| World War One
Zeppelin Raids
In 1916, the Black Country witnessed, and suffered
directly from the affects of war when two German
Zeppelins carried out raids.
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| Read about the
1916 Zeppelin air raids over the Black
Country. |
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Read
about the airship onslaught which rocked Midland
towns |
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Wednesbury War Memorial.
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The middle part of the memorial. |
Wednesbury War Memorial in Walsall Street, on the corner
of Hollies Drive was officially unveiled on the 4th November
1926. A large number of people attended the ceremony
including members of the general public, boy scouts, girl
guides, council officials, local magistrates, subscribers to
the memorial, and ex-servicemen, along with a guard of
honour.
Unfortunately many names were missing from the original
plaques and so several years ago the Wednesbury War Memorial
Campaign Group set up a committee to carry out research, and
produce a new, more comprehensive list of the fallen, which
eventually included the names of 1047 people.
A total of 424 names were added to the original list of
those who had died in the two World Wars, and new plinths
and plaques were produced by W. E. Jones, Monumental Masons.
Around £57,000 pounds had been raised for the project
thanks to Sandwell Council and a number of subscribers. |
| The new plaques were unveiled on the afternoon of Sunday
5th May, 2013. The event, which included a fly-past by an
RAF Dakota began with a parade starting at the Town Hall. A
large number of people watched the parade and attended the
ceremony. A new book of remembrance was opened at the
event because the old book, kept at St. Bart's Church had
excluded Catholics. The researchers were greatly helped by
the records of the War Graves Commission.
The New Plaques |
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Plaque one, World War One. |
| Plaque two, World War One. |
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Plaque three, World War One. |
| Plaque four, World War One. |
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Plaque five, World War One. |
| Plaque six, World War One. |
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Plaque seven, World War Two. |
| Plaque eight, World War Two. |
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| Some of the
people whose names are on the war memorial |
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Second Lieutenant T. J. B.
Troman. |
Second Lieutenant Thomas Joseph Barnsley Troman
of the North Staffordshire Regiment was killed in
action by a shell on 14th July, 1916 at the age of
26. He was in command of a machine gun section and
fell while leading his men. He was the second son
of Henry Troman of Jesmond, Brunswick Park Road,
Wednesbury, and a talented organist. He had been
organist at St. Bart's Church, and Wednesbury
Borough Organist. He had hoped to go into the
church. |
| Lieutenant Gavin Tenison Royle Knowles of the
South Staffordshire Regiment was killed in action on
the Somme, in France on 1st July, 1916 at the age of
21. He was the younger son of Mr. and Mrs. B. C.
Knowles of Caldwell House, Wednesbury, and grandson
of a former Mayor, Alderman John Knowles. |
Lieutenant Gavin T. R.
Knowles. |
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Second Lieutenant Len Joynson. |
Second Lieutenant Leonard G. B. Joynson of
the Darlaston Territorials died in France in
February, 1915 while instructing his men in the use
of a bomb, which accidentally exploded. He was the
eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. C. W. D. Joynson and was
training to be an architect. |
| Captain Will Millner of the local Territorials
was killed in France on 13th October, 1915 whilst
leading his men in the attack on the Hohenzollern
Redoubt. He was the eldest son of Mrs. H. D.
Millner of the Dartmouth Hotel, Wednesbury and was
the finest marksman that the town ever produced. |
Captain Will Millner. |
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Company Sergeant Major F.
Bytheway, D.C.M. |
Company Sergeant Major F. Bytheway, D.C.M. was
killed during action on the Somme in 1916, at the
age of 29. He had been awarded a Distinguished
Conduct Medal after carrying his machine gun in the
firing line for three quarters of a mile. He then
continued to carry the gun until the end of the
attack by which time his ammunition had long
run-out. He received the award at Walsall in
December 1915. His brother ran The Stores on
Holyhead Road. |
| Sergeant Bernard Fitzpatrick, D.C.M. of the 2nd
South Staffordshire Regiment was killed in the
advance at Loos at the end of September, 1915. He
also received the Russian decoration, the Cross of
St. George. |
Sergeant B. Fitzpatrick, D.C.M. |
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