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Charles Joseph Cadman MC

  • Lieutenant, Royal Engineers, Motor Cyclist Section (Special Reserve)
  • Mentioned in Despatches (x3)
  • Killed in action, 26 January 1917, aged 24
  • Buried at Flatiron Copse Cemetery, Bazentin, France
  • CWGC registered (Son of the late James Cope Cadman MICE, and the late Betty Cadman)

Charles Joseph Cadman was born on 1 August 1892 at Silverdale, Staffordshire. He was the son of a mining engineer, James Cope Cadman, and his wife Betty Cadman (née) Keeling. The Census for 1901 records the family living at Silverdale House, Silverdale. Charles Cadman was educated at Arnold House School, Llanddulas and Derby School. In 1911, Charles lived with his parents at Newcastle under Lyme. Charles and was a mining student. The family later moved to “Cloverley Lodge”, Craigside, Llandudno. James Cadman died in 1914.

Meanwhile, on 24 July 1912, Charles Joseph Cadman had been awarded a Certificate of Qualification as a Surveyor of Mines. (The Institute of Mining Engineers volume for 1919/1920 lists Cadman C J [Deceased], of the Madeley Wood Company, Madeley, Shropshire as a student member of the Institute).

According to De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour, which was compiled from family sources, Charles attended Birmingham University and had just passed his 2nd year examinations for a BSc in mining when the war broke out. On the day after the declaration of war, 5 August 1914, Charles joined the Royal Engineers as a dispatch rider. From official records, his regimental number was 28061 and when he disembarked with the British Expeditionary Force on 15 August 1914, he was a corporal. He may have joined under a scheme called “special enlistment” where men with a specialist skill were promoted to corporal and bypassed much of the basic training. He may even have provided his own motorcycle. He was commissioned on 6 October 1914 and promoted to temporary lieutenant on 11 December 1915.

Charles was Mentioned in Dispatches three times and was awarded the Military Cross on 14 January 1916 for gallantry at Ypres. He was the 150th Brigade’s signalling officer when he was killed in action at Eaucourt L’Abbaye on 26 January 1917 aged 24 and was buried at Flatiron Copse Cemetery, Bazentin, France.

 

Alfred Townend and George Cady

The brothers were the sons of George Cady and Sarah Cady (née Wright). George Cady was a gamekeeper who was employed on various estates in England and Wales. The couple had eight children, all of whom survived infancy, the last two being Alfred and George. Alfred Townend Cady was born in Haywards Heath in 1886 and George was born in Ashbury, Berkshire in 1890. In 1891, the family lived at Ashdown Cottages, George (senior) being employed as gamekeeper to the Ashdown Estate. In 1901, George and Sarah Cady and three of their children, Alfred, George and their sister Margaret Louise, lived at Ystrad Meurig in Radnorshire, Alfred being employed as a bricklayer’s labourer and George still at school.

Alfred Townend Cady

  • 1883, Private, Queen’s Own Worcestershire Hussars (Worcestershire Yeomanry) (Territorial Force)
  • Killed in action, 28 August 1915, aged 30
  • No known grave (Helles Memorial, Turkey)
  • CWGC registered (no family details noted)
  • Llanrhos casualty
    • Remembered in St. Paul’s Church, Craig-y-Don
    • Remembered on the Llanrhos War Memorial

Alfred was a mounted policeman in the City of Hereford Police in 1911. Later that year, he married Pollie Burton and the couple had two daughters, Doris Elizabeth, born on 9 October 1911 and Edith May, born on 17 September 1914.

Alfred Cady’s army service record no longer exists but soldiers with close serial numbers indicate that he joined the Worcestershire Yeomanry, (Territorial Force) in 1911, enlisting at Hereford. His regimental number was 1883. When the Worcestershire Yeomanry was split in 1914 to form the 1/1st and the 2/1st WY, Alfred joined the former which was formed of men who had agreed to serve overseas. In April 1915, the battalion sailed from Avonmouth to Egypt, arriving at Alexandria on 22 April. On 18 August 1915, the battalion landed at Sulva Bay, Gallipoli. Dismounted (without its horses), the battalion took part in the attack on Chocolate Hill on 21 August.

Alfred Cady was killed in action on 28 August 1915 aged 30. He has no known grave.

Pollie Cady married Harry Read in 1917.

George Cady

  • 23598, Private, 3rd Grenadier Guards
  • Died of wounds, 24 June 1917, aged 26
  • Mendinghem Military Cemetery, Belgium
  • CWGC registered (no family details noted)
  • Llanrhos casualty
    • Remembered on the Llanrhos War Memorial

George Cady lived with his parents at Staunton-on-Wye in Herefordshire in 1911. Like his father, he was employed as a gamekeeper.

On a date unknown, George enlisted at Whitby into the Army Service Corps (Territorial Force). In April 1915, he transferred to the 3rd Battalion of the Grenadier Guards with a regimental number of 23598. The battalion had formed in August in Wellington Barracks and moved overseas on 27 July 1915, landing at Le Havre

On 18 November 1916, George was admitted to No. 2 General Hospital at Le Havre with influenza. He was discharged the following day to a convalescent depot.

George Cady died of wounds on 24 June 1917 aged 26 and was buried at Mendinghem Military Cemetery. It is probable that he had been wounded in action and died of his wounds at Mendinghem Casualty Clearing Station.

NOTES

  1. In 1907, the Cady brothers’ sister Margaret Louise Cady married prominent Llandudno businessman and builder George Thorp at Wearmouth, Sunderland.
  2. A Whitby newspaper dated 1917 reported that George Cady (senior) was a gamekeeper at Gloddaeth Hall, Llanrhos. This explains why the names of the brothers are recorded on the Llanrhos (Parish) War Memorial at All Saints’ Church, Deganwy. Why only Alfred is named in St. Paul’s Church, Craig-y-Don is unknown.

 

Howard Douglas Carter

  • M2/134433, Private, P Seige Park, Army Service Corps (MT)
  • Killed in action, 10 July 1917, aged 22
  • No known grave (Nieuport Memorial, Belgium)
  • CWGC registered (Son of George and Julia Carter, of Shelford Rd, Trumpington, Camb)

Howard Douglas Carter was born at Cambridge on 3 July 1895; he was the son of George Carter and Julia Carter (née Clayton). His brothers were George Reginald Carter, Walter Vernon Carter, Alexander Carter, Harold John Ernest Carter, Thomas Herbert (Bert) Carter, and Stanley Edward Carter. In 1901, the family lived in Cambridge. George Carter was recorded in the census as a whitesmith (tinplate worker) and his eldest son, George Reginald as a shop assistant in the book trade. Howard attended Cambridge Romsey Junior Middle School and Cambridge Brunswick Boys’ School, leaving the latter in November 1908. In 1911, Howard was recorded as an errand boy for an ironmonger and George was still in the book trade, having transferred to Llandudno, lodging in Caroline Street.

It was locally reported that George was joined by three of his brothers in Llandudno: Alexander, Herbert and Howard. All four joined the army: George was called up in 1917 and served in the 1st Royal Welsh Fusiliers and the Labour Corps; Alexander volunteered for the 8th Royal Welsh Fusiliers in 1914; and Herbert served in the Army Service Corps. Howard presented himself to the Cambridge recruiting officer on 30 October 1915. His occupation now was as a driver and he was appointed to the Mechanical Transport section of the Army Service Corps. He joined up at No 1 Reserve MT Depot, Grove Park, Lewisham on the following day. He disembarked at Boulogne on 25 May 1916, destined for his first unit: No 8 Section, Heavy Artillery Military Transport (attached 91st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery).

Howard Douglas Carter was killed in action on 10 July 1917 aged 22. A field service death report in Howard’s service record indicates that his death was in Belgium and that his unit was “P” Siege Park attached to XV Corps. On 20 June, the British XV Corps had taken over the French sector of the Belgian coast in preparation of “Operation Hush”. Anticipating the action, the Germans carried out a pre-emptive strike called “Operation Standfest”. British artillery attempted a counter barrage though several of their guns were knocked out. It can reasonably be assumed that Howard Carter was killed at that action because other drivers of P Siege Park were killed on that day and are buried at Coxyde Military Cemetery in Belgium. Howard Carter’s body was never knowingly recovered and he was originally commemorated on the Arras Memorial in France. However, as a result of this research, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is transferring the name of Howard Carter to the Nieuport Memorial in Belgium.

 

Arthur Thomas Clarke

  • 15530, Private, 16th Royal Welsh Fusiliers
  • Killed in action, 3 July 1918, aged 27
  • Buried at Varennes Military Cemetery, France
  • CWGC registered (Son of Ellen and the late WA Clarke, of Llandudno; husband of JT Clarke, of Bryn Horeb, Great Ormes Head, Llandudno)

Arthur Thomas Clarke was born in Birmingham in 1890. He was the son of William Adcock Clarke a brass castor, formerly a clerk, and his wife Ellen Clarke (née Allcoat). In 1891, the family lived at Aston. William Clarke was 45 years older than his wife and he died in February 1893 aged 71. The Census of Wales for 1901 records Ellen Clarke employed as a general domestic servant living in Deganwy Street, Llandudno; Arthur appears to have been living in Birmingham with an adoptive mother. Ten years later in 1911, Arthur was living with his mother and stepfather, Enoch Jones, at “Craig Lea”, Penrhynside, Llandudno – he was employed as a wagon tipper at a quarry.

Arthur Clarke’s army record no longer exists but it is known he enlisted at Llandudno and judging from his regimental number of 15530, he volunteered in early September 1914, joining the 10th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers when it formed at Wrexham in October 1914 as part of Kitchener’s third new army (K3). The battalion disembarked in France in September 1915. Shortly before the battalion had embarked, Arthur returned to Llandudno to marry Jane Isabella Jones.

On 24 February 1916, Arthur Clarke contracted influenza, passed through the 52nd and 51st Field Ambulances and recovered at the divisional rest station. Having left his battalion, Arthur was now officially posted to his infantry base depot. It would appear he returned to light duties for his medal award roll indicates that he was attached as a servant to an officer on a course, a servant to an officer in hospital, and to Headquarters 113 Brigade. At a date unknown, he was posted to the 16th (Service) Battalion RWF.

Arthur Thomas Clarke was killed in action on 3 July 1918 aged 27. At the time, the 16th RWF had relieved the 17th in the front line near Forceville, in the Somme between Arras and Amiens. The line had been subject to enemy bombardment and Arthur was the only soldier of the battalion to have been killed that day. He was buried at Varennes Military Cemetery.

In the meantime, Arthur’s son, William A Clarke, had been born in the spring of 1916. It is not known if Arthur was ever to see his son. Jane Clarke married William J Jones in 1931 and the couple and her father lived in Llandudno in 1939. Jane Jones died in 1979.

 

John Clayton

  • 27665, Private, 1st Royal Welsh Fusiliers
  • Killed in action, 29 August 1916, aged 34
  • No known grave (Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France)
  • CWGC registered (no family details noted)

John Clayton was born in Llandudno on 1 Apr 1882. He was the son of John and Elizabeth Clayton (née Roberts) of “Moranedd House Yard”, North Parade, Llandudno. John Clayton (senior) was a coachman to a physician. In October 1887, John was admitted to St. George’s National School – his previous school is not recorded. In 1891, the family lived at 126 Mostyn Street, Llandudno: John Clayton (senior) was now a carriage proprietor, John (junior) a scholar; he left school in March 1896 and took up work at the Post Office. In 1901 John (junior) was an ironmonger’s assistant. His father died in 1902 and his mother died in 1910. In 1911, John Clayton was an ironmonger salesman living at 16 Porchester Gardens, Paddington, London.

On 11 May 1915, John Clayton joined the 18th (Service) Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers (2nd London Welsh) at Holburn. He gave his address as 8 Leysfield Road, Shepherd’s Bush. He named a cousin as his next of kin. His service number was 27665. The 18th RWF had formed at Gray’s Inn in February 1915 as a Service Battalion. It moved to Bangor in June 1915 and in August 1915 it became a Reserve Battalion, its soldiers and future recruits becoming destined to reinforce other battalions.

John Clayton was promoted to lance corporal on 24 June 1916. He was transferred to France on 1 July 1916, initially to the 38th Infantry Base Depot at Étaples and then to the 1st Battalion RWF on 13 July 1916. An amazing survivor in the War Diary is a battalion order dated 25 July 1916 which records that John Clayton of A Company reverted to private at his own request on 13 July 1916. On 26 August 1916, the battalion moved from Dernancourt into the front line preparatory to an attack near Delville Wood, a phase of the Battle of the Somme. The attack began the following day and John was initially reported missing in action on 29 August 1916 – the war diary recorded heavy machine-gun fire and shelling all day. This date is regarded as John Clayton’s date of death for official purposes – he was aged 34. He has no known grave.

 

Frank Reginald Collis

  • Major, Royal Field Artillery (Territorial Force)
  • Killed in action, 27 September 1916, aged 23
  • Buried at Peronne Road Cemetery, Maricourt, France
  • CWGC registered (Son of Frank and Mary Ellen Collis, of Town Hall Chambers, Stoke-on-Trent. A Solicitor of the Supreme Court)
  • Not a local casualty
    • Family memorial in the Great Orme’s Head Cemetery

Frank Reginald Collis was born on 26 October 1892 in Fenton, Staffordshire. He was the son of Frank Collis and Mary Ellen Collis (née Stevenson). Frank Collis (senior) was an articled clerk, becoming a solicitor in 1899. In 1901, the family lived at 2 Regent Road, Fenton. Frank Reginald was educated at Denstone College and then trained to be a solicitor. He also joined the Territorial Force of the Army and was gazetted as a Second Lieutenant in the 2nd North Midland Ammunition Column, 2nd North Midland Brigade on 22 October 1909, four days before his 17th birthday. The Census of England for 1911 records the family living at the same address; Frank Reginald was recorded as an Articled Law Clerk. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant on 2 March 1912.

It is recorded that Frank Reginald Collins became a solicitor one month before the beginning of the Great War. The 1/2nd North Midland Brigade disembarked in France in February 1915 though Frank did not enter the theatre until 11 July 1915. When he was promoted to Captain and Major is unknown. It was reported that he died of wounds on 27 July 1916 received earlier that month whilst commanding a battery of the North Midland Brigade. Official records state that he was killed in action. He was initially buried in Talus Boise British Military Cemetery 1 km east of Carnoy in the Somme. This was also the location of a dressing station where he could have died of wounds. After the war, he was reinterred at the nearby Peronne Road Cemetery, Maricourt.

Alderman Frank Collis was elected Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent in 1923. He later lived in Deganwy and became an Alderman of Conway. He died in December 1929 and was buried at the Great Orme’s Head Cemetery. His monument in the Cemetery has a memorial to his elder son, Frank Reginald Collis. Whether or not Frank Reginald ever visited Deganwy or Llandudno is unknown.

 

Charles Wilding Conolly

  • 51189, Lance Corporal, 1/4th Northumberland Fusiliers (Territorial Force)
  • Died whilst a prisoner of war, 13 August 1918, aged 36
  • Buried at Glageon Communal Cemetery, France
  • CWGC registered (Son of Alfred Conolly [Solicitor, Llandudno] and Catherine, his wife; husband of Mary Summers Conolly, of “Dunelm”, Linden Rd, Gosforth, Newcastle-on-Tyne)

Charles Wilding Conolly, the son of Alfred Conolly, a clerk and solicitor, and his wife Catherine Conolly (née Skerrit) was born at Grantham on 31 July 1882. Catherine died seven years later and in 1991, Charles lived with his grandmother at Oldham. In 1901, Alfred Conolly married Ethel Twigg and they lived at “Hyddfyd Lodge”, Great Orme’s Head, Llandudno, Alfred being the Town Clerk. At that time, Charles was employed as a clerk by the National Provincial Bank at Wem, moving to North Shields in 1903 and Manchester in 1909. In 1911 whilst living at Stretford, Charles married Mary Summers Allan at North Shields and their child Katherine was born in 1914 at Prestwich. In March 1915, Charles was appointed cashier at the Leeds branch.

Charles enlisted at Leeds into the Northumberland Fusiliers in 1916 and was given the service number of 51189. After disembarking in France in 1917, he was posted to the 1/4th Battalion, Territorial Force. The battalion was at the front near Concevreux on 27 May 1918 when the Germans mounted an offensive (Battle of the Aisne). The 4th NF was annihilated, the majority of the men being either killed or captured. Charles was initially reported as missing. Three separate enquiries to the Red Cross to determine whether he had been taken as a prisoner of war proved negative. Nevertheless, it was subsequently discovered that he had died on 13 August 1918 aged 36 whilst a prisoner of war and had been buried at Glageon Communal Cemetery in Northern France.

The statistics for Glageon Communal Cemetery (and its extension) make for grim reading. It was the resting place for German, British, Italian, American, French and Russian soldiers. The presence of Russian soldiers indicates that they would have been used for forced labour. Only the British and Russian graves remain and of those graves that are named, 111 are of Russian soldiers who died between November 1917 and October 1918; and 345 are of British soldiers who died between May 1918 and October 1918. In the month of October 1918 alone, 18 Russian soldiers and 119 British soldiers died. From diaries and other sources, it would appear that the Glageon burials were from a German hospital at Trélon, a mile or two to the east, where conditions at the end of the war were particularly bad. An American soldier reported: “…the hospital was a converted woollen mill. Food was scarce and very poor as evidenced by many deaths from starvation. Anywhere from four to seven were buried every day!”

Mary Conolly married Ammon Sykes in 1932 and died at Sunderland on 2 July 1975.

 

Frederick Cox

  • 3/5628, Private, 1st Royal Munster Fusiliers
  • Killed in action, 21 August 1915, aged 23
  • No known grave (Helles Memorial, Turkey)
  • CWGC registered (Son of John and Mary Cox, of 9 Quarry Cottages, Penrhyn Bay, Llandudno; husband of Mary Cox, of 6 Windmill Lane, Crumlin, Co. Dublin)
  • Penrhynside casualty

Frederick Cox was born in 1893 in Belfast. He was the first son of John and Mary Cox. John Cox’s employment at the time is unknown though it is recorded that he had served with the 1st Battalion of the Royal Irish Fusiliers. Frederick’s sisters Rose and Mary Elizabeth were born in Salford in 1895 and 1897 respectively, Salford being the hometown of their mother Mary Cox. In 1901, the family lived at 9 Quarry Cottages, Penrhyn Bay – John Cox was recorded as a limestone quarryman. Ten years later, both John and Frederick were employed as quarrymen.

In August 1914 Frederick Cox volunteered to join the Dragoons at Bangor and he almost certainly joined one of the Reserve Regiments of Cavalry in Ireland, either the 6th or the 8th, his regimental number being 8499.

On 4 January 1915, Frederick Cox married Mary Kearns in Dublin. He gave his address as the Cavalry Depot, Woolwich. Mary gave her address as 6 Windmill Lane, Crumlin, the same address as subsequently recorded by the Empire War Graves Commission.

The 1st Battalion of the Royal Munster Fusiliers had returned from Burma on the outbreak of war.  As part of the British 29th Division, it landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915.  The initial losses were so great that the 1st Munster’s had to amalgamate with the 1st Dublin Fusiliers to form a makeshift battalion of 770 men, the nominal size of a single infantry battalion being 1000 men. By 11 May, the strength of the combined battalion was just 372 men. Clearly, the need for reinforcements was desperate and one of the ways that this was achieved was to seek volunteers from the reserve regiments of cavalry. Thus Frederick Cox was “dismounted” and transferred to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion of the Royal Munster Fusiliers on 2 June 1915. His new regimental number was 3/5628. Frederick was posted to the 1st Battalion RMF on 11 July 1915.

Frederick Cox was killed in action on 21 August 1915 when the 1st RMF suffered very heavy casualties during the Battle of Scimitar Hilll. He was aged 23 and his body was never recovered. He is commemorated on the Helles Memorial.

Frederick and Mary Cox’s daughter Annie was born on 29 September 1915. Mary Cox emigrated to Alberta, Canada in 1930.

In November 1914, Frederick’s father, John Cox had Joined the 6th Reserve Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers (Territorial Force). He was later transferred to the Royal Defence Corps and was discharged in June 1919.

 

Maurice Cecil Cox

  • Mersey Division Z/777, Signaller, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, HMS Black Prince
  • Killed or died as a direct result of enemy action, 31 May 1916, aged 19
  • Body not recovered for burial (Plymouth Naval Memorial)
  • CWGC registered (Son of Frederick and Harriet Cox, of Eastleigh, Hants)
  • Deganwy casualty

Maurice Cecil Cox, the son of Frederick Thomas Cox and his wife Harriet Anne Cox (née Chapman) was born in Betterne, Hampshire on 14 May 1897. Frederick Cox was a butcher and in 1901, the family lived at Eastleigh, Maurice having two older brothers, Frederick and Henry. Sisters Cecily Helena and Hester were born in 1905 and 1907 respectively. Hester was born after the death of her father who had died in December 1906. It is not known for certain of the fate of the children’s mother, Harriet, but by the time the Census of 1911 was taken, the family had been dispersed, Maurice being recorded as living with his maternal aunt Alice Maud Ballard and her husband Henry John Ballard at Station Road, Deganwy. After he left school, Maurice became a shorthand typist.

On 30 November 1915 Maurice Cox joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Mersey Division with a service number of Z/777. He named his uncle Henry Ballard as his next of kin. Maurice was originally posted to the Royal Naval Division but he was transferred on 28 February 1916 to HMS Vivid at Devonport to be trained as a signaller. From 6 May 1916, Maurice served on HMS Defence of the 1st Cruiser Squadron but was transferred a fortnight later to the HMS Black Prince of the same squadron.

Both the Defence and Black Prince were lost at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916 with all hands which included Maurice Cox aged 19 and Robert Sinclair Eccles (qv) who was serving on the Defence. Both Maurice and Robert are remembered on the Plymouth Naval Memorial.

 

Henry Fielden Crossley (Harry)

  • 25771, Lance Corporal, 10th Lancashire Fusiliers
  • Killed in action, 10 February 1917, aged 19
  • Buried at Sailly-Saillisel British Cemetery, France
  • CWGC registered (Son of Fielden and Sarah A Crossley, of ‘Borrowdale Gates’, Grange, Keswick. Native of Southport, Lancs)

The son of Fielden Crossley and his wife Sarah Ann (née Halliwell), Henry Fielden Crossley (Harry) was born in 1897 at Southport, Lancashire. The Census for 1901 records the family of ten including Harry living in Southport; Fielden Crossley was an agent for calico cloth. Ten years later, the family still lived in Southport, Harry being described as a schoolboy. The family later moved to “Hill Crest”, Craigside.

Harry Crossley’s service record was destroyed though some information is available from Soldiers Died in the Great War: he enlisted in Llandudno, served in the 10th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers as 25771 having previously served as 136476 in the Royal Field Artillery. To get a better idea of his service, it is necessary to deduce details from the intact records of other servicemen. It would appear that Harry Crossley joined the army under the so-called “Derby Scheme” where many men “volunteered” in anticipation of compulsory conscription. The last date for “volunteering” was in December 1915 and it appears Harry joined the Royal Field Artillery shortly before the deadline. Harry was given the regimental number of 135476. He would have been given a day’s pay (2/9d) and a khaki armband with crown and put into the Army Reserve. He was mobilised circa April 1916. If he had volunteered to join the artillery rather than be conscripted into the infantry, then Harry was in for a rude shock as he was transferred to the Lancashire Fusiliers with a new regimental number of 25771, circa June 1916. He would have been transferred to a Reserve Battalion for infantry training before being posted to the 10th Battalion circa October 1916.

The 10th (Service) Battalion had formed in September 1914 and had been in France since July 1915. When Harry was promoted to lance corporal is presently unknown. He was killed in action on 10 February 1917. The war diary of the time records that the battalion had recently captured a trench at Sailly-Saillisel. Press reports at the time says he was in charge of a Lewis gun team when hit by a shell; the entire team being killed. He was aged 19 and is buried at Sailly-Saillisel British Cemetery.

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