{"id":32435,"date":"2024-03-26T12:28:25","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T11:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4a4ae137-cf97-433e-ad0c-555e840c0799"},"modified":"2024-03-26T12:34:28","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T11:34:28","slug":"newspaper-articles-revealed-my-relative-died-in-a-first-world-war-prison-camp-after-the-armistice-was-signed","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/rss_feed\/newspaper-articles-revealed-my-relative-died-in-a-first-world-war-prison-camp-after-the-armistice-was-signed\/","title":{"rendered":"Newspaper articles revealed my relative died in a First World War prison camp after the Armistice was signed"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Gail Dixon\n <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 26 March 2024 at 11:28 AM<\/p>

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“My story begins in Warrington, which was a hub of the textile industry during the 19th century. In 1869, my great great grandmother Elizabeth Ellen Taylor was born there; she became a handweaver. Her sister, Jane, married a man called William Bolton; this introduced a side of the family about which I knew nothing.\u00a0<\/p>

“I began tracing the Bolton family forward to the 20th century, and made a chilling discovery. Jane had a grandson, Herbert Bolton, who is listed on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website.\u00a0<\/p>

“Several of my family members died during the First World War<\/a>, and I expected to find reports of Herbert being killed in action. My first port of call was our local library, which holds archives of the Warrington Guardian<\/em> newspaper.<\/p>

“I was horrified to read that Herbert had been a POW in Germany, and had died in captivity after four years of incarceration. What was the story behind this brave young man\u2019s sacrifice?<\/p>

“Herbert was born in Warrington in 1896, to Mary Ellen and John Bolton, son of Jane Bolton (n\u00e9e Taylor), my great great grandmother\u2019s sister, making us first cousins three times removed<\/a>.<\/p>

“In January 1914, Herbert enlisted in the 2nd Battalion of the King\u2019s Own Scottish Borderers. He was only 18 years old when he was sent to France, and saw action in several early battles.\u00a0<\/p>

“Unfortunately in November of that year Herbert was wounded and taken prisoner by the Germans. He was held in a POW camp near Stahnsdorf, on the outskirts of Berlin.\u00a0<\/p>

“Herbert\u2019s listing on the CWGC website gave his date of death as 16 November 1918, just five days after the armistice. Why hadn\u2019t he survived and made it home?<\/p>

“An article in the Warrington Guardian<\/em> solved the mystery. It was published on 18 January 1919, and carried the headline ‘Died in captivity’.\u00a0<\/p>

“The article revealed that a friend of Herbert\u2019s, a fellow POW, had written \u201cwith regret\u201d to my relative\u2019s mother, Mary Ellen, to inform her that Herbert had passed away after suffering from influenza for12 days. The author of the letter, who wasn\u2019t named, then visited Mrs Bolton on his return from Germany.<\/p>

“The man explained to Mary Ellen the moving details of Herbert\u2019s funeral, which took place at Berlin South-Western Cemetery. Some 20 British soldiers were present, along with numerous Frenchmen and Russians. A group of German children carried a crucifix and sang hymns in their own languageover Herbert\u2019s grave.\u00a0<\/p>

“This news from Herbert\u2019s kind comrade must have brought comfort to Mary Ellen, knowing that her son had been buried respectfully \u2013 which wasn\u2019t always the case for POWs.\u00a0<\/p>

“The Warrington Guardian<\/em> yielded another amazing find. An article from March 1916 shows a photograph of two prisoners of war, one of whom is Herbert.\u00a0<\/p>

“The article explained that, during captivity, Herbert had written to his mother and sent the photograph, which he \u201choped she would receive\u201d. Herbert asked his mother for another pair of clogs, because his had worn out. To receive a letter from Herbert and to be able to send him parcels must have meant the world to the Bolton family.<\/p>

“I believe that the companion in the photograph is the man who visited Mary Ellen after Herbert\u2019s death. The article mentions that he may have been a hairdresser\u2019s assistant in the Winwick Road district of Warrington. I\u2019d love to know his name \u2013 and I can\u2019t thank him enough.<\/p>

‘In 2019, I wrote an article about Herbert that was printed in the Warrington Guardian<\/em>. After it was published, I was excited to see a comment from Karen Roberts, who revealed that she was related to Herbert. We are now friends on Facebook, and it has been lovely to discover a \u2018new\u2019 cousin.<\/p>

“Karen gave me a postcard that Herbert had sent to his grandmother, Jane Bolton. This was such a gem: seeing Herbert\u2019s handwriting really made his story come to life, and I cried at the thought of all of the hardship that he had endured.<\/p>

“On the postcard, Herbert wrote a tender message to his grandmother, thanking her for a parcel she had sent. The British Red Cross ensured that parcels and letters were delivered to and from POWs, which was a lifeline for so many.<\/p>

“Herbert\u2019s death was tragic, but it\u2019s a comfort to know that he had support during dark times. It has been wonderful to look at the photograph and see the face of an incredibly brave man.’<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n