World War I
A blog post by Wolverhampton Archives made me realise that I had two men by the name of Joseph FERN in my family tree who were both killed in the First World War. The two men were second cousins – their grandfathers were brothers.
On an ancestral tourism visit to Stourport-on-Severn, I saw the town’s war memorial which included the name Sergt. J. Baldwin.
Suspecting that this was a distant relative of my 2x Great-grandmother, Sarah Baldwin, whose father was a boat builder and grocer in the town, I investigated further. I found it was her nephew, James Baldwin, born in 1881 and the son of her brother, Thomas. James was my first cousin, three times removed (in other words, his grandparents were my 3x great-grandparents).
“KILLED IN ACTION
Sergt. Isaac Leonard Williams, South Staffs, whose mother resides at High Street, Swindon, Dudley, has been killed in action. Sergeant Williams, who joined the Army four years ago, had been on active service for two years. He was 22 years old and received his first wound in June 1915. He fought through many battles. ”
Wolverhampton Express & Star, 17th August 1916
Henry Jones was born in Pattingham, Staffordshire in June 1880 and was the eldest child of Samuel Jones and his wife Sarah Ann (née Smith).
By the time of the 1901 census Harry, as he seems to have been known, was 21 and living with his parents at Daddenhall Hill, Pattingham, whilst working as a carter on a farm (agricultural horse worker).
For about 15 years, I’ve been trying to find out why my great-uncle, Isaac Leonard Williams (known as Len), was awarded the Military Medal. The medal is still with the family, but there is no accompanying citation. I have been unable to find anything to shed any light on this. All that is known is that the medal was awarded posthumously. He was killed in action at Delville Wood on 29th July 1916 and the award of the medal was announced in the London Gazette of 19th February 1917 (issue 29953, page 1761).
