Henry Stott. Pauper.
Henry was aged twelve in the 1901 census and at Keighley Union Workhouse. No other person with this surname was at the workhouse at the time. He was described as a pauper and his birthplace was at Denholme. Despite searching in both areas, we found no mention of him in the 1891 census.
The only clue to Henry’s life is the 1901 census and his war service is only shown by his name on the Workhouse roll of honour.
War service:
We could not find a definitve record for this man in the available records and he is not listed in the usual Army service records, medal records. Our local archive searches have found no mention of him as an early volunteer or in the local newspaper archives. He is not named on any other war memorial or roll of honour in Keighley or the surrounding villages, apart from the one for Keighley Union Workhouse. The Denholme roll of honour board (at Denholme Library) does not bear his name.
The closest we came was an Army Pension card for a particular Henry Stott. This shows that man at 57, Waterloo Road in Kelbrook near Colne after the war followed by the word ‘Keighley’ as his address, but not in context with anything else. There is a whole set of Stott family records and Army records connected with this particular man through Frank Stott, a brother. None of these records show a connection to the Keighley or Denholme areas. His 1921 census record shows he was born at Lightcliffe near Halifax, eight miles from Denholme and he is also mentioned with his whole family at Lightcliffe in the 1891, 1901 and 1911 census records. We feel this rules out the mention of the word ‘Keighley’ on the pension card.
Remembrance:
Henry Stott is named on the Keighley Union Workhouse roll of honour held by Cliffe Castle Museum.
Information sources:
Keighley Union Workhouse roll of honour.
1901 census.
World War I Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923.
Searches carried out in Births Marriages and Deaths; Census records; Army records and Local archives found no definitive evidence of this man.
