Sergeant. 422nd (West Lancs) Field Company, Corps of Royal Engineers. Regimental number 426520.
Early life:
Henry Wellman was born in Haworth in 1879, his birth registered in Keighley in the second quarter of that year. His parents were John and Jane Wellman née Moore and his father John was a stone mason/Labourer.
In the census of 1881 Harry was aged two and living at Coldshaw in Haworth (near Oxenhope) with his parents John aged 30 and Jane aged 34, and his four sisters who were Florence aged 14 working as a worsted spinner, plus Eva aged eight, Rose Hannah aged six and Annie aged four, who were all attending school.
By the time of the 1891 census they had moved to 1, Aire Street in Haworth and the family had grown a bit. John was now aged 39 and still a mason’s labourer, Jane was looking after the home, Florence was 24 and a worsted twister as was Eva aged 18. Rose aged 16 was a worsted spinner, Annie aged 14 was a worsted drawer. Then there was Henry aged 12 and a worsted spinner (probably half time with school) and the two youngest were Elizabeth aged 9 at school and Lilly who was just 5 months old and of course, at home with mum Jane.
In 1900 at the age of 21, Henry married Leah Deeming which was registered at Keighley in the last quarter of the year. Leah was aged 22 and from Bedworth in Warwickshire.
Harry and Leah did not leave home just yet and were living at 62, Lord Lane, Haworth (off Changegate) with Harry’s parents John aged 50 and Jane aged 53. John was still employed as a stonemason’s labourer and Jane was looking after their home. Harry was 22 and a joiner, Leah was a wool and worsted drawer and was Harry’s sister Elizabeth aged 19. Lily was aged 10 and would have been at school whole time.
Ten years later in the 1911 census, Harry was aged 32 years and a carpenter and joiner. He was living at 42, Duncan Street in St Helens, with his wife Leah aged 33. They had been married for ten years and had three children, one of whom had died. The remaining children were Doris and John William aged six and four respectively. Also boarding with them was Henry Riva aged 44 and like Henry, a Carpenter and joiner.
War service:
There are sadly no surviving Army service records for Henry Wellman but we know that he was serving as a sergeant with number 422 West Lancashire Field Company of the Royal Engineers. From his war gratuity amount and rank at death, we estimate that he enlisted around October 1914 at St. Helen’s in Lancashire.
Harry’s name was put forward for recognition at the highest level when he was mentioned in General Haigh’s Despatches for his work.
Mentioned in despatches:
On the 7th of November 1917, Sergeant Henry Wellman was mentioned in the despatches of Sir Douglas Haigh as a man deserving special mention, amongst many others. This was published in a supplement to the London Gazette on Tuesday 11th December of the same year.
On the 9th of April 1918 Henry was killed by a shell explosion at the age of 39. He was buried in grave 22, row P, plot I of Choques Military Cemetery.
The company was in billets behind the lines when they were hit by several enemy shells. Harry was one of the men killed at that time and this was reported in the local newspaper:
Keighley News report 5th November 1918:
WORTH VALLEY
Mrs Wellman, Broom Terrace, Oakworth, has received intimation that her husband, Sergeant H. Wellman, of the West Lancashire Royal Engineers, has been killed in action in France.
Splendid tributes have been sent from men who were in touch with him. Sergeant W. Knowles, in the course of his letter, says: “There was not one amongst them but felt a real sense of personal loss. He was a man amongst men, a good sergeant and a real pal. We all fully realise the absolute failure of words to express to the full what we feel. Let it be some consolation to you to know that his death was painless, and that we laid him to rest in a cemetery just behind the lines.”
Major McKead, in intimating to Mrs Wellman that her husband died instantaneously from shell fire in billet, expressed “his sympathy and sorrow in losing a man with so many good qualities – quiet, unassuming, and at all times trustworthy.”
Remembrance:
He is remembered on the Haworth war memorial. Harry is also named on the Oakworth Great War Centenary roll of honour which is on display at Oakworth Community Hall.
Post war:
Henry’s widow Leah was his next of kin and she received £10 10s. 3d. from his Army pay account, they had three children registered as dependants.
She also received a war gratuity payment of £19 10s. 0d on 18th November 1919.
Henry was posthumously awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal for his war service and these would have been sent to Leah along with a bronze war memorial plaque and a memorial scroll inscribed with his name. She would also have received any of his personal effects.
At the end of the war, their home was at 166, Broom Terrace in Oakworth from 1919 to 1928. Leah later lived at Fell Lane, Keighley until 1933, and then at Lidget in Oakworth until 1935 and finally at 18, Chapel Lane in 1948.
The Keighley news report from Nov 5, 1918 has her living in Oakworth when he was killed, which means that Broom Terrace in Oakworth was his home address.
Information sources:
England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915.
1881 England Census.
1891 England Census.
England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915.
1901 England Census.
1911 England Census.
WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920.
The London Gazette.
Keighley News archives at Keighley Library.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919.
Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929.
World War I Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923.
West Yorkshire, England, Electoral Registers, 1840-1962.
Photo of Henry by kind courtesy of Stewart Wright.
