Colincamps DOLPHIN, William Horner Private, 9th (Service) Battalion, The Prince of Wales’s Own (West Yorkshire Regiment), 32 Brigade, 11th Division. Army no 34459. He was killed in action on Tuesday 28 August 1917 in the fighting near St Julien. He was 38. He was the son of the late Matthew and Esther Dolphin and the brother of George Dolphin, 52 Bradford Road, Oakenshaw, Bradford. He is remembered on The Tyne Cot Memorial. EGLIN, John Kerr Lance Corporal, 2nd Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders), 21 Indian Brigade, 7th Indian Division. Army no S/17483. He was killed in action on Wednesday 14 March 1917. He was 33. He was the only son of William and Agnes M Eglin, Wooddale, Scar Village, Harrogate. He is remembered on The Basra Memorial. HARKER, Robert Parkinson Private, 2nd Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers, 12 Brigade, 4th Division. Army no 37836. He died from his wounds on Wednesday 11 April 1917. He was 24. He was the son of John P and the late Betsy Harker, Totterington, Lancashire. He is buried in Haute-Avesnes British Cemetery. METCALFE, Joseph Gunner, 49th Division, Royal Field Artillery, Brigade, Division. Army no 148903. He died on active service on Tuesday 27 February 1917. He was 27. He was the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Metcalfe, Lofthouse, Pateley Bridge. He is buried in St. Pol Communal Cemetery Extension. PARKINSON, James Brookes Rifleman, 8th Battalion (Leeds Rifles) TF, The Prince of Wales’s Own (West Yorkshire Regiment), 185 Brigade, 62nd Division. Army no 29052. He was killed in action on Sunday 1 September 1918 in the fighting around Arras. He was 23. He was the son of James and Annie Parkinson, Lofthouse. He is buried in Vaulx Hill Cemetery. TELFER, Thomas Lance Corporal, 6th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany’s). Army no 267484. He died from his wounds on Saturday 23 March 1918. He was 24. He was the son of Thomas and Elliott Telfer, Angram, Pateley Bridge. He is buried in Grevillers British Cemetery and his headstone is inscribed Safely in His Care & Keeping. VERITY, George Thomas Private, (Reserve) 10th Battalion, The Prince of Wales’s Own (West Yorkshire Regiment). Army no 37358. He died from his wounds on Wednesday 18 April 1917. He was 29. He was the son of William and Mary Verity, Stean, Middlesmoor. He is buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery and his headstone is inscribed Beloved Son of William & Mary Verity, Stean, Stone Beck Down. Those who fell in WW1 who are not on the memorial HEPBURN, Eric Private, 28th Battalion. Canadian Infantry, Saskatchewan Regiment. CEF no 886170. He died on active service on Saturday 11 August 1917. He was 23. He was the son of Robert M and Edith Hepburn, The Vicarage, Middlesmoor. He is buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery and his headstone is inscribed From the ground there blossoms red Life that shall endless be. He states on his Attestation that he was a Presbyterian. Those who Fell in WW2 CALVERT, Ernest Corporal, 116 Road Construction Company, Royal Engineers. Army no 2189402. He died on active service on Monday 17 June 1940. He was 42. He was the son of George and Barbara Calvert; husband of Beatrice Maud Calvert, Lofthouse. He is buried in La Bernerie en Retz Communal Cemetery and his headstone is inscribed In My Lonely Hours of Thinking Thoughts of You are Ever Near. Additional information About 4,000 men, women and children lost their lives when the ss Lancastria sank 20 minutes after it was bombed by German aircraft near the French port of Saint Nazaire on 17 June 1940. Fewer than 2,500 people survived. This was the largest loss of life from a single engagement for British forces in WW2 and the largest loss of life in British maritime history. This was in the aftermath of Dunkirk when many refugees and service personnel were escaping from the invading German Army. CAMERON, John Lance Corporal, Pioneer Corps. Army no 13111166. He died on active service on Sunday 23 July 1944 just 6 weeks after the invasion of Normandy.. He was 45. He was the husband of Mary Florence Cameron, Middlesmoor. He is buried in Ryes War Cemetery, Bazenville, Normandy inland from the invasion beaches and his headstone is inscribed No Greater Love Hath Man Than This for His Dear Wife and Bairns. God Is Love. DOLPHIN, John Guardsman 5th Battalion, Grenadier Guards Army no 2617911 He was killed on active service on Tuesday 25 January 1944. The Allies had landed at Anzio, behind the German Lines a few days earlier. He was 23. He was the son of Tom and Elizabeth A Dolphin, Glasshouses. He is buried in Anzio War Cemetery and his headstone is inscribed Thy Will Be Done. RAMSDEN, Hesketh Adair MC Captain, 1st/5th Battalion, The Leicestershire Regiment. Army no 114172. He was killed in action on Tuesday 23 April 1940. He was 41. He was the son of Joseph and Caroline E Ramsden and the husband of Joan Ramsden, Market Drayton, Shropshire. He is buried in Lillehammer Northern Civil Cemetery and his headstone is inscribed He Is Enshrined in The Hearts of Those Who Loved Him. He died in the defence of Norway which had been invaded by the Germans on the 9 April that year. Extract from the Leicestershire Regiment: He served in the King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC) in WW1, being awarded the MC (London Gazette 26 July 1918) for action as 2nd Lieutenant, 11th Battalion, The Kings Royal Rifle Corps on 27 March 1918 at Folies, France. Between the wars he was a director of several colliery companies in Shropshire. He joined 1st/5th Battalion, The Leicestershire Regiment in WW2 and he served in Norway in April 1940, being killed near Lillehammer on 23 July 1940, aged 41. A Leicestershire newspaper reported an eye witness account of the action, 'Led by Captain H A Ramsden, his revolver in one hand and a stick in the other, the eight men went over with yells which echoed from the hills about them. The Germans, staggered by the very effrontery of the attack, wavered, broke and as they ran threw away their weapons.' He was awarded a Mention in Despatches (London Gazette 20 December 1940). He is buried in Lillehammer Northern Civil Cemetery, Norway. In St Chad’s Church Middlesmoor there is a stained-glass window of two main lights. A brass plaque below bears the inscription in incised black lettering. The window depicts two warriors, one possibly St George. And information is from the Imperial War Museum: Inscription on the window itself In dear Remembrance of Hesketh Adair Ramsden loved husband of Joan and Father of Susan Judith and Jonathon November 1899 to 1940. On a plaque below: In memory of Captain Hesketh Adair Ramsden M.C. The Leicestershire Regiment, (K.R.R.C. 1918) killed in action in Norway on St Georges Day 23rd April 1940 buried at Lillehammer he is enshrined in the hearts of those who loved him this tablet was erected by his tenants and friends. |