New CWGC Commemorations

[Terry Denham]

CWGC added the following 'new' WW1 casualties to its Debt of Honour database today – Wednesday 28th January.

Gnr Roland BAILEY

92723 Royal Garrison Artillery

Died 13.03.20 Age 35

Buried: Norbury (St Thomas) Churchyard, Cheshire, UK

Pte Charles CORNS

9788 7th Bn, South Staffordshire Regiment

Died 15.01.18 Age 40

Buried: Swindon (St John) Churchyard, Staffs, UK

NOT FORGOTTEN

Pte BAILEY was put forward on 27.11.08 on behalf of member, John Hartley.

Both the above casualties are currently in unmarked graves and are awaiting the erection of CWGC headstones.

[chrisharley9]

May They Rest In Peace

Once again John well done

[John_Hartley]

Roland Bailey is commemorated on the war memorial at Hazel Grove (now part of the Borough of Stockport but then part of a separate Urban District Council lying to the south of town). Ten years ago, John Eaton researched the men on the memorial for his book "Hazel Grove to Armageddon". John discovered some of Roland's life and identified that he had died of malaria.

The internet now makes it much easier for memorial researchers but, with such a common name, it was impossible to make any significant progress as there was no local indication of his military service. The release of the service papers onto Ancestry allowed me one last chance to try to finish his story and, luckily, his papers had survived. It was then just a matter of sending his death certificate and service papers to MoD/CWGC through the system we have with them related to the In From The Cold Project.

Roland was born in 1885, the son of John and Mary. Nothing is known of his early life, and the first known mention of him is on 17 March 1905 when he married Comfort Tinsley at St Mary’s Church, Stockport. She originated from the Walsall area and had also been born in 1885. As a 16 year old, she was living in Stockport in 1901 and working as a cotton spinner.

With such a common surname, it is not possible to be sure how many children they had but his army records only record one child – Mary, born on 21 October 1905. Family history websites record the birth, in the late summer of 1911, of a boy named Roland Tinsley Bailey who may have been a son who did not survive.

Roland enlisted into the army on 11 December 1915 and his service papers show him to have been 5’ 8” tall and then aged 31. He was living with Comfort and Mary at 3 Cook Street, Stockport and was working as a labourer. His services were not needed immediately and he was posted to the reserve and returned home. He was mobilised on 3 June 1916 and assigned to 94th Company, Royal Garrison Artillery. He would serve with the Company in India until the summer of 1918. He was then transferred to 88th Company then in Hong Kong where he remained until demobilised in February 1919.

His service papers give no indication that he was ill during his service but he returned home having caught malaria and died of this and heart disease.

Roland Bailey

1885 - 1920

NOT FORGOTTEN

[stiletto_33853]

Well done all involved.

R.I.P. lads

Andy

[Will O'Brien]

Raising a glass to the memory of Roland & Charles. Raising another to John's efforts to bring Roland In from the cold.