| Description | Work completed by volunteer includes the following information:
Alfred was born in Beverley on 23 Jul 1895 and baptised at St Mary’s Church on 25 August of that year but as “Arthur Hare” according to the baptism register. He was one of six children born to George and Jane Hare. George was from York; his wife from Driffield. George was a coachsmith but later became a whitesmith and “adjuster of weights, measures and weighing instruments”. His business was at 45 Lairgate, where the family also lived. According to the 1911 census they also undertook cycle repairs. Alfred became a cabinet maker’s apprentice. He was also a member of the Boys’ Brigade.
Alfred served as a private and drummer in the 5th Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment, popularly referred to as the Beverley Terriers given the large numbers of Beverley men in their ranks. He arrived in France on 18 Apr 1915 and the 5th were immediately drafted to Belgium where the Second Battle of Ypres was being fought. During the Battle of St Julien Alfred was wounded and was hospitalised. Alfred was pictured in the local Beverley press on 1 May 1915. The 5th were involved in actions in Belgium in early 1916 and 1917, then on the Somme and then in France in 1918. Alfred was awarded the War and Victory Medals as well as the 1914-15 Star. He was disembodied on 17 Feb 1919.
In 1920 Alfred married Hilda White in Darlington. Hilda born in 1896 and had been a domestic servant.They moved back to Beverley where Alfred worked as a cabinet maker. In 1939 they were living on Bartlett Avenue, Beverley. Alfred was employed at the East Riding Mental Hospital, Broadgate, Walkington. Hilda died in 1987 and Alfred in 1993 aged 98.
Includes photograph, information taken from census, military records, Commonwealth War Graves, newspapers |