| Description | Work completed by volunteer includes the following information:
Henry Baker Bentley was born in Beverley on 16 Sep 1896. He was baptised at Beverley Minster the 12 Nov 1896. Henry was one of seven children born to Joseph and Martha Bentley who had married in Hull in 1881. Joseph was from Beverley and worked as a tanner’s labourer, Martha was from Hull. They lived at 2 Hind’s Yard, Keldgate. Henry is recorded in the 1911 census as being an errand boy for a newsagent.
Henry served as a private in the 5th Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment. He was serving in France at Beaurains, south of Arras, when on 8 Sep 1917 he was court-martialled and found guilty of “desertion”. His punishment to forfeit his medalssuggests that the charge may not have been a grave one; indeed the forfeiture was subsequently rescinded and he received the War and Victory medals.
Henry returned to front line duty and was taken prisoner at Croanne on 27 May 1918. Large numbers of the 5th, including senior officers, and dozens of men from Beverley, were captured. Henry was incarcerated at the Lamsdorf POW Camp. Lamsdorf, now in SW Poland, contained 90,000 allied soldiers who were required to undertake work duties. Severe food and accommodation shortages made conditions difficult. Henry arrived home after release on 9 Jan 1919.
After the war Henry worked as a labourer. In 1921 he married Florence Davey, born in 1893 in Bridlington. They had three children, Vera born 1922, Freda born 1923 and Joseph born 1926. They were living at 118 Lairgate, Beverley in 1939. Henry died in Jan 1979 and is buried in Queensgate Cemetery in Beverley, Florence died in 1961.
Includes photograph, information taken from census, military records, Commonwealth War Graves, newspapers |