Along with so many, I shall be remembering all ancestors who fought, and some who lost their lives, in WW1.
Two in particular have always 'stood out' for me:
The brother of my great-grandfather - George William Hayden. Died 10 January 1915, France & Flanders, aged 38 years. Rifleman, King's Own Rifle Corps.
George and his wife had 8 children, 4 daughters of whom died as babies. The youngest was only 3 months old when her father was killed, and she herself died a few months later.
The son of a gg-aunt - Frank Skilton, born 1898., Ditchling, Sussex.
A book on the history of Ditchling gave the following information;
Frank was only 17 when he joined the Territorials in September 1914. After a period of training in Newhaven, where he contracted enteric fever, the battalion set out in July 1915 for the Dardanelles. War reports of fighting on 9th August in Sulva Bay involving his battalion (as well as others), confirm 1 officer and 11 other ranks were killed.
It is unknown if Frank was one of those killed that day, but local newspaper reports state he died on 11 September 1915 in the early hours of the morning, having reached Epsom Hospital at 4am after the long journey from the Dardanelles. His mother was telegraphed and left for the hospital on the first available train, only to find that she was too late.
His funeral was fully reported in the Mid-Sussex Times of 21 Sep 1915, and included the following line:
"The circumstances of his death were rendered all the more sad in that he was so young, not having attained the age of 18 when he laid down his life for his country."
His brother Richard (who died in 1930 and is buried with his brother), joined others in ringing a half-muffled peal on the church bells on the evening of the burial.
We will remember them.
