Higham Heroes - and a Heroine - to be honoured

HUNT LAUNCHED FOR FAMILIES

THE search is on to find living relatives of 11 Higham Ferrers-born WW1 servicemen who gave their lives for their country – and for those of a local imprisoned suffragette heroine.

Higham Ferrers Deputy Mayor, Councillor Gary Salmon, aided by a local WW1 historian, Geoff Moore, are turning detectives to track down any family members of the 11 men and one woman.

That is because the hero servicemen and the heroine Alice Maud Shipley, are being immortalised by having new roads named after them in the town.

The roads will cater for the 330 new homes being built by HarperCrewe Developers that are going up between the back of the town's Ferrers School and the nearby A6 by-pass.

The Deputy Mayor is hoping to track down any relatives to invite them to a special exhibition that will pay tribute to the heroes and the heroine which will be launched in the run-up to Remembrance Day weekend.

Earlier this year, after Higham Ferrers Town Council had been asked to come up with names for the new roads and before he became the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Gary Salmon successfully suggested that they be selected from the list of servicemen on the market town's war memorial.

Twenty names were selected and submitted to the North Northamptonshire Council and the Royal Mail for consideration.

"These are the two bodies that had to decide on the names of the roads. They had to ensure that there were no duplications or similar names in the area," Salmon explained.

Then, at a later council meeting - after he became Deputy Mayor - the council agreed to fund the plan for the exhibition.

"We want to track down any living relatives to tell them what we are doing and invite them to the exhibition, which will feature each of their stories and any photographs we can track down. We want the families to know that although it is 110 years since the start of WW1, these servicemen have not been forgotten and neither has suffragette Shipley," he said.

"We have some information about them, but we are hoping that any families we can trace are able to provide us with more details. We are also searching for photographs.

"The idea is to put together a history of each person; detail where they served, where they are buried and display it all at this special exhibition.

"In addition, we are planning to get street maps made and mark all the places where the servicemen and the suffragette lived".

THE ROAD NAMES

The main road in the new estate is Draper Road, which is being named after William Ernest Draper who lived on Kimbolton Road and served with the Northamptonshire Regiment. He was killed on September 27, 1915, aged 31. His name is on the Loos Memorial in Belgium which suggests that his remains were never found.

Gadsby Place honours Sidney Gadsby, whose family lived on Commercial Street. He emigrated to Canada but found his way to Brisbane, Australia where he joined the Australian Infantry. He died on September 27, 1917, aged 25. His name is on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, where the Last Post is played every evening and has been since the end of the First World War, apart when the Germans occupied Belgium in the Second World War.

Litchfield Drive is being named after Reginald Litchfield and his brother Thomas Litchfield. Reginald lived on Lancaster Street and Thomas on Kimbolton Road. Both served with the Canadian Army, Reginald dying on April 24, 1915, aged 19, and Thomas on August 27, 1918, aged 21.

Reginald was laid to rest at Bedford House Cemetery, Belgium. Thomas is remembered on the Vimy Memorial, France,which suggests his body was never found.

Baxter Grove honours William Baxter, who served with the 1st Essex Regiment and was killed on April 27, 1917. William was laid to rest in Dury Crucifix Cemetery, France.

Wagstaff Court will pay tribute to William Wagstaff who lived on Westfield Street and who served in the Black Watch Regiment. William died on October 13, 1915, aged 26.

Pashler Close honours Dennis Pashler and a likely relative Bertram Pashler. Dennis, who had lived on Thrift Street, was a sergeant in the Kings Royal Rifles. He died on March 19, 1918, aged 25 and was laid to rest in Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium.

Bertram, who had lived in North End, died the next month – April 13, 1918 – aged 37, while serving with the Hood Battalion, which means he had been in the Navy.

The two researchers say that it was not unusual for Navy personnel to fight in the trenches. It was simply a matter of there being more personnel than ships to serve on.

Bertram's name appears on the Pozieres Memorial, France, which also suggests his remains were never found.

The Deputy Mayor points out that it is not clear from the information currently available what the relationship was between the two Pashlers, but it is highly likely they were related.

Dawes Gardens is named after two brothers, Henry Dawes and Bert Dawes, who lived in Wellingborough Road. Henry served in the Bedfordshire Regiment and was killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme – July 1, 1916 – and Bert, who served in the Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed a week before the battle ended on November 10, 1916. He was 19.

While the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records say that Henry was 19 when he was killed, a search of the 1911 census revealed that he was only 16. He is laid to rest in Dantzig Alley British Cemetery, France. Bert was laid to rest in Dernancourt Cemetery, France.

Caswell Drive honours Hugh Caswell who lived on High Street. He served in the Hawke Battalion, which again means he was in the Navy. He died on August 25, 1918, aged 19. His name is on the Vis-Et-Artois Memorial, France,indicating his remains were never found. A local newspaper article dated September 20, 1918, suggested that he was a prisoner of war and had died in captivity.

And Shipley Close is being named after suffragette Alice Shipley who stood trial in London after a window-smashing campaign along with her sister suffragettes on March 19, 1912. At her trial, she spoke about the plight of women and girls, which had motivated her to fight for women's rights.

When she refused to be bound over, she received a four-month prison sentence in Holloway prison, where she went on hunger strike and had to be force-fed. She died in 1951.

Any families connected to the 12 people who are to be honoured, are asked to contact the Deputy Mayor on garysalmon@highamferrers-tc.gov.uk or historian Geoff Moore on glmhf1@hotmail.co.uk