| Description | Work completed by volunteer includes the following information
Albert was born in Beverley the 23 Mar 1899 and baptised at Beverley Minster the 8 Apr 1899, one of eight children born to William Middleton (1863-1909) and his wife Mary (1875-1949), both from Hull. The family moved from the St Andrew’s are of Hull to Beverley in the 1890s when William became a labourer at the Beverley shipyard. The family had lived in Beckside, Eastgate, Minster Terrace, and then finally at 25 Wood Lane, Beverley. Albert became a labourer in the gelatine works at the Hodgson’s tannery. He was unmarried.
Albert joined the army on 27 Apr 1917, he was a private in the 6th training battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment and arrived in France on 2 Apr 1918. By then he had transferred to the 10th Battalion, C Coy, of the East Yorkshire Regiment. On 11 Apr 1918 he was wounded in action.
On the 24 and 25 Sep 1918 the 10th (part of 92nd Brigade, 31st Pals Division) moved to the Ploegsteert sector in Belgium in anticipation of the 5th Battle of Ypres which began on the 28th. On the 26th the 10th took over a front line trench stretching from Hyde Park Corner to a position 200 yards east of Hill 63. At 15.00 on the 28th the 10th left their trenches and advanced over no-man’s land covered by an allied creeping barrage but were met by intense German shelling and machine gun fire. Albert was killed in this attack. The 10th lost 11 officers and 136 other ranks in this action.
Albert was awarded the War and Victory Medals. Albert’s body was not recovered and he is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial at Zonnebeck, near Ypres, Belgium. He is commemorated on the Hengate Memorial and on the East Riding Memorial in Beverley Minster and on Hodgson’s Roll of Honour.
His brothers, Frank and Thomas Middleton (WL/13/46 and WL/13/51) also served in the army.
Includes information taken from census, military records, Commonwealth War Graves, newspapers |