Accrington Pals.

[Retlaw]

Originally Posted by steve2qec

I was there this aft as well, I might have seen you! Where you the guy in the hat with the earring?
We found the photo of the wife's great uncle John Shearon.....Retlaw is there any chance you could post his pic and his medal card if you have it?
Steve.

This is the newspaper reports of John Shearon.
Haven't got to the S's yet in the search for medal cards.
Retlaw.

[Retlaw]

[quote=Tealeaf;916400]

Originally Posted by Retlaw

I've seen this before. Just out of interest, how is the size of a war memorial assessed? Is it by it's height, by the ground area it covers or by it's inherent mass of material (stone, bricks, metal, etc)?

Nows a chance for you to get your tape measure out, and do a survey of war memorials.
Let me know when you find one thats bigger, as to how the term bigger is used, thats up to you.
Start with the one at Altham, not far from the Walton Arms, then go to Huncote, have a look at theirs, next try Clayton & Snuffy, see if that helps to define whats bigger. Then there's Baxenden, Belthorn, Blackburn, Burnley, the list is gynormous.
Retlaw

[steve2qec]

That's fantastic! I'm currently researching my wife's family tree, the family will be thrilled with this. Thanks.

[cashman]

Originally Posted by steve2qec

I was there this aft as well, I might have seen you! Where you the guy in the hat with the earring?
We found the photo of the wife's great uncle John Shearon.....Retlaw is there any chance you could post his pic and his medal card if you have it?
Steve.

yep steve twas me n me good lady, yeh should have spoke.

[steve2qec]

Originally Posted by cashman

yep steve twas me n me good lady, yeh should have spoke.

Didn't know it was you but I'll remember you next time!!!

[Wynonie Harris]

Originally Posted by cashman

always been a bone of contention wi me that the story of the pals wasn't taught in history in local schools, instead we learnt about Romans etc n some geek that got n arrow in his eye. i had no knowledge of the pals until years after i left school. think its a bit of a poor do.

Would agree with that, Mr C. Really wish I'd known about the Pals when I was younger, especially when my Grandad was still alive, so I could've asked him about it (if, indeed, he'd wanted to talk about it).

Incidentally, Retlaw's "as it happened" descriptions are really vivid and bring home perhaps just a little bit of what it must have been like for our fellow townsmen from the district. Really going to make a point of getting up there for this exhibition.

[cashman]

thats it wynonie, me grandad died in me early teens, knew sod all about it then.

[Retlaw]

Now midnight of day 3 of the battle of the Somme, a small group of Pals who had gathered in Rolland trench, led by R.S.M. Stanworth, have spent the last 36 hours, assisting the stretcher bearers with the wounded, bringing in their dead for identification & burial, wondering what they would say to the relatives of their dead mates, who not many hours ago, had been the ones they had lived with, through some good & bad times for the past 22 months, all the time with what ever meals, water, and sleep they could get, dodging jerry shells, and snipers, who were still trying to kill them.
Yet the Pals carried on with their grim task, how they managed to contain themselfs, and their sanity in those condition, is beyond belief.
The hardest part was yet to come, having to compose & write letters to their dead comrades family.
Retlaw.

[dusty mears]

christ father that's given me goose bumps!
Even after visiting the somme area, pals memorial & ypres i still cant comprehend the enormity of it all and what went on. Cemetary after cemetary after cemetary . . . . . .

[Retlaw]

Midnight July 4/5th1916, the Pals are relieved by the 6th Gloucesters.
They then formed up & marched back to Louvencourt, on the way passing other units who were moving up to take their places, silent sympathy was passed to the remnants of the 11th, who were still marching as proud soldiers, not a man out of step.
Dazed, blood stained, & weary, uniforms torn, they finally arrived at their billet for the rest of the night. To tired to eat, they just lay down where ever they could, and were blessed by sleep and forgetfulness.
The images of the past few days would remain with them forever. In 1975 I visited the Somme Battlefields, with some of the survivors, even thought 59 years had passed, they all had tears in their eyes as they stood before the graves & monuments of their former comrades, memories of those fateful days still vivid in their minds.
Many stories were told during that tour of the battlefields, where they were, and what had happened during their time in France.

None of their families ever knew of the horrors they had suffered, during the Great War, little would they understand the horror, and best if they never knew.

Now 95 years later, very few people can imagine the suffering those brave men went through.
Heroes All.

Retlaw.

[Retlaw]

Mean while back home in Accrington & District, news of the disaster, reached Accrington, not from official sources as one would expect, but via a hospital train carrying wounded soldiers, on its way North, halted by signals, a voice shouted from one of the carriages where are we, a small group of women on the platform heard this, and responded “Accrington” the response Accrington, "yes", Oh the Accrington Pals have been wiped out. Immediately the news started to spread though out the town.

Father who should have been in school, but had bunked off again, was in Cannon St when he heard the news, he immediately ran home, telling every one he met the horrible news, on arriving home he told his mother, who thanked God her son wasn’t with them. (Walter was on a different part of the front as a machine gunner.)

Angry relatives, who wanted official news of the tragedy, besieged the mayor,
This was not to be, despite telegrams to the War Office, they refused to release details or lists of the casualties until all known relatives had been informed by telegram, some of which were already being received. The bells at Christ Church started pealing which carried on all day, curtains started to be drawn, at the houses of relatives of the dead, It was reckoned that by the end of the week practically every street in Accrington had a house with drawn curtains.

Retlaw

[cashman]

The grief n horror the town felt at that time is impossible to comprehend.

[dusty mears]

i cant belive it was 1975 when you visited. I can still remember you & grandad going but didnt know what it was all about. Sadly, unlike us, not many families have kept the memory of their Pal going. I see Great Uncle Walter every day - he keeps an eye on me - suppose someone needs to!

[Retlaw]

Originally Posted by dusty mears

i cant belive it was 1975 when you visited. I can still remember you & grandad going but didnt know what it was all about. Sadly, unlike us, not many families have kept the memory of their Pal going. I see Great Uncle Walter every day - he keeps an eye on me - suppose someone needs to!

That was the first visit, you were'nt in your teen's
then.
The Pals meanwhile, after a nights sleep, and breakfast, equipment and uniforms had to be scraped clean of mud, letters, and parcels had arrived from home, letters to men that would never read their letters, or open their parcels of goodies from home. The survivors opened the parcels, and shared out the contents amongst his mates, and write as kindly as they could to the senders.
Many on their next leave home would have to visit them, and tell them how their son, father or husband had died.
No rest for the remaining Pals, who could no longer be known as the Accrington Pals. On the 8th July, the remnants of the 11th Battalion marched to Prevent, and after the usual wait for French trains boarded the carriages, which were labeled 8 Chevaux Or 40 Hommes (8 horses or 40 men), which transported them to Steenbecque, although uncomfortable it was better than marching, arriving at 2130.
This period Steenbecque was then spent in reorganization, training Lewis gunners & bombers.
The 11th was being slowly brought back up to strength, several drafts of officers and men, some of them from the 12th Battalion, now the 75th Training Reserve joined the battalion.
Retlaw

[jaysay]

Had a look at the display in the foyer of Accy Town Hall this afternoon, very interesting indeed