Search for Relatives of WW1 Soldiers

The creators of The Fourteen, a centenary commemoration of the destruction of world war one, are still seeking relatives of the Belper soldiers who died on the first day of The Somme.  On 1st July 1916, 77,000 men out of 120,000 died in the Battle of Albert.  14 of those men enlisted in Belper, 13 were born here.  Belper then had a population of 10,000.

The team, including director Larry Waller and Richard Pinkett are eager to talk to relatives:

“Are you related to any of the soldiers from Belper who were killed on the first day of the Somme on the 1st July 1916?  As part of our research for ‘The Fourteen’ we would like to contact relatives of these men, so if you have the same surname or your parents or grandparents had the same surname as the men listed below, we would love to hear from you.”

They’ve supplied us with a list of the fourteen (which we first published back in January) and as they’ve had no luck, we’ve added some details to help with identification.

The Fourteen:

Private 26676 Allan Bembridge (16th Battalion Sherwood Foresters – Chatsworth Rifles, Notts and Derby Regiment) – died aged 18, having lied about his age when enlisting. From Nottingham Road.
Private 24201 John Bembridge (1st/5th Battalion Sherwood Foresters, Notts and Derby Regiment) died aged 28.

These were two of four brothers who fought in WW1, only Percy survived. Arthur, also of the 16th, died in October 1916 at the Schwaben Redoubt.  Sons of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bembridge, of 3 Nottingham Road, Belper. Relatives will most likely be descendants of Percy Bembridge.

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Private 200141 Albert Blount (1st/5th Battalion Sherwood Foresters , Notts and Derby Regiment) – died aged 26.

There are two different records for Albert Blount, with the same service number.  One states that he was the son of William and Hannah Blount of 9 North Terrace and the other states that he was the son of Herbert and Matilda Blount and had five siblings – Herbert, Wilfred, Lucy, Gladys and Annie and lived on Parkside.

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Sergeant 200031 Fred Bowler M.M. (1st/5th Battalion Sherwood Foresters , Notts and Derby Regiment) – died aged 26.

Fred was married to Elizabeth Ann Bowler (who remarried as Cotton), of High St, Belper, they had no children.  He was the second son of James and Elizabeth Bowler of Parkside Belper. He was posthumously awarded the Military Medal for “gallant action” at Hohenzollern Redoubt in 1915.  Relatives would be the descendants of his brother.

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Private 32115 Percy Cartwright (11th Battalion Sherwood Foresters , Notts and Derby Regiment) – died aged 23 on 3rd July from machine gun wounds on 1st.

He was the son of Albert Cartwright and the nephew of Ebenezer Cartwright of Church Street. He was a pottery labourer and is commemorated at the Denby Pottery war memorial.

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Lance Corporal 2409 Henry Clayson (1st/5th Battalion Sherwood Foresters , Notts and Derby Regiment) – died aged 19.

He was from New Road, Belper and was survived by his sister Maud Horsley of Shaw Lane.

He was the son of Annie Clayson. No father is mentioned.

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Lance Corporal 200494 Jim Green (1st/5th Battalion Sherwood Foresters , Notts and Derby Regiment), died aged 28.

Jim was married to Hannah Green, of 40 Cow Hill, Belper  and he was the son of Mr and Mrs Frank Green of Holbrook Road Belper. He died childless.

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Private 3474 Percy Hallam (1st/5th Battalion Sherwood Foresters, Notts and Derby Regiment), died aged 20. 

Son of Samuel & Emily Hallam, of 37 Short Row, Belper, Derbyshire.

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Corporal 201082 Francis William Melbourne (1st/5th Battalion Sherwood Foresters, Notts and Derby Regiment), died aged 25.

He was the son of William Melbourne, a colliery labourer, and Rachel Melbourne, an embroiderer.

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Private 6851 Sydney Herbert Morley (11th Battalion Sherwood Foresters, Notts and Derby Regiment), died aged 34. Sydney was born in Belper but lived in Nottingham.  He was the husband of Alice Joyce, and father of Elsie May and Harry Morley, of 6 Kent Road, Stapleford, Nottinghamshire.

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Private 3531 Samuel Pape (1st/5th Battalion Sherwood Foresters , Notts and Derby Regiment), died aged 28.

Samuel enlisted in Belper but was from Lincolnshire.  He was the son of Wattam Pape of 65 Southgate, Sleaford, Lincs. Samuel boarded with Eliza Maltby in Market Rasen, Lincs.

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Private 2756 Walter Pepper (1st/5th Battalion Sherwood Foresters, Notts and Derby Regiment), died aged 39.

Walter might have step-descendants as well as biological descendants. He was the husband of Annie, father of Martha and Gladys Pepper, and stepfather of Hilda and Ethel Jennison, of Chesterfield Road, Belper, Derbyshire.

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Private 200342 Joseph Taylor (1st/5th Battalion Sherwood Foresters , Notts and Derby Regiment), died aged 20.

Son of Joseph, a blast furnace labourer, and Eliza Taylor, of 6 Short Street, Belper, Derbyshire

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Sergeant 200005 William Wilkinson (1st/5th Battalion Sherwood Foresters , Notts and Derby Regiment), died aged 36.

He was the husband of Emily Wilkinson and they had two sons aged 7 and 10, John and Norman. Addresses recorded are High Street and St. John’s Road.
He was the son of Mr and Mrs William Wilkinson of Windmill Lane, Belper.

If you are related to any of The Fourteen, please get in touch with Richard Pinkett on email at agedpink@live.co.uk