Harry was recorded as being 19 years and four months old when he attested to join the 8th (Service) Battalion of the York and Lancaster Regiment on Tuesday, 3rd November 1914, and was working as a Pony man, in the ‘pit’. However, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) records him as being 19 when he died on the first day of the Somme in 1916. Either, his age on CWGC is incorrect, or he was only 17 when he attested, and lied on his papers. Harry was 5ft five inches, weighed 112lb which was exactly 8 stones. Nevertheless,  he had a fully expanded chest measurement of 34.5 inches. He had a sallow complexion, brown eyes, dark brown  hair, and was recorded as being Roman Catholic.

 

Harry’s father Charles was born in Manchester, his mother Catherine (nee Fitzgerald) hailed from Ireland, and the family moved to Doncaster sometime between 1891 and the late 1890s, as Harry himself was born in Doncaster. In 1891 the family are living in Heaton Norris, near Stockport and Charles is a Railway Carriage Examiner, which was quite a good job. The couple have four children; daughters Barbara, Annie and Maggie, and son Charles. By 1901, now living at “40 Bridge Street, Doncaster” comprises of Barbara, Annie, Maggie, William, Harry and Gladys May. No mention is made of Charles who was 2 in 1891. In 1901 Harry is listed as being 3 years old, which puts his date of birth around 1898.

 

In 1911, Harry’s parents can be found living at 11 Saint Mary’s Crescent, Doncaster, but Harry is not with them; or at least he is not at home when the census is taken; perhaps he was leading his pony in the mine. The family has grown again, now the census records Annie who is now 24 and working as a Brass Finisher, Gladys, Frederick and Frank. This makes 9 children in total, including Charles. Father Charles is still working on the railways, but is now a Gas Stoker.

 

It is possible, when looking at Harry’s reported age in the 1901 census, and taking into consideration the possible dates between when he could have been born to make him 3 at that time, that if he was born in July 1897 (he stated in November 1914 that he was 19 and ‘four months’ – it would be most likely that he lied about the year, but not the month, to keep it simple) he would indeed have been 19 when he died in 1916. If Harry did lie, it would be understandable; the legal age to be sent overseas to war was 19, and if he was 17 he would have been held back another year.

 

After his attestation, Harry was mobilised the following day, and ‘Posted’ on the 7th November 1914 however he didn’t go abroad until 27th August 1915. His papers list the family living at 45 Edlington Street, Denaby Main which means they had moved since 1911. What is interesting however is that in his paperwork he lists ‘Charles Goodier’ as a full blood brother, and has him aged as 32, living in Pontefract. Could this be Charles who disappeared between 1891 and 1901? If it is, the age is wrong. Charles was listed as being ‘2’ in 1891, which would make him not 36 but 26. He also lists William, Herbert, Frank and Norman (who is only 6 and was born between the 1901 census and the beginning of the war) as full blood brothers, along with Lillie Gant (presumably Barbara), Annie Goodier, Maggie (surname illegible) and Gladys Riley as his sisters. No  mention is made of Frederick, which can lead one to assume only that he died. What is fascinating however is that none of the ages he records compare to those recorded on the 1891 or 1901 censuses, which is incredibly odd. Even Gladys, who was supposedly only four months old in 1901 is listed as being 19. Either the censuses are wrong (unlikely) or for some reason Harry lied about his siblings’ ages.

 

Harry’s paperwork shows one offence for which he was punished; on 17th June 1915 he was found guilty of “Overstaying his pass from 11.55pm til 8pm 19.6.15 (44hrs 5 mins)”. For this, he was confined to barracks for 7 days.

 

On the first day of the Battle of the Somme, the 8th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment were in the first wave of men to go ‘over the top’ along with the 8th KOYLI. 9th York and Lancaster were in support, and 11th Sherwood Foresters were in reserve. The battalion took 680 men, and 23 Officers over the parapet. Of those, every Officer was killed or wounded, and only 68 (10%) of the battalion returned. The battalion  had ceased to exist and was withdrawn. The 8th KOYLI suffered only slightly less casualties.

 

Following Harry’s death, his mother Catherine received his medals in 1919, at which time the family had moved again, to 8 Balby Terrace, and all correspondence was directed to Catherine; perhaps Charles Snr had died since 1914 when Harry enlisted. The only personal effect which was returned to the family was recorded as quite simply ‘Disc’. Other paperwork suggests that this was his identity disc.

 

Harry was awarded the Victory, British and 1915 Star medals.

 

Harry is buried at Blighty Valley Cemetery, near Authuille on the Somme. We visited him in April 2015.