| Description | Work provided by customer includes the following information:
Henry Parker was born 29 Sep 1893, at Weaverthorpe, one of 12 children of John and Esther Parker (nee Berriman), born between 1882 and 1903. In April 1896 the family, by then they had eight children, Tamar, Richard, Mary, Thomas, Rosina, James, Henry and Alice, moved to Wansford. Four more children were born in the village, Eva Louie, Minnie, Jessie and Ernest.
After leaving school in 1907 Henry worked as a ploughboy and as a horseman and by 1911 he was working at Swaythorpe Farm, near Rudston, and living in Kilham.
On 8 Jan 1915, when Henry enlisted in the Territorial Force 5th Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment he was back at the family home in Wansford. He was not sent abroad until 1 Nov 1915, when he crossed to France and was then moved on into Belgium to join his battalion in the field as part of a draft of reinforcements. His colleagues had been at Armentieres, near Ypres, since Apr 1915.
Records show that on 10 Sep, the 5th Battalion moved from Corps reserve at Millencourt, to Lozenge Wood, then on to Pioneer Alley and Swansea Trenches. On 26 Sep, it relieved the 5th Durham Light Infantry in Prue Trench and the Starfish Line and was involved in an advance towards Flers. Henry did not come back.
At home in Wansford, an announcement in the district column of the Driffield Times read: ‘News has been received that Pte Henry Parker, son of Mr and Mrs Parker of this village, was killed in action on Sep 26. Much sympathy is felt for the family. Another son has been at the front since the commencement of the war.’
In Oct 2015 the remains of a soldier had been discovered in a field on the north-east of Martinpuich on the Somme. It had been concluded by the exhumation team that the soldier was lying where he had died and not been buried. With the remains were three sets of Yorkshire shoulder ties and a territorial 5th Battalion Yorkshire regiment badge. After much investigation using DNA techniques and historical evidence the remains were identified as those of Private Henry Parker. With the help of the BBC ‘Inside Help’ team his family were traced to Wansford, East Yorkshire and his story was told.
On Wed 17 May 2017 Private Henry Parker of the 5th Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment was buried with full military honours at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Warlencourt.
Further information about the Parker family can be found at PC99/4 |