The Conisbrough and Denaby 100 Project
Noah Armstrong
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Noah St Philip Armstrong was born in around 1882 to Thomas and Mary Armstrong in Smethwick, near Birmingham and moved to Yorkshire sometime in the early 1900s. He married Betsy Fisher in 1907 and they had three sons together; Thomas, Herbert and Noah who was born just 16 days before his namesake father died. Betsy sadly lost more than her husband during the Great War - her five brothers also went to the front; two of them were also killed, a third wounded and a fourth suffered from shellshock.
He grew up into a relatively small man at 5’4 tall and weighing just 123lb when he joined the army and worked in iron works and coal mines from a relatively young age; at the outbreak of war he was working as a coal miner in Denaby, South Yorkshire. On the 18th August 1914 he signed up as a Private in the York and Lancaster Regiment 2nd Battalion, having previously served in the 3rd Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment.
Noah was wounded in the arm after entering a German trench in an overnight attack during the battle for Hooge and was picked up by a field ambulance, which made it all the way back to the casemates within the ramparts here at Ypres, before being hit, killing him. He is buried in Ramparts Cemetery in a trench grave (butted up shoulder to shoulder) alongside seven others who all have the same date of death; possibly the entire Field Ambulance.
Following his death, Noah's brother in law wrote to his mother, recounting Noah's death;
“On 9 August, about 1.30 in the morning, we were told to prepare to make a charge. We shelled the German trenches for half an hour, and a little later we charged the trenches, and it was not long before we were in them. The fighting was desperate, and “Jack Johnsons,” were flying all over the place. Edwin Fisher and myself were carrying bombs from your trenches to those we had taken. I lost sight of Edwin, and was told he had been hit. I nearly went mad. I was very pleased to find him quite all right during the afternoon.
Then I heard that Noah Armstrong had been wounded in the arm, and that he had gone down in the ambulance. Subsequently, the officer told me that poor Noah have been blown up in the ambulance.
I am afraid that I shall not be able to tell any more about him. We had it hot all the time. They shelled us for 16 hours without ceasing. I am pleased to say that Edwin and I save up to now. But they do think all the young men while left ought to come out here and give as a helping hand, instead of swinging about their mother’s apron strings. Surely they have read of the Battle of Hooge. Why don’t they come forward to do their bit for their king and country? I think I have done my share. Edwin has had it hot during the two-month CLB near, but he has a brother who knows how to look after him.” Fisher concludes: “tell Betsy to cheer up (referring to poor Armstrong’s wife). I know she will be taking it hard.”
According to his military records, Noah was less than well behaved! The offences are largely illegible, but it is possible to see that amongst other punishments, he received at one time 8 days 'Field Punishment No. 2' for 'overstaying his pass' and several instances of Field Punishment No. 1 which involved being tied to the wheel of a cart or other stationary object, for up to 2 hours per day. There are several separate incidents listed on the card, and the ones which are legible seem to suggest that he was at one time caught travelling on the railway without a ticket, for which he received 3 days confined to barracks, and being found 'drunk in his billet' on two occasions. It also appears that in 1911, Noah was imprisoned for 20 days for 'debt'.
Noah's medical card also shows two incidents of being awarded Field Punishment No 1, however whether this means that he required medical attention after his punishment or whether he received the punishment after faking an illness or injury, is unclear. The final record on Noah's medical card shows him being killed in action at the Hooge, Belgium on 9th August 1915.
Noah Armstrong was awarded the Victory and the British medals.
We visited Noah's grave on a beautiful evening in August 2014. Noah is buried in a stunning cemetery atop the Ramparts at Ypres (Ramparts Cemetery), and is laid alongside several comrades who also died on the same day; presumably all involved in the same incident.
The view from Noah's grave out across the moat is spectacular.
Lest We Forget
Between November 2014 and November 2015, each night beneath the Menin Gate in Ypres a eulogy to a fallen soldier is read at the Last Post. On Sunday 9th August 2015, the 100 year anniversary of Noah's death, his eulogy was read.
Watch the video here.