Unit/Regiment	1st/5th Bn., South Lancashire Regiment
Date of Death	24/05/1915		Age at Death		30
Burial/Memorial & Reference	New Irish Farm Cemetery III E 6
CWGC Family Details (if shown)	Husband of Mary Alice Cowell, of 1, No. 2 Court, Victoria Place, Prescot, Lancs.
Census Details	1901 Census - James, aged 15, was living at Derby Road, Huyton, with his widowed mother Ellen (45), and siblings Gareth (14), Margaret (1) and Sarah (9).
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations	Birth registered Q4/1884, Prescot, Vol 8b, Page 685 Marriage to Mary Alice Balmer registered in Prescot, Q1/1905, Vol 8b, Page 909
SDGW – Where Born	Huyton Quarry	Enlisted		Prescot	Resided
How Died	Killed In Action			Theatre of War	France & Flanders
Research Ref. No.	P061

 

Service Details

James Cowell was born in Huyton Quarry in 1884, the son of James, a farm labourer, and Ellen Cowell. He was one of 8 children.

He married Mary Alice Balmer, a Watch Maker from Victoria Place, Prescot, on March 25^th 1905 at the Workhouse in Whiston. The marriage had been witnessed by Ellen Cowell and Alfred Cowell.  They went on to have four children; Alfred, born  June 9^th 1905, John, born April 29^th 1907, William, born January 7^th, 1910 and Martha, born September 20^th, 1913.

James Cowell attested into the army on 9^th September 1914 for the duration of the war. He noted that he had been born in Huyton Quarry, was 30 years old and that he worked as a labourer.

His records show that he was 5foot 5 ½ inches tall and weighed 10stones with a 38 inch chest, expanded to 40 inches. He had a fresh complexion, grey eyes, and light brown hair. His religion was Church of England.

On 7^th December 1914 at Blackpool, Private Cowell again underwent a medical. This further noted that he had received vaccinations in childhood. As a result of this medical, he was assigned to the 5^th (Reserve) Battalion of the South Lancashire Regiment.

The 5^th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment, had just started its annual training in camp when war broke out in August 1914. It was sent to Edinburgh until October, then moved to Tunbridge Wells until February 1915. It was then ordered to France, sailing on the 13^th aboard s.s. King Edward., arriving at Le Havre the same day.

Over the next few days the battalion marched to billets at Le Bizet, and then undertook instruction in trench warfare. The system was for companies from a battalion to be attached to other battalions for spells in the line, before the sector was allocated to the battalion on its own. In addition to the trench duty, the battalion undertook its share of pioneer work and training in rapid fire.

The Battalion was moved around regularly without seeing action, until 28^th April when it was moved to Vlamertinghe, Belgium in readiness to take part in the 1^st Battle of Ypres, which had started on the 22^nd.

On 2^nd May, the Germans launched a violent attack, accompanied by a cloud of chlorine gas, and the battalion was moved into the line for the first time. On 3^rd May, it was moved to the new line in front of Wieltje, and then on the 4^th it was again moved to Shell Trap Farm. At dawn, they engaged the Germans but by 4pm the enemy was within 400 yards of the British lines, from where they began a heavy bombardment of the British lines.

More shell fire continued through the next day, culminating in heavy concentrated fire about 5 p.m. which resulted in a considerable number of men being buried, many of them killed and wounded. The enemy fire continued until midnight and four attempts were made by the Germans to take the farm, but all were repulsed.

At 2 a.m. on the 6^th, the Battalion was relieved and moved to La Brique, having incurred considerable casualties.

On the 8^th May, the battalion was once more sent up to the Wieltje sector as it was thought that the enemy had broken through, but it proved to be a false alarm and on the 9^th it returned to La Brique, leaving “C” Company and a machine-gun detachment at Wieltje. Early on the 10^th, the battalion moved to the bank of the Yser canal where it remained until the 13^th, when it was moved back to the support lines.

It was more of the same throughout the next two weeks of May, then at 3 a.m. on the morning of the 24^th, the Germans released the largest cloud of gas seen so far in the war across a wide stretch of the British lines, followed by a large assault force.  Their followed almost a full day’s desperate fighting, often in very confusing situations, “B” and “C” companies occupied French Switch, a trench connecting the British and French troops, but they suffered from very heavy shelling of the trench, which inflicted considerable casualties.

The remainder of the day and all of the 24^th was spent in reorganisation and consolidation, also re-establishing contact with the French.  The battalion remained in the front line until 1^st June, but no serious German attacks were launched after 25^th May, although small scale actions continued. Both sides were now exhausted, having been in almost continuous contact for 33 days.

A Casualty Form dated 4^th June 1915, reports that James Cowell was wounded, suffered Gas Poisoning and was reported missing as a result of action in the field.

A War Office letter of 8^th February 1916 stated that Mrs. Cowell had been awarded a pension of 22/6 (22 shillings and 6 pence) per week in respect of Private Cowell, noting that they had four children.

The War Office wrote to the Army Records Office on 24^th June 1916 to say that for official purposes, Private Cowell was to be regarded as “having died on or since 24^th May 1915” and that the next of kin should be advised accordingly. It seems likely that the casualty form reporting him wounded and dated 4^th June 1915 was completed when the action was over and information was being collated on killed, wounded and missing men.

On 1^st September 1916, the War Office further instructed the Army Records Office that any personal effects of Private Cowell should be forwarded to his wife, Mrs. Mary A. Cowell, of 7, Victoria Place, Prescot.

The Army Records Officer wrote to Mrs. Cowell on 10^th July 1919, stating that according to their records, she was Private Cowell’s next-of-kin and as such, would be entitled to the memorial plaque and scroll issued to the family of all deceased soldiers, and asking her to confirm this fact. She replied to confirm her name as “Mary Alice Cowell” and her address as “No 1 House, No 2 Court, Victoria Place, Prescot”.

Mrs. Cowell wrote to acknowledge recipe of Private Cowell’s British War Medal and Victory Medal on 20^th September 1921.

On December 16^th 1923, Mrs. Cowell acknowledger receipt of “1 disc”, this being the property of her late husband which had been forwarded on to her. As Private Cowell had been reported missing 8 years earlier, it seems likely that his body had been found and identified as part of the post-war battlefield clearances. The only effects on the body were the disk, which enabled the body to be identified and resulted in Private Cowell being buried in New Irish Farm Cemetery.

At the time of the Armistice in November 1918, the cemetery had contained just 73 burials but was greatly enlarged when over 4,500 graves were brought in from the battlefields north-east of Ypres and from other smaller cemeteries in the area, as well as bodies found in the clearances. Over 3,200 of the burials are unidentified.

 

Prescot Reporter 14^th September 1917

 

 

James Cowell’s medal Index Card shows his arrival in France on 13^th February 1915, and his death just three months later. He was entitled to the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal

 

James Cowell's grave at New Irish Farm Cemetery

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Unit/Regiment	15th (County of London) Bn., (PWO Civil Service Rifles), London Regiment
Date of Death	06/12/1917		Age at Death		29
Burial/Memorial & Reference	Cambrai Memorial Panel 12
CWGC Family Details (if shown)	Son of John and Elizabeth Janet Cowherd, of Broadwater Rd., Tottenham, London
Census Details	1901 Census - Thomas was aged 12 and lived at 30, Foyles Road, Tottenham. His father was John, a 40 year old accountant with Tottenham Urban District Council and his mother was Elizabeth, aged 42. Also present were siblings Agnes (11), Arthur (7), Sidney (4) and Ellen (1). Thomas’ father, John Cowherd, was a native of Prescot. The 1881 census shows him to be a Solicitor’s General Clerk at the age of 20, and his father  (also Thomas) had been a Rate Collector for the Local Municipal Authority. The family lived at the time at 16, Derby Street, Prescot.   Thomas Beaconsfield Cowherd, was born in Prescot in 1888 but the family had already moved to London by the time of the 1891 census. 1911 Cesus - John Cowherd (50) and his wife Elizabeth (52) lived at 90, Broadwater Road, Tottenham. They had been married for 23 years and had 5 children. Thomas (22) and Agnes (21) (both of whom had been born in Prescot)  were both School Teachers, Arthur (17) was a Correspondence Clerk with a Ship Owner, Sidney (14) and Helen (11) were all at school.
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations	Birth Registered Q3/1888, Prescot, 8b, 615
SDGW – Where Born	Prescot, Lancs	Enlisted		Tottenham	Resided
How Died	Killed In Action			Theatre of War	France & Flanders
Research Ref. No.	P062

Research ongoing

 

 

Thomas Cowherd’s Medal Index Card

 

Thomas Cowherd’s inscription on the Cambrai Memorial

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Private 21633 John CREAGHAN

(c) Prescot Reporter

 

Unit/Regiment	"B" Coy, 11th Bn, South Lancashire Regiment
Date of Death	05/10/1916		Age at Death		34
Burial/Memorial & Reference	Dartmoor Cemetery, Becordel-Becourt II D 27
Census Details	1901 Census - Not found
SDGW – Where Born		Enlisted			Resided
How Died	Died of Wounds			Theatre of War	France & Flanders
Research Ref. No.	P365

 

 

Service Details

 

John Creaghan of 30, Bretherton Road, enlisted as Private 21633 to the 11^th Battalion of the South Lancashire Regiment on 24^th May 1915 at Prescot. He was a single man, aged 33 and working as a Collier.

 

His next of kin was listed as his sister, Annie Creaghan, at the same address.

 

Initial training took place on Salisbury Plain and in early 1915, the Battalion became a “Pioneer” Battalion with the 30^th Division. It had been decided that each of the New Army divisions should have an extra battalion included in its establishment to carry out road-making and other semi-technical work frequently called for in the field. The 11^th Battalion was known as the “St Helens Pioneers” in honour of the fact that the majority of the men came from St Helens.

 

The Battalion finally left for France in November 1915, disembarking at Le Havre on the 7^th. The Battalion strength was 30 officers and 1,007 other ranks.

 

They served for the remainder of 1915 in the Somme Valley, carrying out work in the trenches. They suffered a few casualties, mainly to German snipers, but otherwise their first few weeks in the field proved uneventful. 

 

In the Spring and early Summer of 1916, the Battalion were heavily involved in preparations for the forthcoming Somme offensive. As a Pioneer Battalion, this was an exceptionally busy time.

 

On 1^st July, at the commencement of the Battle of the Somme, 30^th Division were tasked with the capture of Montauban, with the initial assault taking place at 7.30 a.m. This was done by 2.45 p.m. and the Battalion were hard at work creating communications trenches forward through to the German front line. Three of the planned 4 trenches were completed by the fourth was abandoned due to extremely heavy German shelling, which inflicted heavy casualties.

 

In addition, large numbers of men were hit by German machine gun fire as they went over the top in support of the assaulting infantry. Overall, the battalion lost 190 men in the Somme battle before they were taken out of the line.

 

In August 1916, the 11^th Battalion was moved to the Festubert sector where there was plenty of Pioneer work awaiting them, before moving again in September to the area of Albert, Montauban and Fricourt. Again, they were engaged on Pioneer work, as opposed to engaging with the enemy. Despite this, they continued to suffer casualties from the usual trench attrition, shell-fire, etc. 

 

John Creaghan became a casualty on 5^th October 1916. His Casualty Form states that he was initially wounded “In the field” but then the next entry states “Died of Wounds”. The battalion lost 10 men in that October, with one other (Arthur Meek) being Killed in Action on the same day as John Creaghan, who now rests in Dartmoor Cemetery.

 

The War Office wrote to the Army Records Office on 16^th April 1917 asking that any personal property of James should be forwarded to his sister, Annie. This letter refers to her surname as “Creaghan or Banks”. Subsequently, on 2^nd September 1917, she wrote to confirm receipt of the items which had been returned to her, although these are not listed. At this time, she signed her name as “Annie Banks”.

 

The Casualty Branch of the regiment, based in Shrewsbury, wrote to Annie Banks on 9^th September 1919 asking if she had been maintained by the soldier, or had received an allowance from hm. She replied the following day to state that she had been maintained for over 4 years by James Creaghan and that she was now in receipt of a weekly pension  of 12/-. This was probably due to Annie completing the form asking for details of relatives of the deceased, and entering her status as “Unmarried Wife” although James had initially referred to her as his sister. Annie returned the second form sent to her, this time stating that she was “living with John Creaghan as his wife”. This was confirmed by Henry Wood, Secretary of Prescot War Pensions Committee, and seconded by Councillor William Lucas.

 

On 26^th May 1922,   Annie acknowledged receipt of his medals, which were the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

 

 

 

The form on which Annie Banks explained her relationship with John Creaghan. Nte that she had makred the letter with an "X", which had been certified as "Her mark" by Henry Wood.

 

 

When he had attested, John had stated that Annie Creaghan ws his sister

 

 

When notifying the authorities of John's next of kin, Annie reverted to the name of Banks and stated her relationship to be "unmarried wife".

 

 

John's Medal Index Card, confirming his arrival in France on 6th November 1915

 

 

 

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Unit/Regiment	2/4th (City of Bristol) Bn., Territorial, Gloucestershire Regiment
Date of Death	02/08/1916		Age at Death		19
Burial/Memorial & Reference	Merville Communal Cemetery XI A 11
CWGC Family Details (if shown)	Son of George and Margaret Critchley, of 1, Saggersons Court, Moss St., Prescot, Lancs
Census Details	1901 Census - Living at No 1 House, Saggersons Court, Prescot, were George Critchley, a 35 year old coal miner, his wife Margaret (31)and children Kate (1), Charles (5) and Winifred (1) 1911 Census - George Critchley, a 47 year old Collier at Lea Green, and his wife Margie (45) lived at 2, Saggersons Court, Moss Street, Prescot. They had been married for 21 years and of their 12 children, 6 were still living, 5 of them at home. Charles was 15 and working as a Grocer’s  Assistant. Also present were Winifred (11), Sarah (9), Gertrude (6) and George (1).
SDGW – Where Born	Prescot, Lancs	Enlisted		Prescot	Resided
How Died	Died of Wounds			Theatre of War	France & Flanders
Research Ref. No.	P063

Service Details

 The 2/4^th Battalion of the Gloucester Regiment moved to Laventie on 24^th July 1916. One “Other Rank” was wounded on the 27^th, then on 29^th Capt Foot and 1 Other Rank were killed (they appear to have been opposite the Sugarloaf which is noted that they fired rifle grenades at). 1 OR was wounded on the 31^st, then the battalion came out of the line until 5^th August, when they relieved the 2/6^th Gloucs in the Fauquissart Left Sub Sector. They completed their relief at 3.55 pm with 1 OR wounded. On 6 Aug it is noted "GOC Divn called at Headquarters" and that day 1O/R was killed and 5 wounded.

It seems likely that Pte Critchley was wounded on or before the 2nd. His burial in Merville coincides with the presence of two Casualty Clearing Stations (7 and 54) being based there at the time.

Prescot Reporter, 11/08/1916 –

“Mr. and Mrs. George Critchley of Moss Street, Prescot, have received official confirmation that their son, Pte. Charles Critchley, who was recently wounded in France, died on the 2^nd inst. In the London Casualty Clearing Station in France. The nurse in charge of the station, in a note to Mrs. Critchley, said that her son made a splendid fight for life. He was a fine patient, so brave and anxious not to be any trouble, and in every way he was a son to be proud of.”

 

Prescot Reporter 14^th September 1917

 

Charles Critchley’s Medal Index Card shows his original service with the South Lancashire Regiment

 

Charles Critchley's grave at Merville

Picture courtesy and copyright of "Ponte Fractus", a Pal of the Great War Forum

 

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Unit/Regiment	1st/4th Bn., South Lancashire Regiment
Date of Death	11/04/1918		Age at Death		35
Burial/Memorial & Reference	Loos Memorial Panel 76
Census Details	1901 Census – Mathew Critchley, aged 20, was a Tile Cutter and lived with his mother and Stepfather, Eunice (58) and James Sherwood (57) at 6, Parkers Row in Rainhill.
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations	Birth registered Q4/1879, Prescot, Volume 8b, Page 696 Marriage to Elizabeth Platt registered in Q2/1912 in Liverpool, Volume 8b, Page 74
SDGW – Where Born		Enlisted		St Helens	Resided
How Died	Killed in Action			Theatre of War	France & Flanders
Notes	Service Number is 241556 n SDGW & on Medal Index Card
Research Ref. No.	P064

Service Record

Mathew Critchley’s Medal Index Card does not show a date of entry into France, thereby indicating that he only arrived there after January 1916.

The battalion was based around the Ypres sector for almost all of its time in France, and at the beginning of 1918 it was based at Beuvry, where it remained until the beginning of March. There were strong indications that the Germans planned to launch a large assault, and this finally happened on 21^st March. However, the 4^th Battalion remained out of the line until 8^th April when they moved to Locon and Essars, suffering 33 casualties that day from shall fire and gas.

After a heavy bombardment on the morning of the 9^th, a German assault took place and the battalion was ordered forward to the Le Touret line of defence. Here waves after wave of German attack were beaten back by the battalion , helped by the Royal Engineers Field Companies of the 55^th Division.

On the 10^th, all was quiet until about 2.00 p.m. when parties of Germans were seen trying to cross the Lawe canal, which protected the battalion’s left flank. Again, heavy fighting took place and these attacks were thwarted. In the evening, shelling of the battalion HQ increased and the Lt.-Col. Egerton Fairclough was killed and his cousin, Major Eric Fairclough, took over command.

At daybreak on the 11^th the shelling was again increasingly heavy and an infantry attack took place around 11.00 a.m., but “A” and “D” companies beat off the attack with the help of the 1^st Northumberland Fusiliers.

The battalion lost 30 men on that day, amongst them Mathew Critchley. His body was never identified after the fighting and he is remembered on the Loos Memorial.

 

The Parish Magazine of 20^th May 1918 noted 10 additional casualties, including “Pte. Mathew Critchley, 35, 5^th S. Lancs., Killed in Action 11 April 1918, of 20 Duke Street, leaves a widow”. However both CWGC and SDGW show him as serving with the 4^th Battalion.

 

Mathew Critchley’s Medal Index Card showing his entitlement to the British War Medal and Victory Medal

 

 

Private Critchley’s inscription on the Loos Memorial

 

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Unit/Regiment	182nd Tunnelling Coy., Corps of Royal Engineers
Date of Death	20/04/1916		Age at Death		36
Burial/Memorial & Reference	Menin Gate Panel 6 and 8
Census Details	1901 Census - Robert was 21 and a Colliery Carter. He lived at 2 Nuttall Street, St. Helens, with his father Thomas (66), mother Jane (50) and siblings Thomas (22), a Colliery Carter, Joseph (19), an iron worker, Edward (14), a bottle maker's apprentice, Henry (8), Margaret (10), Lillie (7), Beatrice (5) and Lucy (2).
SDGW – Where Born	Prescot, Lancs	Enlisted		St Helens, Lancs	Resided	Haydock, Lancs
How Died	Killed In Action			Theatre of War	France & Flanders
Notes	Formerly G/11238 serving with 4th Royal Fusiliers. This is the entry which is held by CWGC
Research Ref. No.	P065

 

Unit/Regiment	1st/5th Bn., South Lancashire Regiment
Date of Death	02/08/1916		Age at Death		36
Burial/Memorial & Reference	Peronne Road Cemetery IV B 19
Census Details	1901 Census – William Critchley, aged 22, a Labourer at Sheet Glassworks, lived at 46 Clyde Street, St Helens with his wife Jane (21). They were boarders at the home of Jane’s mother, Ann Rigby a 54 year old widow
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations	Marriage between William Critchley and Jane Rigby was registered in Prescot in  Q4/1900, Volume 8b, Page 1104
SDGW – Where Born	Prescot, Lancs	Enlisted		St Helens, Lancs	Resided
How Died	Killed In Action			Theatre of War	France & Flanders
Research Ref. No.	P066

Unit/Regiment	6th Bn., Loyal North Lancashire Regiment
Date of Death	09/08/1915		Age at Death
Burial/Memorial & Reference	Embarkation Pier Cemetery Special Memorial B 45
SDGW – Where Born	Huyton Quarry	Enlisted			Resided	Prescot, Lancs
How Died	Killed In Action			Theatre of War	Gallipoli
Research Ref. No.	P067

 

Service Details

The 6th (Service) Battalion of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment was formed on 8th August 1914 and William Critchley’s service number is in a range issued in early November of that year. His number, 17932, is just 4 away from Pte. Joseph Taylor (also on this site), which suggests that perhaps the men were friends who enlisted on the same day.

Initial training of the battalion took place on Salisbury Plain but the battalion moved on to Blackdown, near Aldershot, early in 1915.

Around this time, it had been decided that the force in Gallipoli needed to be reinforced and the 6th Battalion was part of the 13th Division, which was chose for this task. Consequently, in early June of 1915, the battalion entrained at Farmborough for Avonmouth.

The battalion boarded s.s. “Braemar Castle” immediately but only sailed on 17th June. Steaming via Malta, Alexandria and Mudros, they finally landed at Cape Helles on the night of 6th July and immediately went into bivouacs. Within a short time they were in the front line trenches where they remained for most of July, suffering their first casualties. Towards the end of the month they were relieved and sent back to Mudros, but were back on the Peninsula by 4th August.

A new offensive was planned for shortly afterwards, one of the aims being the capture of the Chunuk Bair ridge. The main assault on 6th & 7th August was undertaken by New Zealand forces, who suffered appalling casualties in the attack. Although the summit was captured, it proved almost impossible to defend, as the rocky surface prevented the digging of trenches. The Turkish counterattack on the morning of the 8th resulted in bitter hand to hand fighting which lasted most of the day. Of the 760 men of the new Zealanders who had reached the summit, 711 had become casualties.  The trickle of reinforcements continued throughout the night and the following day, the 9th August.

As night fell on the 9th, the fighting diminished and the surviving New Zealand were relieved by the 6th Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. Fighting continued throughout the night and on the morning of the 10th, resulting in the Turks retaking the hill, sweeping over the battalion and wiping it out to the last man.

It seems likely that Private Critchley was a casualty of the Turkish counter-attacks on the night of the 9th August.

Of the 944 burials in Embarkation Pier Cemetery, 662 are unidentified. The Special Memorial to Private Critchley shows that he is believed to be buried in the cemetery, but that his actual grave has not been identified.

 

The Parish Magazine of 27th September 1915 reported “Another member of our Bible Class has laid down his life for his friends. Private William Critchley, 6th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, of Houghton Street, was killed in action in Gallipoli during the month of August”.

 

 

William Critchley’s Medal Index Card showing that he first arrived at Gallipoli on 15^th June 1915

 

 

William Critchley's Special Memorial at Embarkation Pier Cemetery

 

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