The following report was publish in "The Westmorland Gazette" on 01 November 2014.
How one village was affected by the First World War
Mervyn Hull, of St. Mary's Church, reveals the stories of First World War soldiers from Allithwaite whose names are on the parish war memorial.
Estimates tell us that in the region of 20 million people died in the First World War.
A generation was affected and almost every town and village lost one or more of its young men. Allithwaite was one such village.
To mark the centenary of the start of the war, St Mary's Church, the village school and community have worked with members of the Cartmel Peninsula Local History Society to find out more about the 11 young men whose names are recorded on the parish war memorial.
Researchers have discovered stories of courage, pride, sadness and loss.
Infantrymen Joseph Martin, Thomas Akister, Joseph Hibbert, George Sedgwick and John Lambert all lost their lives on "Flanders Fields". Captain Alfred Huntriss Arnold, from Kents Bank, was seriously injured when the machine gun team which he was leading was hit by a shell; paralysed, he was evacuated to London where he died and is buried.
Frank Wood Chadwick transferred to the flying corps, becoming one of the many RAF casualties - he was shot down over France.
James Dickinson and William Drinkall grew up as next door neighbours at Yew Tree Farm. They served and died in Greece and Mesopotamia respectively.
Conversation with living relatives has provided much information about Isaac Brockbank and Robert Thompson. The children at Allithwaite School have focused on these as part of their centenary project.
Isaac Brockbank took part in the Battle of Ypres in March 1916. His wife was informed that he was wounded.
Two months later, however, she was informed that he actually died on March 2.
While details are sketchy, it seems that following treatment for his injuries, he was hit by a shell when attempting to return to his platoon. In 1922, Isaac's wife travelled to Belgium to visit the battlefield area. She brought back the wooden cross which marked his burial place. This now hangs in St Mary's Church.
Robert Thompson's name was only added to the memorial in recent years. His parents had found it hard to accept his death and could not see it acknowledged on the memorial at the time.
After training, Robert was sent to France in April 1918. He was wounded three times before eventually receiving fatal wounds in August 1918, after just four months active service. He was 19 years old.
The mementoes kept by Robert's family include the watch he wore in the trenches where he fell . . . . .
See the report on the page of "The Westmoreland Gazette". |
| Thomas Akister |
Rank:
Service No.:
Date of Death:
Age:
Regiment:
Cemetery:
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Lance Corpora
200442
31 July 1917
20
1st/4th Bn. King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)
Potijze Chateau Grounds Cemetery, Belgium
Son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Akister,
of Beckside, Allithwaite, Grange-over-Sands, Lancs. |
| 1901 England Census about Thomas Akister and family |
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Relation:
Occupation:
Birthplace:
Residence:
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Civil Parish:
County: |
Thomas
Male
32
Head
Lindale In Cartmel
Ulverston
Cartmel
Lower Allithwaite
Lancashire |
Annie
Female
29
Wife
Flookburgh
Ulverston
Cartmel
Lower Allithwaite
Lancashire |
Mary
Female
7
Daughter
at School
Allithwaite
Ulverston
Cartmel
Lower Allithwaite
Lancashire |
Name:
Gender:
Age:
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Sarah
Female
5
Daughter
at School
Allithwaite
Ulverston
Cartmel
Lower Allithwaite
Lancashire |
Thomas
Male
3
Son
Allithwaite
Ulverston
Cartmel
Lower Allithwaite
Lancashire |
| |
| Alfred Huntress Arnold (CWGC: Huntriss) |
Rank:
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Captain
30 December 1916
24
2nd Bn. West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own)
East Sheen Cemetery, Surrey, England
Son of Isabel and the late Charles Comber Arnold. |
| 1891 England Census about Alfred Huntress Arnold and family |
Name:
Gender:
Age:
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Birthplace:
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Amos
Male
52
Head
Scavenger
Codicote, Herts
Gloucester Street
Salford
St. Bartholomews, Salford
Lancashire |
Isabella
Female
50
Wife
Hertfordshire
Gloucester Street
Salford
St. Bartholomews, Salford
Lancashire |
Lydia
Female
28
Daughter
Hertfordshire
Gloucester Street
Salford
St. Bartholomews, Salford
Lancashire |
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Relation:
Occupation:
Birthplace:
Residence:
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County: |
George
Male
20
Son
Railway Porter
Hertfordshire
Gloucester Street
Salford
St. Bartholomews, Salford
Lancashire |
Alfred
Male
0
Son
Salford, Lancs
Gloucester Street
Salford
St. Bartholomews, Salford
Lancashire |
| |
 |
| Isaac Henry Brockbank |  |
Rank:
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Date of Death:
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Private
3/20384
02 March 1916
35
"B" Coy. 8th Bn. King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)
Artillery Wood Cemetery, Belgium
Son of John and Agnes Brockbank,
of "Low Knott", Blawith, Greenodd, Ulverston, Lancs,
husband of Mary Isabel Brockbank,
of Almond Bank, Allithwaite, Grange-over-Sands, Lancs. |
| James Dickinson |
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| Joseph Hibbert (Probably) |
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Corporal
34028
20 April 1918
32
1st Bn. The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment
Loos Memorial, France
Husband of Sarah E. Hibbert
of Brook Cottage, near Garstang, Lancs. |
| Joseph Martin |
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| Frank Wood Chadwick |
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| William Drinkall |
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Private
22027
08 March 1916
6th Bn. King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)
Basra Memorial, Iraq
|
| John Lambert |
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| George Sedgwick |
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Lance Corporal
30115
16 June 1917
24
8th Bn. King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)
Arras Memorial, France
Son of William and Hannah Sedgwick,
of Yew Tree Farm, Cart Lane, Grange-over-Sands, Lancs,
husband of the late E. E. Sedgwick. |
| Robert Thompson |
 |
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Private
52135
08 August 1918
19
6th Bn. Northamptonshire Regiment
Querrieu British Cemetery, France
Son of John and Annie Thompson,
of Laburnum Cottage, Allithwaite, Grange-over-Sands, Lancs. |
| Ralf Athelsie Pole Allsebrook |
 |
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Flight Lieutenant (Pilot)
62267
Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Flying Cross
16 September 1943
23
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve "Dambusters"
Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany
Son of George Clarence and Dorothy Allnutt Allsebrook,
of Cark-in-Cartmel, Lancashire.
Qualified for B.A. (Oxon.). |
Ralf Allsebrook was commissioned on 29th January 1941 and rose up through the ranks. He was involved in the Hampden P1248 crash when the aircraft hit a barrage-balloon cable and crashed in Concord Park near Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
The Observer/Instructor Jeffrey Bohun Ranson was killed but Ralf, the pilot, escaped by parachute. He was made up to Flying Officer and a year later to Flight Lieutenant. On 14th February 1942 he was returning from operations at Mannheim, Germany when his Hampden AE397 ran out of fuel and he ditched the aircraft off the Isle of Wight. He gained the DFC on 14th April 1942 with 49 Squadron and the DSO on 9th July 1943 but no citations for these awards have been found. He was killed serving with 617 Squadron, flying in Lancaster EE130 when his aircraft struck a canal-side crane and crashed into the canal. He had been hand picked to serve in 617 Squadron, commonly referred to as the Dam Busters. He was considered to be one of Britain's finest bomber pilots though he had not been involved in the dams raid. |
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| Austin Drinkall |
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Flight Lieutenant (Pilot)
161594
06 August 1944
83 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Pontoise Communal Cemetery, France
|
| Lawrence David Long |
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Second Radio Officer
29 October 1942
32
Canadian Merchant Navy, S. S. "Bic Island" (Montreal).
Halifax Memorial, Canada
Son of John Lawrence Long and Edith A. Long,
of Grange-over-Sands, Lancashire, England. |
At 00.15 hours on 29 Oct 1942 the Bic Island (Master James Brown), a straggler from convoy HX-212, was torpedoed and sunk by U-224 southwest of Rockall. The ship was straggling after picking up 44 survivors from Gurney E. Newlin, which had been sunk by U-606 (Döhler) the previous day and 77 survivors from Sourabaya, sunk on 27 October by U-436 (Seibicke). The master, 35 crew members, eight gunners and all 121 survivors were lost. |
| John Edmund Heywood |
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Flight Lieutenant (Pilot)
170404
18 March 1944
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Allithwaite (St. Mary) Churchyard
Son of Edmund and Nellie Heywood. |
| Waller Eden-Smith |
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Sub-Lieutenant
20 February 1945
38
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, H. M. S. "Vervain"
Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Hampshire, England
Son of Harold and Blanche Eden-Smith,
husband of Marjorie Eden-Smith,
of Grange-over-Sands, Lancashire. |
At 11.45 hours on 20 Feb 1945, HMS Vervain (K 190) (T/A/LtCdr R.A. Howell, RNVR) was hit by a torpedo from U-1276 while escorting the convoy HX-337 and sank after 20 minutes about 25 miles south-east of Dungarvan, Ireland. The commander, three officers and 56 ratings were lost. The U-boat was sunk after this attack by HMS Amethyst (U 16) (LtCdr N. Scott-Elliot, DSC, RN) from the same convoy. Three officers and 31 ratings were rescued. |
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