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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Harry Ashworth KRRC


ralphjd

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I know the last subject I asked to be considered was dismissed for whatever reason, but is this case deserving of being submitted. 6687 Harry Ashworth KRRC died Sept 1919 death registerd in Ormskirk, whilst photographing headstones in Rochdale Cemetery for the British War Graves Project I came across his name on the family headstone and upon checking the various sites find that he is not commemorated anywhere. His pension records have survived complete and make very disturbing reading, GSW to the head and compound fracture of the skull, operations performed etc and a skull cap ordered, very sad he must have gone through hell poor lad. Obviously without his death certificate I do not know what he died from, but if his records are anything to go by I doubt he was knocked down by a Southport bus. £10 to be well spent or not.Opinions anyone. Ralph.

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Ralph, did you think to use the back arrow when you looked at his records? There is an excellent character reference for him there.

For what it's worth I think if it was me I would send for the Death Certificate. (You don't expect to spend exactly £10 do you? It's £9.25 from the GRO.)

CGM

Edited to add - but I wouldn't order it until I had heard from the IFCP that he is not already in the pipeline.

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I can't see how you can progress this further without knowing cause of death.

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CGM No I didn't use the back arrow I know you should bearing in mind the countless mistakes on Ancestry. Quoted £10 as this is what I have paid in the past, but I bow to your superior knowledge here, thanks. I was hoping that someone from the IFCP would have read this by now and advised as to whether or not to proceed, will wait a bit longer. MBrockway, I could not agree more just wondering if it's worth it that was all. Regards. Ralph.

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Keep us informed Ralph.

Silver War Badge roll has him enlisting 10 Nov 1914, discharged wounded 03 May 1916.

His Service Number was not 6687, which would signify a regular, but R/6687, signifying Kitchener service battalion (which incidentally is very close to my grandfather's of R/6479, so they enlisted within a few days of each other).

He was posted a few days after enlisting to 15/KRRC, one of the Reserve battalions in England. Then embarking on 03 Aug 1915 posted to 7/KRRC. He joined the battalion in the field on 05 May (Edit 08/10/13: I think I meant to write Aug here!) 1915.

Wounded (gunshot wound to head) on 20 Nov 1915 and sent back to UK on 31 Dec 1915. The Pension Record gives extensive detail on the compound skull fracture and the operations he underwent.

7/KRRC War Diary for 05 Aug 1915 ...
1 mile E of POPERINGHE
Battn in bivouac resting. Draft of 200 from 15th Bn. A & B Coys made up to strength of 130 each. To trenches in front of Y Wood. Coys came under orders of O.C. 5th Ox & Bucks

7/KRRC had taken heavy casualties at Hooge in July 1915 and were rebuilding.

Seem to have mislaid my 7/KRRC war diary sections from Sep 1915 to end 1915. 1915 KRRC Chronicle has 7/KRRC still in the same area in the salient doing successive tours in the trenches east of Ypres. They were mostly swapping with 8/RB. This continued until they moved down to Arras in Spring 1916.

Let me know if you need anything else.

Cheers,

Mark

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Mark. Thanks for the info. Not heard from any of the IFTC team on this man, so I will go it alone and submit him myself. Ralph.

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Would have got to you earlier but am in Hungary at present with intermittent internet access. Will be in touch when I get home on the 24th

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  • 2 weeks later...

How did you get on with this one

Chris

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  • 2 weeks later...

Let me know when it arrives please

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Got the dc today - cause of death :- 1. Bullet wound of head penetrating skull. 2. Abscess formation. GOT to be accepted or not ? Ralph.

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Looks like a strong case to me.

The clear evidence of a GSW to the head received in action, coupled with cause of death as GSW and subsequent fatal brain abscess shows good cause and effect despite the long time elapsed between wounding in 1915 and death in 1919.

Any foreign matter still left in the skull can became a site for infection some time after the initial wounding and anyway, from the descriptions in the Pension Record, Harry's scalp and skull must have been very vulnerable to opportunistic infection. From my understanding of brain abscesses in this era, his decline from onset of the fatal infection to coma and death would have been very rapid.

It certainly looks like Harry's death was directly attributable to war service, so excellent work Ralph!

Cheers,

Mark

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Looks good to me Ralph

Would you like IFCP to process this case for you?

It will of course be credited to you if successful (which is very highly likely)

Do you have the burial register page for his grave?

Chris

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Chris. Yes I would appreciate the IFTC project submitting it on my behalf please. Yes I do have the grave register page from Rochdale cem, where do the documents need to be sent to ? and do you require his pension records as well ? Ralph.

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Ralph

Drop me a PM with your e mail address & we will take from there. From here on in it is a relatively painless process

Chris

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  • Try now as I have just had a clear out

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