Monthly Archives: April 2023

Thomas Hughes

27 Thursday Apr 2023

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Thomas was born on 19 June 1889, and his parents were William and Hannah Hughes. In 1891, the were living at 1 back of 60 Bilston Street in Bilston, Wolverhampton. Thomas and his parents were joined by his brother, Frederic. They were living at 3 Bank Street in Bilston in 1901, along with additional siblings Elizabeth, Hannah, and Sarah. They were at 4 Bank Street in Bilston in 1911, with the addition of siblings Manuel and Priscilla. Thomas was working as an iron plate worker.

In December 1915 Thomas enlisted in the 2nd/8th Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment (service number 30829), when his address was given as 28 Hatton Street in Bradley. He was 26 years old. He was wounded in April 1917 but he recovered. In March 1918 he was reported as missing and he was later confirmed to be a Prisoner of War, having been captured at Bullecourt. survived the war and was discharged in September 1919.

I have not been able to confirm further details about Thomas’s life, although there is a Thomas Hughes of about the right age who died in Bilston in 1945.

Albert Victor Mountney

25 Tuesday Apr 2023

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Albert was born on 21 November 1896 in Burton on Trent, the son of John William and Amelia Jane Mountney. In 1900, Albert started attended Heath Town Church of England Infants School in Wolverhampton. In 1901, they were living at 26 Powell Street, Heath Town, Wolverhampton, along with Albert’s siblings Sarah Ann, Arthur George, Eliza Jane and Andrew John. By 1911, they were at 1 Maxwell Road in Wolverhampton, and the 14-year-old Albert was working as an office boy.

Albert’s medal card states that he served with the South Staffordshire Regiment (service number 24543) and the Somerset Light Infantry (34341). However, in the Express & Star dated 25 November 1916, he was reported as wounded while serving with the Devon Regiment (service number 30106). On 11 October 1917 he was discharged, due to Sickness, and he was issued with a Silver War Badge on 22 October 1917 (Badge number 260483). Unfortunately Albert died in Wolverhampton in 1918. Although he is not listed on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site, it is likely that his death was as a result of the sickness he was suffering from.

Joseph Fidler

24 Monday Apr 2023

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The son of Thomas and Mary Fidler, Joseph was born on 1 May 1892. In 1911 they were living at 35 St John’s Square, Wolverhampton, along with Joseph’s siblings Louisa, Stephen, Fanny, Mary, Thomas, Alfred, Emma, Alice Maud and Harry W. Joseph was working as an assistant.

In February 1916, Joseph enlisted as a Gunner in the Royal Field Artillery (service number 134517) and served in the 43rd (Reserve) Battery. At the date of his enlistment, he lived at 8 George Street and was working as a shop assistant. He served in France but was wounded in June 1917 and received a gun shot wound to the legs in August 1917. He was featured in the Express & Star list of wounded on 28 September 1917. He was discharged from military service in February 1919, and his pension records state that he suffered from neurasthenia as a result of his war service.

Joseph married Hilda Whitehead on 5 June 1924, and had a daughter, Doreen Hilda, in 1925. Joseph died on 9 Jan 1965. His funeral was held at St John’s Church in Snow Hill, Wolverhampton, and his cremation took place at Bushbury Crematorium. By the time of his death, his address was given as 70 Prestwood Road West, in Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, and the value of his effects was £6808. He is remembered by his grandson on “Lives of the First World War“.

Samuel Astbury

23 Sunday Apr 2023

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Samuel was born in Wolverhampton on 15 April 1897, and from 1900 onwards attended Heath Town Church of England Infants School. He was the son of Isaac Thomas and Hannah E. Astbury. In 1901 they were living at 236 Prestwood Road in Heath Town, along with Samuel’s siblings Elizabeth, Hannah and William. In 1904, Samuel transferred to Prestwood Road Infant School. The family were at 254 Prestwood Road by 1911, and Samuel had an additional sister, Mary Lee.

Samuel enlisted with the Royal Field Artillery as a Gunner (service number 75743), serving with the A Battery 75 Brigade. In April 1916, he was admitted to the 18th General Hospital with a fibula fracture. He recovered and went back to the front line, but unfortunately he was killed in action on 22 August 1917. News of his death was reported in the Express & Star on 28 September 1917. He is buried in the Vlamertinghe New Military Cemetery in Belgium, and he appears on the Heath Park Roll of Honour.

Thomas William Downs

22 Saturday Apr 2023

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Thomas was born in Bilston on 30 December 1894, the son of Henry and Elizabeth Downs. In 1901, they were living at 21 Pipes Meadow in Bilston, along with Thomas’s siblings Mary Ann, Leah, Henry E., Rose H. and Arthur. As an adult, Thomas worked as a galvanizer.

In March 1915 Thomas enlisted as a Private in the Lincolnshire Regiment (service number 16106). In August 1917 he received a gun shot wound in the head, and he was listed as having been wounded in the Express & Star on 28 September 1917. The wound in the head unfortunately caused him to suffer from secondary dementia, as well as slight deafness in the right ear and slight blindness in the right eye. This meant that he was discharged as no longer physically fit for war service in November 1918 and issued with a Silver War Badge on 30 December 1918 (Badge number B58617).

By 1939 he was living with his mother and brother George A. at 18 Pipes Meadow, Bilston, and his trade was given as galvaniser – retired disabled. Thomas died in Bilston in 1954 at the age of 59.

Walter or Wallis Thomas Pascoe

21 Friday Apr 2023

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Walter was born in Elham in Kent in 1885, the son of William Henry and Charlotte Pascoe. In 1891, he was living at the Coastguard Station Officers House in Cheriton, Kent, together with siblings Ellen M., William H., Edith H. and Florence C. They were living in Weymouth in Dorst by 1901 and Walter was working as an office boy. Walter’s father, William had died, so he was living with his widowed mother and sister Edith.

He enlisted with the King’s (Liverpool) Regiment, service number 49958, when his medal card gives his first name as “Wallis” T. Pascoe. At some point, he had moved to Wolverhampton, as he was recorded in the Express & Star on 28 September 1917 as having been wounded. However, Walter survived the war.

Walter married Mary E. Jenkins in Wolverhampton in 1916, and the couple went on to have three children – Ellen G. (1919), Florence E. (1923) and William C. (1925). By 1939 he was living in the home of Charles E. Jenkins (presumably his father-in-law) at 36 Johnson Street, Wolverhampton, and Walter was working as a bus conductor. Walter died in Wolverhampton in 1950

William Donald Benfield

20 Thursday Apr 2023

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The son of William Henry and Mary Jane Benfield, William was born on 21 Nov 1897 in Wolverhampton, and was baptised in St James’s Church on 22 December 1897. In 1901 they were living at 42 Cartwright Street, along with William’s siblings Susannah, Charles, Charlotte A., Bert and George William. In 1906, he started attending Dudley Road Primary School but left in 1908. By 1911 the family were living in Walsall, along with additional siblings Beatres May, Horice and Edgar.

On 10 April 1915 William enlisted as a private in the 1st Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers (service number 19337). He was listed as wounded in the Express & Star on 28 Sep 1917. He had been admitted to 18 General Hospital on 10 April 1917 with a wound in his right hand. He recovered from this wound and returned to active service, but was captured on the Western Front in Ecoust on 21 March 1918 (recorded as not wounded) and became a Prisoner of War. He was discharged from the army on 4 Aug 1919 and was issued with a Silver War Badge on 28 Aug 1919, Badge Number B273992.

He married Minnie E. Lewis in Wolverhampton in 1921, and the couple had three sons – Donald L. (1925), William E. (1929) and George R. (1932). William enlisted as a labourer in the National Union of Railwaymen in 1926. Unfortunately, their eldest son, Donald died at the age of 5 in 1930. By 1939, William and his wife had moved to Swindon, and he was working as a forgeman’s assistant. William died in Swindon in 1970.

William Webb

19 Wednesday Apr 2023

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William was born in 1888 in Sedgley, the son of Samuel and Emma Webb. They were living at 18 Meadow Lane near Bilston in 1901 and 1911 with William’s siblings George, Thomas, Ada and Dora. William was working as a coremaker in 1901 and as a labourer in a colliery in 1911.

William enlisted as a Private in the 2nd/5th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment (service number 9276), and rose to become a Corporal. He was mentioned in the Express & Star on 10 Feb 1917 as having been wounded. On 28 June 1916 he was admitted to the 34th Casualty Clearing Station with injuries to his right hand. He presumably recovered from these wounds, as he returned to active service, but was then killed in action on 23 Sep 1917. He is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial in Belgium.

James Pumphrey

18 Tuesday Apr 2023

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The son of William and Mary A. Pumphrey, James was born on 25 January 1887. In 1891, the family were living in Coseley Street, in Bilston, and James and his parents appeared alongside his siblings Mary A., William, Jane and Samuel. They were at 150 Bilston Road by 1901, and the 14-year-old James was working as a brickyard labourer. In 1910, James married Clara N. Smith in Dudley, and by 1911, James and his wife were living with his brother William and his wife Gertrude at 12 Hincks Street, Ettingshall.

On 14 June 1915, James enlisted as a Private in the South Staffordshire Regiment (19344). On 10 February 1917, James was listed in the Express & Star as having been wounded 10 Feb 1917, and he was discharged on 31 Aug 1917. James was entered on the Silver War Badge roll (number 236685) on 4 September 1917. By 1920, James was a member of the United Society of boilermakers and Iron shipbuilders, based in Bilston. On the 1939 register they were living at 119 John Street, Bilston, where James was working as a plater in a boiler works, with children James William, Queen H., Annie M. and Clara N. James died in 1950 in Wolverhampton at the age of 63.

Frederick Harry Keyte

13 Thursday Apr 2023

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The son of Frederick and Sarah Ellen Keyte, Frederick was born in 1883 in Wolverhampton, and was baptised in St Paul’s Church on 8 July 1883. In 1891, they were living at the Merridale Arms in Merridale Street, Wolverhampton, along with Frederick’s brothers William George and Albert James. Frederick’s mother, Sarah, died in 1897. By 1901 he was living with his widowed father and brothers at 18 Merridale Street. Frederick was working as a brewers clerk. They were at 13 Dobbs Street, Wolverhampton in 1911, and Frederick was now a hotel manager. On 3 August 1916, Frederick married Florence Jane Denham in St Mary le Strand in Middlesex.

Frederick enlisted in the 13th Company, 3rd Battalion of the Coldstream Guards (service number 16789). Unfortunately he was killed in action in France on 23 September 1916, not long after his wedding. He is remembered at the Tyne Cot Memorial in Belgium.

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The research for this post was carried out by remote volunteer, Jacky de Escofet.

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