THE SEAFORTH HIGHLANDERS
A rare survivor, this wooden cross was brought from France in 1924 and re-erected near the railway station in Dingwall by the 4th Seaforth Re-Union Club, in memory of their beloved dead during the 1914-1918 War.
T
THE WAGGONER'S RESERVE
A fine memorial,which
commemorates a very fine troop of farm lads who went to war, can be seen in the
Wolds Village of Sledmere near Malton in East Yorkshire.
The inscription on The Waggoner’s Memorial reads :
‘ Lt Col Sir Mark Sykes, Bart. MP,
designed this monument and set it up
as a remembrance of the gallant service rendered in the Great War 1914
– 1919
by The Waggoner’s Reserve, a corps of 1,000 drivers raised by him
on the Yorkshire Wolds farms, in the year 1912.’
The amazing stone relief panels depict the men enlisting, training
and fighting, as well as their peaceful activities on the farms. These men were experienced horsemen and
joined the reserve from all parts of the Wolds.
When war broke out, they became part of the Army Service Corps and most
of them saw active service in Belgium and France.
An illuminated memorial book,
listing all men of the Waggoner’s Reserve, and their deeds, can be seen in
Sledmere church.
WAR GRAVES
St Margaret's Church
WAR GRAVES
Known as The Marble Church, St
Margaret’s Church at Bodelwyddan in North Wales, was built in the mid 19th century by Lady
Margaret Willoughby de Broke at a cost of £60,000. This finely ornate church, which took four
years to build, is a spectacular landmark at the side of the A55 road. In the churchyard at the front of the church
is a curious ‘war grave’ area of 117 graves with their white military
gravestones. 34 of these are the graves
of British servicemen who died during WW1 and the other 83 graves are those of
Canadian Servicemen who died at the nearby Kinmel Park Military Camp.
It appears that the majority of these servicemen died
as victims of the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-19. However there is much speculation over the
fate of five of the Canadians. What is
certain is that on 4/5th March 1919 a disturbance took place within
Kinmel Camp, a staging camp, where Canadian Troops were waiting to be
repatriated. The men were restless
following repeated sailing delays, and when a ship, allocated to convey the
troops back home to Canada, was diverted to carry food supplies to Russia,
riots took place and in the mêlée three soldiers were killed and two died later
of injuries. Apparently Courts Martial
were held and some detentions were ordered.
It had been said that the five Canadian servicemen had been executed for
mutiny following the riots, but this has been strongly denied by The
Canadian Department of National Defence.
St Margaret's Church
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS
Richmond Castle in North Yorkshire was used as a barracks in
the 19th century and some detention cells still remain. They were
used to house conscientious objectors in WW1 whose death sentences had been
commuted to hard labour. Percy Goldsbrough was one of them and he left a
message on his cell wall which is still there. It reads: “I Percy F Goldsbrough of Mirfield
was brought up from Pontefract on Friday August 11th 1916 and
put into this cell for refusing to be made into a soldier.”
Richmond Castle
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