| Description | Work completed by volunteer includes the following information
Edward (“Ted”) was born in Beverley in the spring of 1892. He was one of seven children born to Horatio T Holmes and his wife Sarah (nee Clarkson). Horatio was from Nafferton and had worked as a farm labourer but he was to spend over 20 years as the publican at the Moulder’s Arms at 32 Wilbert Lane and after WW1 as the publican at the Dog and Duck on Ladygate. After leaving school Edward was apprenticed to William Hall of Skipsea, a blacksmith and “plough and implement maker”. By the time of WW1 Edward worked as a blacksmith at the East Yorkshire and Crosskill Ltd’s agricultural equipment works on Eastgate. He was unmarried.
Edward enlisted at the Central Recruiting Office in Hull on 8 Sep 1914, being assigned to the 2nd Hull (Trades) Battalion (or 11th Battalion) of the East Yorkshire Regiment, popularly referred to as the “Hull Pals”. They were sent to the Hornsea area for their training. Sadly Edward only served for 61 days as on 7 Nov he died at Hull Royal Infirmary of acute appendicitis prior to an operation taking place. He had been taken ill whilst drilling at camp. He was buried at St Martin’s Cemetery on 9 Nov 1914. According to the Beverley Recorder he was buried with “semi-military honours”: “a bearer party of comrades of the 2nd Hull Battalion carried the coffin which was laden with flowers and after the committal the last post was sounded by the bugler of the Battalion.”
Edward is remembered on the East Riding Memorial in the Minster but despite being in a designated war grave, not mentioned on the Hengate War Memorial. He was not awarded any medals as he had not yet served abroad
His brother, also a blacksmith, Joseph Thomas Holmes, had enlisted in Aug 1914 and served as a corporal in the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry in France from 1915 to 1918 before being released from the army as an essential skilled worker and returned to industry.
Includes information taken from census, military records, Commonwealth War Graves, newspapers |