War Memorial Project

Statistics of World War One Losses

From the information collected so far, here are some interesting facts taken from the study
of those soldiers lost from Sutton-in-Ashfield in World War One.

First killed in action
Last killed in action
Most common regiment
Most casualties on one day
Families who lost more than one son
Last casualty who died from wounds
Oldest died in action or from wounds
Youngest died in action or from wounds
Local soldiers who won awards before or after death

First Killed in action

The first known Sutton soldier to lose his life was Arthur Smith who died on 20th September 1914. The first British casualty of the First World War died on 21st August 1914, only thirty days before Private Smith

Last Killed in action

The last known Sutton soldier to die before the 11th November 1918 - the day the Armistice was signed and the War was officially ended - was John William Pickbourn. He died on 7th November 1918, four days before the official end of the war.

However, there are also three local soldiers who died abroad after 11th November 1918, for unknown reasons:

Daniel Staley 14th November 1918, France

Sampson Cotton 25th December 1918, France (died on his way home)

Albert Edward Sale 6th April 1919, France

Most common Regiment

It is no real surprise that the most common Regiment for the local casualties was the Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derbyshire) Regiment.

The largest number of casualties fell in the 1st/8th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters; 24 of the soldiers named on the memorial were from the 1st/8th Battalion. The second most common battalion was the 2nd, with 19 soldiers listed on the memorial.

The Sherwood Foresters also have a Memorial Tower to their fallen comrades, located in Critch, Derbyshire.

Most casualties on one day

The most damaging day of the First World War, from the perspective of local casualties, was the 1st July 1916, when ten local men were killed. This was the first day of the Battle of the Somme, when the British Army lost the most men ever on one day.

Of the ten, five were part of the 11th Bn. Sherwood Foresters and three were from the 2nd Bn. Lincolnshire Regiment. Only one (marked *) was killed in a different area of France that day.

The local soldiers who died were:

Squire James Baugh
Albert Edward Baugh
William Henry E. Butterworth
Percy Caunt
John William Edwards *
Thomas James Gent
Robert Guy
Harry Hopkinson
John William Scothern
Horace Scott

The next most damaging day for local families was on the 16th September 1916, when seven local soldiers died on the same day. Of those seven, five died in the Somme area, during the continuing battle, and four of those were from the 2nd Bn. Sherwood Foresters.

The Sherwood Foresters Museum has an interesting article about the Battle of the Somme from the point of view of the Notts & Derbys Regiment.

Families who lost more than one son

The loss of any child is greatly mourned by their parents, but the following local families were unlucky enough to lose two or more sons in the First World War :

William & Sarah ALLSOP lost three sons - Ernest Allsop (29 yrs), Sampson Allsop (18 yrs) and Horace Allsop (22 yrs)

Charles & Mary Ann WILDSMITH lost three sons - Gershom Wildsmith (29 yrs), Wilfred Wildsmith (21 yrs) and
William Wildsmith (23 yrs)

Henry & Annie WILSONCROFT lost three sons - Henry Wilsoncroft (23 yrs), John Wilsoncroft (30 yrs) and
Thomas Wilsoncroft (21 yrs) - all spelled as WOOLSONCROFT on the memorial.

Elam & Francis ANTILL lost two sons - Sibery Antill (23 yrs) and William Antill (39 yrs)

Ephraim & Eliza Ann BAGULEY lost two sons - Leonard Baguley (25 yrs) and William Baguley (24 yrs)

William & Jane Ellen BAUGH lost two sons - Albert Edward Baugh (24 yrs) and Squire James Baugh (32 yrs)

Samuel & Sarah BERRY lost two sons - George Berry (20 yrs) and Samuel Berry (24 yrs)

Henry & Emily CAUNT lost two sons - Cecil Caunt (21 yrs) and Percy Caunt (25 yrs)

Jesse & Mary CAUNT lost two sons - Frederick Caunt (28 yrs) and Ernest Caunt (25 yrs)

Robert & Sarah Ann COOK lost two sons - Alfred Cook (23 yrs) and Harold Cook (25 yrs)

Arthur MORLEY & Elizabeth (formerly DOVE) lost two sons - Archie Dove (32 yrs) and Fred Morley (24 yrs)

John & Rosamond GODSON lost two sons - Frank Godson (28 yrs) and William Godson (26 yrs)

George & Eliza Hallam lost two sons - George Hallam (23 yrs) and Samuel Hallam (20 yrs)

Lancelot & Mary Harris lost two sons - Lancelot Harris (25 yrs) and William Harris (22 yrs)

Joseph & Catherine Harrison lost two sons - Frederick Harrison (39 yrs) and Walter Harrison (31 yrs)

John James & Mary Ann Herring lost two sons - Fred Herring (19 yrs) and James William Herring (28 yrs)

John & Eliza Ellen Hutchinson lost two sons - Clarence Hutchinson (20 yrs) and Frank Hutchinson (28 yrs)

John Frank & Mary Ann HUTCHINSON lost two sons - Everett Hutchinson (20 yrs) and Henry (Harry) Hutchinson (25 yrs)

Samuel Alma & Hannah PRYME lost two sons - John Edward Pryme (23 yrs) and Samuel Alma Pryme (30 yrs)

Absolom & Mary RANDLE lost two sons - Absolom Randle (20 yrs) and Thomas Randle (24 yrs)

John & Mary Ann SIMMS lost two sons - George Simms (22 yrs) and Richard Simms (21 yrs)

Samuel & Pricilla SMITH lost two sons - Cyril Smith (26 yrs) and Harold Smith (20 yrs)

Levi & Mary Hannah STALEY lost two sons - Daniel Staley (29 yrs) and Joseph Staley (23 yrs)

James & Emily WALKER lost two sons - Albert Radford Walker (21 yrs) and Wilfred Walker (19 yrs)

William & Mary WALLACE lost two sons - Frank Wallace (21 yrs) and Thomas Wallace (21 yrs)

also -

Mrs Elizabeth TURTON lost both her husband Walter Turton and their eldest son George Turton (23 yrs)

Last casualty who died from wounds

The WW1 soldier named on Sutton's War Memorial who has the latest known date of death is George William Holmes. He died, aged 41 years, on 2nd March 1921 - only seven months before the War Memorial was erected in Sutton's cemetery.

Oldest died in action or from wounds

The oldest known casualty recorded on Sutton's War Memorial is William McCubbin, who died aged 51 years on the 17th November 1918. The next eldest was 49 year old David Burgess, who died on 9th November 1916. Both these men died at home and were buried in Sutton Cemetery.

The oldest soldier to die on the battlefield was the third eldest casualty, James Young, who died aged 47 on the 19th September 1918 and was buried in France.

Youngest died in action or from wounds

The youngest known casualty recorded on Sutton's War Memorial is John William Dexter, who died at 17 years 6 months and 10 days old.

The two other soldiers who also died aged 17 years were Aaron Gannon and David Irving, who were both between 17 years 7 months and 17 years 9 months of age at their deaths.

Local soldiers who won merit awards (before or after death)

Type of award

Name

DCM & MM

DCM