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The War Memorial in Thornton Steward
In the Church of St Oswald, Thornton Steward there is a semi-circular Memorial Stone over a doorway inscribed: TO THE MEMORY OF THE MEN FROM THE PARISH OF THORNTON STEWARD WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR GUNNER J HORN PRIVATE H T WRIGHT TROOPER F ATKINSON PRIVATE R S ATKINSON 2nd LIEUTENANT D B PRIESTLEY THEY LOVED NOT THEIR LIVES UNTO DEATH In addition there is a wooden Roll of Honour within the Church 1914 THE GREAT WAR 1918 ROLL OF HONOUR THORNTON STEWARD AND PARISH CAPT H E WADDINGTON RAF PTE J HAMILTON RASC LIEUT F R WADDINGTON RAF PTE G HAMILTON RASC 2ND LT D B PRIESTLEY LANC FUS* PTE J A HANBY RAOC CPL G STEAD RFA GNR J HORN RGA* 1 W ATKINSON RGA PTE G HORN RASC TR F ATKINSON HUSSARS* PTE F I’ANSON E YORKS PTE R S ATKINSON NZ FORCES* PTE H W B KIRKY RASC PTE R D ATKINSON NZ FORCES DR O R MORRIS RE SPR F CHERRY RE PTE H STOCKELL ROYAL FUS PTE H CHERRY T RESERVE PTE J VASEY YORKS PTE W CROWLEY YORKS CDT C R WADDINGTON ARTISTS PTE F CLARKSON E SURREY CDT S B WADDINGTON W YORKS PTE A E DILLON RASC PTE H T WRIGHT W SURREY* Those who Fell in WW1 ATKINSON, Frank Private, 10th (Prince of Wales's Own Royal) Hussars, 6 Cavalry Brigade, 3rd Cavalry Division. Army no. 12694. He was killed in action on Saturday 23 March 1918 on the Somme. He is commemorated on the Pozières Memorial. The information is very limited. His birth is recorded as being in Braith Hall. Could this be Braithwaite Hall? This would be appropriate for the inclusion on the War Memorial. He was serving in France in 1915 which means that he was born before 1898. He lived in Leyburn and enlisted there. I have not identified his birth, his parents nor any trace of him in the 1891, 1901 or 1911 Census Returns ATKINSON, Robert Stockdale Private, 1st Battalion, Canterbury Infantry Regiment, New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Army no. 6/2922. He was killed in action on Sunday 17 September 1916 near Flers. He was 21. He was the son of Nathan and Mary Ann Atkinson, Danby Lodge, Middleham and was living with his brother in Stoneyhurst, Canterbury, New Zealand. He is remembered on the Caterpillar Valley (New Zealand) Memorial which is in the Caterpillar Valley Cemetery near Longueval, France. HORN, James Gunner, 126th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery. Army no. 123539. He was killed in action on the Somme on Thursday, 21 March 1918. This was the first day of the German Spring Offensive also known as the Kaiser’s Battle which was the second worst day for casualties in the British Army’s history. He was 22. He was the son of Joseph W and Christiana Horn of Thornton Steward. He is buried in Lebucquière Communal Cemetery Extension, near Bapaume, France and inscribed on his headstone is “Yet joined by one encircling bond the Love of a Mother's Heart” The information is very limited. In some records his surname appears as Horne PRIESTLEY, Douglas Bernard Second Lieutenant, 2nd/5th Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers, 164 Brigade, 55th Division. He was killed in action on Tuesday 31 July 1917 at the Battle of Pilkem Ridge. He was 20. He was the son of Ethel and the late Rev Jonathon Priestley, The Vicarage, Thornton Steward. His Father was Vicar in this Parish from 1903. He is remembered on The Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres. Additional information Probate gives his address as that of his Uncle in The Wardens Lodge, Daventry. He was born in Bishops Monkton and his Mother had died when he was an infant. His father had remarried Ethel Stead in 1905. WRIGHT, Henry Joseph Private, 2nd Battalion, The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment), 91 Brigade, 7th Division. Army no. 40257. He also served as Private, Army no. 068071 with the Royal Army Service Corps. He died from his wounds on Saturday 17 March 1917 during the German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line. He was 25. He was the son of Thomas E and Gertrude M Wright, Danby-on-Yore. He is buried in Varennes Military Cemetery. Those who Fell in WW2 who are not on the Memorial FAWCETT, Kenneth Flight Sergeant 547 Squadron, Royal Air Force . RAFVR no. 1196180. He died on active service on Wednesday 26 April 1944. He was 29. He was the son of John T and Dora AFawcett and the husband of Joyce Fawcett of Thornton Steward. He is remembered on the Runnymede Memorial. Additional information After basic training at Blackpool, he qualified in 1942 as a wireless operator/air gunner and was posted to 547 Maritime Reconnaissance Squadron, Coastal Command at RAF Thorney Island. By early 1944 he had been promoted to Flight Sergeant and his Squadron had moved to RAF St Eval, Cornwall flying the Liberator on maritime patrol and he had flown several anti-submarine patrols in the Battle of the Atlantic. On 26 April 1944, Kenneth Fawcett's aircraft piloted by Squadron Leader Terry (of Terry's Chocolate, York) took off from RAF St. Eval for an anti-submarine training patrol with a British submarine off the Welsh coast. In the early hours of 26 April, the aircraft was to rendezvous with the submarine. The submarine captain reported that the aircraft flew very low over the conning tower and crashed into the sea. An immediate and systematic search reported all the crew as missing. There is also a The Roll of Honour The Roll of Honour 1914 The Great War 1918 Roll of Honour Thornton Steward, and Parish. Capt HLWaddington, R A F Pte J Hamilton, R A S C Lieut R R Waddington, R A F Pte G Hamilton, R A S C 2nd Lieut D B Priestley, Lanc Fus * Pte J A Hanby, R A O C Corpl G Stead, R F A Gnr J Horn, R G A Grn G W Atkinson, R G A Pte G Horn, R A S C Tr F Atkinson, Hussars * Pte F I'Anson, E Yorks Pte R S Atkinson, N Z Forces * Pte H W B Kirby, R A S C Pte R J Atkinson, N Z Forces Dr O R Morris, R E Spr F Cherry, R E Pte H Stockell, Royal Fus Pte H Cherry, T Reserve Pte J Vasey, Yorks Pte F Clarkson, E Surrey Cdt C R Waddington, Artists' Pte W Crowley, Yorks Cdt S B Waddington, W Yorks Pte A E Dillon, R A S C Pte H Wright, W Surrey * To expand on the military initials: R A F Royal Air Force Lanc Fus The Lancashire Fusiliers R F A Royal Field Artillery R G A Royal Garrison Artillery Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own Royal) Hussars N Z Forces New Zealand Expeditionary Force R E The Royal Engineers T Reserve Training Reserve E Surrey The East Surrey Regiment Yorks Alexandra, Princess of Wales’s Own, (Yorkshire Regiment) R A S C Royal Army Service Corps R A O C Royal Army Ordnance Corps E Yorks The East Yorkshire Regiment Royal Fus The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) Artists' 1st/28th (County of London) Battalion (Artists Rifles), The London Regiment W Yorks The Prince of Wales’s Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) W Surrey The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) |
