| Description | Work completed by volunteer includes the following information:
On 4 Feb 1909, 14 year old Beverley boy John Henry Houghton, better known as Harry, enrolled in the Beverley, St Mary's Church Lads Brigade. His Brigade record gives his date of birth as 20 Nov 1894 and tells us he left on 20 Nov 1913, when he reached the age limit of 19.
Harry enlisted at Beverley joining the 5th Yorkshire Regiment alongside other ex-members of the Church Lads Brigade. They were nick-named the Beverley Terriers. The Battalion arrived in France on 19 Apr 1915 and was immediately sent to the front line at Ypres and into the battle of St Julien. On 24 Apr the Battalion had its first experience of being under shell fire and over the next 4 days, according to the Regiment's War Diary, one officer and 23 men died, and one officer and 106 men were wounded. The Beverley Guardian ran an article on 1 May 1915 to say Harry and 8 other Beverley men were amongst those wounded. Harry was considered fit enough to continue his service as his medal card shows that at some point he was transferred to the South Lancashire Regiment before being "disassembled" on 17 Mar 1919.
Harry lived in Beverley for the rest of his life. There is no evidence that he married but a family notice appeared in the Beverley Guardian, 17 Apr 1980 to say Harry died 28 Mar 1980 aged 85. He had been living at 2 Railway Street, Beverley with his youngest sister Mabel who pre-deceased him by just 2 months.
Includes photograph, information taken from census, military records, Commonwealth War Graves, newspapers |