The Armstrong Cottage tragedy

The war memorial behind the altar in the church of the Holy Spirit, Harlescott, Shrewsbury is one of only a few in the county which includes the names of civilians. The names are those of Jessie Broxton, Margaret Meredith and John Meredith.

Many years ago, my father pointed out a field to me at the side of the Ellesmere Road on the northern outskirts of Shrewsbury. He described how a family who lived in a cottage in the middle of the field had been killed when it suffered a direct hit from a German bomb in the Second World War. It is only recently however that I have been able to uncover the full story of Armstrong Cottage. Firstly, I was able to confirm the accuracy of my father’s memory of the location by virtue of a discussion on the Shropshire Family History Society message board (thanks are due here to ‘William‘, Martyn Freeth, Ann Lonsdale and Michael Hulme - some of whom actually remembered the incident).

The bombing took place in September 1940 when German attacks on civilian British targets were at their height. The following week’s Shrewsbury Chronicle carried a full report but, respecting wartime security requirements, referred to it only as having taken place on “the outskirts of a large market town in the Midlands”. The details given however must have made its location plain, to local residents at least. The report describes how “…two high explosive bombs were dropped one of which struck the cottage and destroyed it, while another buried itself in the road-way nearby. The woman, who had retired to bed with her two small grand-children was Mrs Jessie Mary Broxton, and the children were Margaret Eileen Meredith, aged six, and John Terence Meredith, aged four, whose mother lives at Llangollen. The husband, William Broxton, was down-stairs when the bomb struck the house, enjoying a final smoke before retiring. Five minutes after Mrs Broxton had gone to bed he heard her call “Oh, Bill” and the next minute the bomb exploded and he was buried. When the rescue party arrived they found him buried under five or six feet of debris, but on extricating found him suffering only from slight shock and some cuts on the arm. In a different part of the debris a dog was found also very slightly injured, and when a large piece of debris had been pushed aside he emerged from his ‘nest’ wagging his tail”. The report goes on to describe how two neighbours, a Mr Carter and a Mr Bebb, were on the scene within minutes, closely followed by the local police. There was nothing they could do however to save Mrs Broxton and her two small grandchildren.

It is a sad story but fortunately such tragedies were rare in Shropshire. The only other civilian casualties of enemy bombing in the county I have been able to uncover are a Miss Josephine Maynard and a Mrs Hand, killed on the 29th August 1940 in Bridgnorth. Their names do not appear on the Bridgnorth memorials as far as I an aware, unless of course someone can tell me otherwise!

Since posting this blog, I have been contacted by Neil Evans who tells me that there are also civilian casualties listed on the Loppington, St Martins & Knowbury memorials. Many thanks to Neil for this.

Also thanks to Tim Wilcock who has told me more recently that Mrs Broxton and her grandchildren are buried in the graveyard at Christ Church in Welshpool.

Shot at Dawn

After a long and determined campaign, soldiers who were executed during the First World War for various offences such as desertion and cowardice, were recently given a posthumous pardon. One of these men is recorded on the war memorial in St George's church in Frankwell, Shrewsbury. Records show that Denis Jetson Blakemore was a Private in the North Staffs Regiment. He was shot at 4.30 am on the 9th July 1917 for desertion and is buried at Locre Hospice cemetery in Belgium.

Blakemore was the son of the headmaster of Bicton school near Shrewsbury. He initially served in Ireland and then travelled with his battalion to France in 1916. At least two of his brothers also served in the First World War. At 5.40 am on 7th June 1917 he was reported missing as his unit formed up to attack. He was discovered hiding in a shell hole in the rear of the assembly trenches and then formed up, but later was found again to be missing. At his trial he pleaded not guilty and simply said he was too upset to go on with his section. Having previously been found guilty of being absent without leave, and been given a suspended sentence of 15 years penal servitude, a death sentence was almost inevitable. A guilty verdict was recorded and in the early hours of 9th July Denis Blakemore's life came to a sad end.

The interesting thing about the memorial in St George's is that Blakemore's name shows all the signs of having been in the list from the outset. For obvious reasons the names of many such men were left off local memorials. Maybe the circumstances of his death were not revealed at the time or maybe the people of Frankwell were more compassionate than many others. Can anybody out there throw any further light on this or provide any more information? Leave me a message by clicking on 'comments' below.

For details of the 'Shot at Dawn' memorial in Alrewas arboretum click on:

http://www.clarkehome58.freeserve.co.uk/SADmem.htm

I've recently discovered that Blakemore's name is also listed on the memorial plaque in Bicton church. Similarly to the one in St George's church it looks very much as though the name has been there from the outset.

Many thanks to Mike Carty who is carrying out some research into the various men who were 'shot at dawn' and points out that in fact quite a number of the men were included on their local memorials at the request of family or friends.

Katherine Mary Harley

On a visit to the Parade shopping centre in Shrewsbury (formerly the Royal Salop Infirmary) some time ago I noticed a small plaque tucked away near the main entrance. Every curious, and wondering of course if it might be a war memorial, I looked more closely. Sure enough, it was a memorial to Katherine Mary Harley who rendered “gallant service for many years on behalf of women and children. Killed by a shell at Monastir on 7th March 1917 while tending the distressed Serbians during the Great War”. Intrigued, I determined to find out more. She is also remembered on the roll of honour in nearby St Mary’s church and also in Condover church, her home village. It appears that she went out to France early in the War to work at the Scottish Women’s Hospital but then moved on to Macedonia were she was attached to the Serbian army. There she became responsible for setting up an independent ambulance unit to serve the civilian population in the city of Monastir. On 7th March she had been distributing food to starving Serbians at her house. Whilst taking a break, she sat by a window. Sadly, when the usual bombardment began, shrapnel burst near the house and a fragment struck her in the head ending what had been a selfless and heroic life.

She was buried in Lambet Road military cemetery in Thessalonika. Katherine had interesting family connections. She was a sister to none other than Field Marshall French, Commander-in-chief of the British forces in France. Her sister, Mrs Charlotte Despard was also a “noted pacifist, emancipationist and socialist”. Following Katherine’s death, a memorial fund was raised in her honour. Part of the money was used to endow a cot in the RSI and the remainder invested and the income used to fund the Harley medals. These were then awarded annually to the two nurses who achieved the highest marks in their hospital exam finals. Apparently, the book ‘The Quality of Mercy’ by Monica Krippner contains more information about her. In it she is described as “wiry and energetic with a well chiselled nose, pale piercing eyes, slight and graceful and a love for everything militaire” She is said to have always been attired in full uniform so her relationship with her pacifist sister would have been an interesting one!