Private. 74 Machine Gun Corps. Service number 13958.
Early life:
Herbert was born in Oakworth in 1885.
At the age of six in 1891, he was living at 130, Lidget, Oakworth, with his parents, sisters Bertha and Lucy, and
brothers Walter, Edwin and Ernest.
They were still there in 1901 and Herbert was working as a house painter.
He married Eugenie Sellers on 17th December 1907 and they had three daughters, Edna, born in 1909, who died in 1913, Mary, born on 23rd October 1910, Dorothy, born 25th May 1917 and one son Herbert, born in 1920 who was born after Herbert’s death.
They were living at 66, Lidget and Herbert was working as a Master painter and decorator.
War service:
In December 1915 at the age of 31, he attested with the Army’s number 87 Training Reserve (service number 5/69001) in December 1915 and was mobilised with the Machine Gun Corps in December 1916 from Folkestone to Boulogne, France and then to Carniers as part of the British Expeditionary Force. He served in France from 25th April 1917 to 6th June 1917. Then another period of service between 16th September 1917 to 24th September 1917.
During his time in the trenches he suffered from exposure and was hospitalised, he was diagnosed with Nephritis (kidney disease) as a result, and was medically discharged from the Army as ‘permanently unfit’ on 14th February 1918 from Norfolk War Hospital at Thorpe, Norfolk. His discharge from service was certified by the Army Medical Board as ‘war attributable’.
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According to his death certificate, Herbert died of Nephritis at home in December 1918. He was buried in Oakworth Cemetery in plot A, grave 16. Since his death was therefore caused by his war service, in January 2011 we applied for his name to be added to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission ‘Perpetual Roll of Honour’ and he was accepted later that year. A CWGC headstone was eventually installed at his grave in Oakworth Cemetery in July 2015.
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Remembrance:
Herbert was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal for his war service.
He is remembered on the Oakworth War Memorial and on Oakworth’s Great War Centenary roll of honour which is on display at Oakworth Community Hall.
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Dedication ceremony:
A ceremony took place on Sunday 22nd November 2015 to dedicate his new CWGC headstone, in the presence of his family and a large number of dignitaries and local people including a guard of honour, standards and a bugler played the Last Post. The new headstone also commemorates his daughter Edna who is buried with him, she died in 1913 aged three.
In the same ceremony, we also remembered Private Sam Rainford who died of tuberculosis shortly after the Great War and is buried in the next grave along with his daughter Hilda, aged four.
