Examples of material on display at the WW1 Local History Fair
Tickhill Library, 26 July 2014
Private 47473 Wifred Nicholson 7th Battalion K.O.Y.L.I.
Wilfred Nicholson was born in Hampole on 20 August 1893, the son of Lincolnshire born shepherd William Nicholson, born in Saxilby in 1859 and his wife Annie Strong, born in Arksey in 1863. Wifred was the fifth of seven children and the family constantly moved around the Doncaster area, presumably in search of work, as indicated by the children's birthplaces of Bentley, Norton, Hatfield, Hampole and Warmsworth. In 1911 William, Annie and their two younger children were living in Hesley Lodge, at the entrance to Hesley Hall, William working as a shepherd for the Whitaker family. Wilfred was employed on a farm in Stainton as a horseman, but at the time of his marriage to Edith Maughan in South Elkington in 1914 he was a banksman at Rossington Colliery. After their marriage the couple lived in Sunderland Street.
On 2 April 1918 during the spring campaign of the Somme offensive known as 'First Battles of the Somme 1918' Wilfred was crossing a road with Tickhill man George Stubbings when he was hit by a shell and killed instantly. At the time of his death Wilfred was attached to the 7th Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps. He has no known grave and is commemorated on panels 59 and 60 of the Pozieres War Memorial, near Albert in France. Wilfred left behind his widow Edie, three year old daughter Molly and eighteen month old son Jack (shown right). The War Diary entry for 1 April 1918 is as follows: 'On the night of 1-2 April the battalion moved up to relieve a force of cavalry in front of Domart, with headquarters at Hourage. After an uneventful tour of 24 hours, during which 7 other ranks were killed and two wounded, the battalion was relieved by the French.' Wilfred's death was one of the seven in an 'uneventful tour'.
Two Tickhill brothers win military distinction
Two sons of Mr & Mrs J Kimberley of Tickhill have won military distinction, Sergeant J W Kimberley, West Yorkshire Pioneers, has been awarded the Certificate of Merit for devotion to duty and fine behaviour whilst serving in France. Gunner J H A Kimberley, 'A' Battery 114th Field Artillery Brigade, has been awarded the Military Medal for his conduct on November 3rd 1917. On that date he was with an advanced section engaged in wire-cutting. He had as companion a telephonist, who was killed. He maintained communications between the advanced section and the battery O.P. the distance was over one thousand yards of very broken ground, under continuous fire from the enemies' batteries. It was owing to the devotion to duty of this telephonist in constantly repairing the wire under very heavy shell-fire that communications were kept up. The report to this effect was signed by the Major-General of the Division on 8 December 1917. Gunner Kimberley was also awarded the French Medaille d'Honneur, although the date of this award is not known. He was wounded in the shoulder, a 'Blighty wound', necessitating his return to Britain from Salonika, Greece. After recovering from his wound he was demobilised on 14 May 1919.
Children in wartime
Local children gathered at the end of Sunderland Street between the Post Office and the Buttercross to wait for troops, possibly to cheer them on their way after their temporary stay here. The children were involved in the war effort in various ways from pea and potato picking to knitting garments and packing parcels for troops. Some 15 children in Tickhill lost their fathers who were killed in action during the First World War.