War memorials

Karateman

Karateman

Well-Known Local
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I am trying to trace if one of the Accrington Pals KIA is remembered on any of the local war memorials or on a church plaque. He came from Spring hill rd, so not sure which memorial he might be on. He may be a family friend and my mum mentioned an intruiging story reference a picture from the great war.

Does anyone have a list of all the memorials or church plaques in the area so I could visit them and see if he is there.

Phil
 
Karateman said:
I am trying to trace if one of the Accrington Pals KIA is remembered on any of the local war memorials or on a church plaque. He came from Spring hill rd, so not sure which memorial he might be on. He may be a family friend and my mum mentioned an intruiging story reference a picture from the great war.

Does anyone have a list of all the memorials or church plaques in the area so I could visit them and see if he is there.

Phil
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Phil, take a look at this...

UK National Inventory of War Memorials
 
Karateman said:
I am trying to trace if one of the Accrington Pals KIA is remembered on any of the local war memorials or on a church plaque. He came from Spring hill rd, so not sure which memorial he might be on. He may be a family friend and my mum mentioned an intruiging story reference a picture from the great war.

Does anyone have a list of all the memorials or church plaques in the area so I could visit them and see if he is there.

Phil
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Yes, but several church plaques now no longer exist, some of the metal ones have been stolen, others destroyed when the buildings were bulldozed, or became a mosque. Also there are 169 names missing from the War Memorials in Greater Accrington, 94 of those are missing from Accrington's War Memorial including 6 Pals. There were other memorials and Rolls of honour, every pub, club institution, school, & work place etc had some sort of scroll.
Five men of the 11th East Lancs lived in Spring Hill Rd.
Retlaw
 
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Just found out he is commemorated on the Oak Hill memorial. Thanks for the info everybody..

One thing...where would 7 Spring Hill Rd have been. The first house on the left hand bottom corner looking upwards is numbered 9.

It wasn't the pub was it on the opposite corner?

Phil
 
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Karateman said:
Just found out he is commemorated on the Oak Hill memorial. Thanks for the info everybody..

One thing...where would 7 Spring Hill Rd have been. The first house on the left hand bottom corner looking upwards is numbered 9.

It wasn't the pub was it on the opposite corner?

Phil
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The only Accrington Pal on Accy War Memorial, lived at 61 Spring Hill Rd.
Retlaw
 
Retlaw said:
The only Accrington Pal on Accy War Memorial, lived at 61 Spring Hill Rd.
Retlaw
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The soldier was called Jim H Pilkington and was with the Scottish Rifles or Cameronians and lived at 7 spring Hill Rd Accringon. He was killed on 26th April 1917. He was remembered in the Observer on 26th May 1917.
His name is on Oak Hill memorial and the Arras Memorial.

I would think that makes him a PAL doesn't it?

I read the term Accrington PAL is a bit of a misnomer...

I have a couple of his posessions that his relatives may be interested in.....

Phil
 
Karateman said:
The soldier was called Jim H Pilkington and was with the Scottish Rifles or Cameronians and lived at 7 spring Hill Rd Accringon. He was killed on 26th April 1917. He was remembered in the Observer on 26th May 1917.
His name is on Oak Hill memorial and the Arras Memorial.

I would think that makes him a PAL doesn't it?

I read the term Accrington PAL is a bit of a misnomer...

I have a couple of his posessions that his relatives may be interested in.....

Phil
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No the Accrington Pals were the 11th (Service Battalion) East Lancashire Regiment.
To be an Accrington Pal, you would have to enlist in or be transferred into the 11th Battalion East Lancs, before July 1st 1916, after that date they could no longer be called Accrington Pals, there were'nt enough survivors.
James Holt Pilkington served as Private 28437 in the 10th Cameronians, killed in Action 26th Apl 1917.
There is no family info on C.W.G. There is a memoriam notice in the Accy Observer in April 1918, from family at 7 Spring Hill Rd, not found in 1919 or 1920.
Retlaw.


 
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Retlaw said:
No the Accrington Pals were the 11th (Service Battalion) East Lancashire Regiment.
To be an Accrington Pal, you would have to enlist in or be transferred into the 11th Battalion East Lancs, before July 1st 1916, after that date they could no longer be called Accrington Pals, there were'nt enough survivors.
James Holt Pilkington served as Private 28437 in the 10th Cameronians, killed in Action 26th Apl 1917.
There is no family info on C.W.G. There is a memoriam notice in the Accy Observer in April 1918, from family at 7 Spring Hill Rd, not found in 1919 or 1920.
Retlaw.
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Thanks Walter for the info. His number is actually 18437 by the way.

I was talking to my next door neighbour Jean Harrison and she says she is a good friend of yours...

She is now on the case looking for Jims relatives.....

Phil
 
Karateman said:
Thanks Walter for the info. His number is actually 18437 by the way.

I was talking to my next door neighbour Jean Harrison and she says she is a good friend of yours...

She is now on the case looking for Jims relatives.....

Phil
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Correct wth his number, I'm blaming my flaming Grandson, swopping keys round again. James had 1 brother & 7 Sisters, parents were Peter & Annie.
Here's his medal Card.
Retlaw.
 

Attachments

  • Pilkington. James H. 18347-S.R...jpg
    Pilkington. James H. 18347-S.R...jpg
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Anyone know if the observer is available online for info back in the early war years? Dont want to take anything away from you stalwarts who actually go into the Library and research....but when you work full time its difficult finding the time....

Phil
 
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Retlaw said:
Correct wth his number, I'm blaming my flaming Grandson, swopping keys round again. James had 1 brother & 7 Sisters, parents were Peter & Annie.
Here's his medal Card.
Retlaw.
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He also had a wife and child I believe so maybe relatives still around somewhere.....

Phil
 
Retlaw said:
Correct wth his number, I'm blaming my flaming Grandson, swopping keys round again. James had 1 brother & 7 Sisters, parents were Peter & Annie.
Here's his medal Card.
Retlaw.
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Oy blaming the rugrat, its yer fat fingers thats to blame, not my little fella! :D:D
 
wallop79 said:
Oy blaming the rugrat, its yer fat fingers thats to blame, not my little fella! :D:D
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:eek: You what, that little rug rat is always messing my scanner settings up, and nicking the video zapper, so who else could it be. :tongueout
Retlaw.
 
Karateman said:
The lad himself from May 1917......

Phil
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Thanks for that, but you should have said if you wanted a news article, I've done all te local papers from 1814 to 1920.
Retlaw.
 

Attachments

  • Pilington. James H. 18437-S.R.-5-17.JPG
    Pilington. James H. 18437-S.R.-5-17.JPG
    175.3 KB · Views: 17
Retlaw said:
Thanks for that, but you should have said if you wanted a news article, I've done all te local papers from 1814 to 1920.
Retlaw.
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I said in post 8 there was an article on him on 26 May 1917. Your version is much better than mine though..thank you.

If anyone is interested the story is as follows. My mother had two photos, the first of two soldiers, one soldier sat down and one stood up behind him outside a building in France. The photo has a hole in the centre and a stain around the outside. On the back my mother had wrote " found on Jim Pilkingtons body after he was killed" and she told me the hole was thought to be a bullet/ or shrapnel hole and the stain could be blood. I have always thought that one of the soldiers was Jim Pilkington. That was until a second photo turned up (the original of the one in the observer). My mother had wrote on the back "Jim Pilkington" and he was not one of the soldiers in the first photo. I assume they were his mates. I have thought that maybe his surviving relatives would be interested in the having the photos in memory of Jim.
The only possible flaw in the story could be that the photo was not taken from his body, because he has no known grave hence the Arras Memorial commemoration. That is unless he was killed in action and the photo was taken from his body by his mates, then the troops had to retreat and leave him.
It is all very intriguing and a wonderful story for one of our heroes and I have always wondered what the connection between his family and mine was...mum was only 5 when he died. She had done some research before she died hence the observer cutting which she obtained from the library in 1995.

So the search for relatives goes on............

Phil
 
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