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About twenty years ago I discovered the newspaper archives in Keighley Library @bradfordlibs247. The Great War period was full of images of soldiers and what had happened to them. I was enthralled then and I still find it absolutely fascinating today.
An example... 1/
About twenty years ago I discovered the newspaper archives in Keighley Library @bradfordlibs247. The Great War period was full of images of soldiers and what had happened to them. I was enthralled then and I still find it absolutely fascinating today.
An example... 1/
2/ Pte. George Henry Hill of Steeton. Came across his MM citation! Now this citation probably doesn't exist anywhere else as the original citations for MMs aren't saved in the National Archives. Just DCM's and VC.s. Unique to the newspaper, unless his family have the original.
3/ So here we have a tremendous example of the value of newspaper archives, both in the @britishlibrary and locally, in this case Keighley Library - @bradfordlibs247 and of course the reason we need to keep our libraries open at all costs. I'm talking to you @bradfordmdc...
4/ Incidentally, as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown, I am able to access FOR FREE the National Archives - Northumberland Fusiliers 11th Battalion war diary: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7353256
...to see what they were doing on the day George won his MM and here's the entry for that day:
...to see what they were doing on the day George won his MM and here's the entry for that day:
5/ Northumberland Fusiliers 11th Battalion war diary:
Front Line (from 12.10.17) Vicinity of Reutelbeek, SW of Zonnebeke/Polygon Wood
14.10.17:
C Coy very heavily shelled in early morning - 2nd Lt. L W Ablett and 2 Lt. E. D. Bruty C Coy killed - Batt'n HQ shelled heavily.
Front Line (from 12.10.17) Vicinity of Reutelbeek, SW of Zonnebeke/Polygon Wood
14.10.17:
C Coy very heavily shelled in early morning - 2nd Lt. L W Ablett and 2 Lt. E. D. Bruty C Coy killed - Batt'n HQ shelled heavily.
6/ and because the marvellous National Library of Scotland @natlibscot make their trench mapping FREE of charge, we can even see where they were based and what it looks like today:
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=50.84468&lon=2.98783&layers=101464912&b=1
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=50.84468&lon=2.98783&layers=101464912&b=1
7/ So we can see from this that the conditions Private George Henry Hill won his MM in were terrible. Despite the heavy shelling he went out time and time again to stretcher wounded men back to safety.
All this information accessed in a very short time and completely FREE.
All this information accessed in a very short time and completely FREE.
8/ And one other little bit of info. According to Geoff's Wonderful Search Engine @geoffsengine : http://www.hut-six.co.uk/cgi-bin/search1421.php nine men from this battalion were killed in action on the day George won his MM.
Surely this figure would have been much higher, if not for his efforts.
Surely this figure would have been much higher, if not for his efforts.
Oh, thought you might like to know. Private George Henry Hill MM survived the war. He was still alive in 1939 and living in Steeton with his wife and Norman, one of their (3?) children. I think ...although I haven't confirmed it yet, he died in January 1964 aged 78.
