LevelItem
Finding NoWL/3/82
Extent17 pieces
TitleResearch file number 1173 relating to John Chew (1880-1953)
Date2018
DescriptionWork completed by volunteer includes the following information:

Graffiti in the SW tower of Beverley Minster tells us that John Chew was the "first lad in Beverley to go war....Aug 5th 1914". The fact that he was on active service is corroborated in the Beverley Recorder of 31 Oct 1914 which lists all those local men who had gone off to war.

John was a private in the 5th (Cyclist) Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment, part of the territorial force. He was in "F Coy", based in Beverley at the Drill Hall, Grayburn Lane, shared with the territorials of the 5th Yorkshire Regiment. The war commenced on the evening of Tuesday 4 Aug 1914 and members of the Cyclist Battalion were summoned to the county headquarters at Park Street in Hull on Wednesday 5 Aug. It would seem that John and some other local men went off to war on this date. From Hull they were transported to Louth in Lincolnshire and patrolled the coast on their bicycles from south of Grimsby as far as Skegness in all weathers in 8 to 9 hour shifts looking out to sea for the enemy. In May 1915 they were moved northward to Withernsea and then Roos and patrolled the East Yorkshire coast. Later in 1916 it seems that they moved to the Northumberland Coast at Newbiggin. John signed up for the cyclists in Jun 1913 and was a reservist in the 2nd Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment from 1898 to 1906. His duties took their toll and on 30 Sep 1917 John was discharged; problems with his feet meant he was considered unfit for further service. He was given a pension and a Silver War Badge but as he had not left the UK on active service was not eligible for other medals.

John worked as a cleaner at the Post Office in Beverley. He had earlier been a coachbuilder and a labourer. He was born in Beverley the 11 Apr 1880 and baptised at Beverley Minster the 3 Jun 1880, the son of George Chew and Mary (nee Hyde). George was from Wetwang and Mary was from Garton; they married in Driffield in 1869. John lived at 20 Princes Gardens, Well Lane, Beverley. On 20 Nov 1904 he married Lizzie Lawtry at Beverley Minster, they had five children. After war service John became an auxiliary postman. In 1939 the family was living on the corner of Lord Robert's Road and Wednesday Market at the YMCA. John died in 1953 and was buried in Queensgate Cemetery on 19 Oct 1953.

Includes information taken from census, military records, Commonwealth War Graves, newspapers
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