| Description | Work completed by volunteer includes the following information:
Arthur Oldfield was born on 21 Feb 1897 to George and Mary Elizabeth Oldfield. The seventh of eleven children Arthur grew up in a family well known in Beverley for its prowess in swimming. The Oldfields had won many trophies and Arthur himself won the Yorkshire Schoolboy Championship. In 1907 he saved the life of young girl at Hornsea when he was only ten years old by jumping into the sea and dragging her back to shore. In 1909 he was awarded the Royal Humane Society’s certificate and a silver cup when he saved the life of a young boy, this time in Beverley beck again by jumping in and pulling him to safety. Arthur was educated at St Mary’s school and in 1911 was an errand boy and living with his parents and all but one of his siblings at 60 Beckside.
On 1 May 1912 Arthur enlisted with the East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry and at the outbreak of war was sent to Egypt where he served until 1918 when much of the regiment was amalgamated into the 102nd Battalion of the Machine Gun Corps.
Arthur a Lance Corporal in the Machine Gun Corps, earned his Distinguished Conduct Medal for conspicuous gallantry and initiative west of Mont Hout on 29 Oct 1918. On hearing that a neighbouring platoon of infantry had no Lewis gun to repel an enemy attack he volunteered to bring in some enemy machine guns. He brought two, along with several boxes of ammunition, put them in working order and handed them back to the infantry.
In Nov 1918 Arthur was wounded in his thigh and eventually discharged with a Silver Badge on 11 Mar 1919. In addition to his Silver Badge and DCM Arthur was awarded the victory Medal the British Medal and the 15 star and is remembered on the Beckside Roll of honour.
In 1922 Arthur married Connie Bruce from Hunslet and they had three children. Harold was born in 1923 when Arthur was a steel erector, Beth in 1927 when Arthur was a train driver and Joan in 1930 when Arthur was again a steel erector.
Includes photograph, information taken from census, military records, Commonwealth War Graves, newspapers |