The First World War: Bamford’s Story

In Memory of the Men of Bamford, Derwent and Hope Woodlands

Bamford War Memorial

Henry Frank Bundy, John Henry Birley, Charles Drew, Bernard Edward Finley, Harry Fox, Edmund Gillies, John Frederick William Harlow, Frederick Wystan Hipkins, Arthur Huntingdon, Charles Mabey, James Augustine Malone, Harold Rowarth, Maurice Townsend, Benjamin Townsend, Joseph Upton

St John the Baptist Churchyard

Farewell Gledhill Barker, Nellie Elizabeth Shayler, Harvey Cooper Oates, William Albert Barker

Derwent War Memorial

George Squire Cottrill, William Arthur Dakin, George Dunn, Walter Heathcote, David Frederick Kennedy, Jason Priestley, William Alexander Gregory Thorp, John Joseph Thorp, John Thorp Wilson

Men with Connections to Bamford

John Hicks Blackburn, John Richard Brown, John Chevens, William Randolph Cooper, Eric Charles Durnford, Herbert Stanley Fearn, Percy Theodore Fearn, Stenton Hickinson

Excerpts from ‘A Bamford Diary’

Here are a few snippets from the diary. Some are sombre and deeply moving, while others provide a vivid glimpse into everyday life in Bamford over 100 years ago.

As might be expected, many articles record the wounded and the dead, but the diary also shows how the war shaped life on the home front — from the pressures on agriculture and local industries to the impact on families as men were drawn into the war effort.

The extracts below offer just a small taste of the rich and varied material recorded during the war years.

24 August 1914 - The residents at Bamford

24 August 1914 - The residents at Bamford have decided to provide thirty beds to equip the Institute, and offer it as a convalescent hospital to the Red Cross Society.

26 August 1914 –The Red Cross Society at Bamford

26 August 1914 –The Red Cross Society at Bamford is doing splendid work. Some thirty ladies and gentlemen have promised beds and bedrooms for the wounded, and Mr A. Deakin has offered his house and four beds. The ladies are making and sending 50 pairs of socks for the men of the 6^th Battalion Derbyshire Regiment, and 60 men have agreed to subscribe each a penny per week so long as the war lasts to be expended in tobacco, 5lbs of the weed to be sent every month to the Derbyshire soldiers.

10 June 1916 – At the Chapel-en-le-Frith Rural District Tribunal

10 June 1916 – At the Chapel-en-le-Frith Rural District Tribunal … a pathetic case was that of a lady from Thornhill, Hope, who appealed for her son, on whom she was dependent for the working of a large farm. One son was at the front, and she had left her husband dead in the house in order to attend the Tribunal – Three months’ exemption was given.

The gardener for Mr. Harold Thomas, K.C., at Derwent, appealed and said if he to go his wife and children would be as badly off as the Belgians. He put in a certificate from a Sheffield doctor saying he was suffering from heart trouble. It was stated that two of the gardeners at Derwent Hall were not being appealed for by the Duke of Norfolk, who was paying their wives half their wages. The applicant was given exemption until August 22, and advised to go before the Medical Board.

14 September 1918 – The situation as regards harvesting of the crops

14 September 1918 – The situation as regards harvesting of the crops in the Hope Valley is becoming very serious. The corn that yet remains uncut – and much of it does – is almost ruined, and in fact, in some places in the valley, the grass is not yet cut.

12 November 1918 – “The Day” Joyfully celebrated in the district.

12 November 1918 – “The Day” Joyfully celebrated in the district. To convey in cold print any adequate conception of the relief and thanksgiving everywhere manifest would be an utterly impossible task. The news of the signing of the armistice was received in each district with intense joy, and the populace gave themselves up to rejoicing. Town and village streets became aflame with flags and bunting, sirens were sounded, and peals were run from the church towers ... At the villages of the Hope Valley – Bradwell, Castleton, Bamford and Hope, flags and bunting were displayed and the schools closed for the rest of the day.

In 2018, to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War, Bamford History Group carried out extensive research and published two books that explored the impact of the war on the local community.

The History Group published two books to commemorate the men who served during the war and the impact on our village.

Walking Soldiers

A Bamford Diary of the First World War

This diary, covering the period from 7 June 1913 to 3 February 1919, was researched and compiled by Jennifer Fox and published by Bamford History Group.

Drawing on contemporary sources including local newspapers, Bamford School logbooks, and the minute books of the Township of Bamford, the diary provides a detailed chronological account of life in the village during the war years.

Alongside national and international events, the diary records everyday village life and includes information about several local men who served and survived the war. From sombre reports of deaths on the battlefields to the ordinary rhythms of village news, it offers a fascinating insight into how the war touched all aspects of life in Bamford. The book is richly illustrated with an excellent collection of photographs from the period.

WW1: In Memory of the Men of Bamford, Derwent and Hope Woodlands

Researched and written by Rita France and published by Bamford History Group, this book focuses on the men from the local area who lost their lives during the First World War. It contains detailed biographies and a wealth of historical information, ensuring that their stories are not forgotten.

The men are commemorated on the Bamford War Memorial, the Derwent War Memorial, and in St John the Baptist Churchyard. The book also includes information about other servicemen who had connections with Bamford, offering a broader picture of the area’s wartime sacrifice.

If you would like a copy of either book, please get in touch with Bamford History Group.

In Memory of the Men of Bamford, Derwent and Hope Woodlands

Here are some stories of the men (and one woman!) who served during the First World War.

Private John Henry Birley. Died 1st August 1917, aged 31.

John Henry was born at Wardlow. The Birleys were a very old local family associated with Wardlow, Ashford and Bradwell. At Sheffield, John Henry was apprenticed with Samuel Hancock, monumental mason. Eventually he settled in Bamford as a monumental mason in the village and married a local girl, Olivia Froggett, residing at 4 Fair View where he raised a family.

He enlisted a Buxton, joining the Leicestershire Regiment before transferring to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. In July, the battalion was stationed at Ypres and took part at Passchendaele. A soldier wrote to Olivia Burley, “Whilst in action I picked up a wallet containing the enclosed photographs. I didn’t know who it belonged to as no one was near it, and it was soaking wet with rain and mud. I saw the address on one of the cards, so I thought it was my duty to just send them on as they may belong to someone dear to you.”

The next day, Olivia received the following letter. “Dear Madam, I very deeply regret to inform you of the death in action of your husband. He went into action with the Battalion on July 31 and took part in the great victory of the Welsh over the Germans. On the following day he was struck on the head by a piece of shell and was killed. He was a fine soldier and I know from his letters home, which I always censored, that he was a devoted husband and father.”

John Henry’s body was lost in the mud of Passchendaele and he is commemorated on panel 22 Menin Gate.

Nellie Elizabeth Shayler

Nellie Elizabeth Shayler. Died 3^rd November 1918. Aged 20.

The 1911 Census recorded Nellie Elizabeth Shayler and her sister Lilly living with their grandmother, Harriet Brown, at Bottom Row, Bamford. The rest of her family were living at Turners Row, Bamford.

Nellie joined the Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps. The Corps had been formed in March 1911 and was originally called the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAACs), later re-named the Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps. Women were used on the lines of communication and at GHQ on tasks that did not require heavy labour. Women worked on a wide variety of tasks principally in the clerical, canteen, motor transport, storehouses, telephone and postal roles. Approximately 10,000 WAACs saw service, mostly in France and Flanders.

Nellie was working as a waitress at the Cadet School, The Camp, Maresfield Park, East Sussex when she contracted influenza and pneumonia (Spanish flu), dying on 3^rd November 1918.

Nellie Elizabeth Shayler’s name appears on a monument in York Minster. “The Women of the Empire” Screen which is in the north transept and has 12 panels of names

Willis Marsden

Willis Marsden. Injured in WW1. Died 1966 Coplowdale, eldest son of Ambrose and Maria Marsden of Thornhill Lane End.

Mr Willis Marsden, Farmer and Wheelwright, enlisted in 1915 at Buxton. He was in E Company of the Sherwood Foresters at Brockton Camp near Stafford.

On 6 August 1916 he wrote home from Folkestone to say that about 120 men were ready for the crossing to France. On 16 September 1916, he wrote a field service postcard informing his parents that he was quite well and had received their parcel. On 11 October 1916 he wrote home from L Ward St John Ambulance Brigade Hospital at Etaples, France to say he had been wounded in both legs.

He had been injured by a shell, along with another soldier who was in a worse condition. The ambulance man who found them took the most injured man first and promised to return for Willis. The fighting was so bad that it was three days before the ambulance man could return. However, the unknown ambulance man kept his promise and saved Willis‘s life.

After hospital treatment, Willis was eventually fitted with an artificial leg. He was discharged as no longer fit physically fit for war service on 2^nd January 1918. Willis later married Emma Townsend and worked his own farm, Collins Farm. The couple went on to have three children, Betty Ambrose, and Philip and five grandchildren.

John Joseph Thorp and William Alexander Gregory Thorp

A news cutting from the time told the sad story of two Thorp brothers, the sons of John and Mary Thorp.

DERWENT BROTHERS WOUNDED

Early in the War there volunteered from Derwent two brothers named Thorp, who joined the Artillery. They are the sons of Mr John Thorp, gamekeeper for the Duke of Norfolk. Another brother, Gregory Thorp, was killed in action some time ago. The two who first went out, Clement and Joseph, are now in hospital having been severely wounded.”

Private William Alexander Gregory served in the 3^rd Battalion Grenadier Guards. He was awarded the Victory and British War medals. He was killed in action on 20 December 1916 and is remembered with honour on the Thiepval Memorial in France.

John Joseph Thorp was a driver with the No 1 Dept Royal Field Artillery. He was awarded the Victory, British and 1915 Star medals. His death on 29 July 1920 was attributed to gas shell poisoning. He is buried in the Churchyard of Our Lady of Sorrows RC Church in Bamford.

The third brother mentioned in the article, Clement Ernest Thorp, survived the war, dying in 1976 in Brighton.