This man was a candidate for addition to Keighley’s Supplementary Volume under the proposal to add further names in 2024, the centenary of the original roll of honour.
Click here to go to our main Heritage page
Supported by the National Lottery’s Heritage Fund, our project submitted 103 names for peer review to add them to the book which is kept at Keighley Library. The unveiling of the book with it’s new names took place on 9th November 2024, 100 years after the unveiling of the original war memorial.
See the list of 103 new names added in 2024 here
Lance Corporal. 8th Battalion, Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding Regiment). Service Number 23455
Early life:
Matthew was born in 1881 and his birth was registered at Darlington, Durham in the third quarter of the year.
His parents were Matthew Leng Shutt and Elizabeth Shutt née Robinson.
In the 1891 census he was nine years old and with his father Matthew, was boarding with the Hurd family at 24, Oak Street at Holgate in York. His father Matthew was a railway locomotive fitter.
On Wednesday 27th June 1894 at the York Court, father Matthew was issued with an order for his children to attend a certificated efficient school, after the York School Board brought a number of cases including truancy and poor attendance. Since Matthew was the only child of school age in their family at the time, this must have referred to his poor attendance.
In the 1901 census they had moved to 18, Cecilia Place in the St. Paul’s district of York. Matthew’s father was 51 and a railway engine fitter, Annie Elizabeth was 48 and keeping house and Matthew was 19 and employed as a wood machinist. He also had two young sisters, Ethel and Edith aged seven and five.
By the time of the 1911 census Matthew had moved to Keighley where he was employed as a washing machine painter and boarding at 60, Leeds Street with James and Clara Taylor and their two children, Emily aged seventeen, and Matthew aged seven.
War service:
He was still living there when he attested under the Derby Scheme, for General Service with the West Riding Regiment at Keighley Drill Hall on 9th December 1915. He entered the reserve the next day. He was 35 years and 5 months old and still single, employed as a plainer. His service number was 23455.
His father Matthew was his next of kin and living at 4, Empires Yard in York. His medical at Halifax states he was 5 feet 9 inches in height with a 37 inch chest and weight of 127 lbs (just over 9 stone) and had good physical development.
On 22nd July 1916, Matthew was a 35 year old painter living at 60 Leeds Street, when he married 21 year old rover Violet Lund of 35, Fruit Street at Keighley Parish Church (St. Andrews.) They had less than two weeks together as a married couple, before he was mobilized on 31st July 1916 to Halifax after 234 days in the reserve. He was posted to the 3rd Battalion for training and was at Tynemouth.
Matthew had a couple of disciplinary reports against him, he was absent without pass for five days between 15th and 19th October 1916 and was deprived of 14 days pay and was confined to barracks for five days.
Just a month later he was absent without pass for six days between 13th and 18th November 1916, for which he was awarded a much stiffer punishment with 168 hours (7 days) detention followed by 14 days confined to barracks.
Matthew embarked for France from Folkestone on 20th December 1916, arriving there the next day and arriving at the 34th Infantry Base Depot at Etaples on the 21st. He joined the 8th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment in the field on 24th December (Christmas Eve.) At the time the battalion were leaving Arquéves and about to enter the trenches to relieve the 6th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment in the Reserve trenches, spending a few days there before relieving the 9th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment in the front lines at Beaucourt on 28th December.
He was appointed Lance Corporal (paid) on 15th January 1917.
Matthew was killed in action during an attack on German lines to the West of Ypres. His body appears to have been buried in a battlefield grave located at 28.C.4.c.5.5., and was exhumed and reburied on 24th December 1919, a couple of miles away at the New Irish Farm Cemetery, which is located 13 miles NNE of Ypres.
Evidence from the Commonwealth war Graves Commission suggests he was one of 23 soldiers buried at Francois Farm Cemetery, Langemarck, near a farm 1.6 kms East of Pilckem, they were all from the United Kingdom and fell in July-October, 1917.
The full map can be seen here at the: National Library of Scotland. (Look in the top right hand corner of the map.)
8th Battalion, West Riding Regiment war diary extract:
31st July 1917. Battalion Arrived at POPERINGHE, to the west of YPRES. They stayed here until the 6th August carrying out drills and training, then the battalion moved from their resting positions at ‘POPERINGHE’ to ‘CANAL BANK’ and then to the
front line near LANGEMARCK, relieving the 4th Battalion Gordon Highlanders.
The 8th battalion served in the front line until 11th August, when they were relieved by the 6th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment. During this period their casualties were: 22 killed, 83 wounded, and 11 missing.
The battalion diary reads for 10th August: “Attack by Y and Z companies on strong points just East of STEENBECK (LANGEMARCK).
Positions held to 4 pm but forced to withdraw owing to heavy machine gun fire and large superior force and strength of their positions. Lt Gilchrist wounded.”
Matthew was likely to have been killed on the 10th August, the day before they were relieved by the 6th Yorks. Some records show he died on the 11th August, although this might be down to an administrative delay in reporting. Private Stephen Tatham, also of Keighley died in similar circumstances although his grave was never found after the war and he is commemorated on the Menin Gate memorial.
Post war:
Violet was living at 12, Rose Street in Keighley when she received Matthew’s personal effects on 21st January 1918, which were 2 notebooks, photos, letter, hymn text book, a trench mirror and two pipes.
Violet was his next of kin and received a balance of 14 shillings and 8 pence of Matthew’s army pay. She received a pension of 13 shillings and nine pence from 4th March 1918. She also received a war gratuity payment of £3 10 shillings of 19th February 1920.
Violet also received a memorial scroll (and presumably the bronze war memorial plaque) on 20th December 1920, also his British War Medal on 29th January 1921 and Victory Medal on 16th March 1921.
As a widow, Violet married Wallace Brown on 28th March 1918 and this meant she stopped receiving the dependents pension, but was paid a one off remarriage gratuity of £35 3s 3d on 11th May 1918.
Wallace Brown died in 1918. Their son Horace was born in 1918.
Violet may have remarried again, this time to Clarence Edward Wildman and they lived in Huntingdonshire. If this is correct, she died in 1970. They had four children who were Violet, born 1922; Alfred, born 1923; Alice, born 1926 and Marian born 1928.
In November 2024 his name was add to the Supplementary Volume of the Borough of Keighley’s Roll of Honour book which is held at Keighley Library.
Information sources:
England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915.
1891 England Census.
1901 England Census.
1911 England Census.
England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005.
West Yorkshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1813-1935.
British Army World War I Service Records, 1914-1920.
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.
British Army World War I Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920.
World War I Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920.
1921 Census Of England & Wales.
1939 Register.
England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007.
Yorkshire Gazette, 30th June 1894.
National Library of Scotland mapping website.
