The War Memorial in the centre of Stoke Climsland bears the names of thirty seven men who died in World War One. I've been researching the backgrounds of each of them for quite a while and, one day, one day (will that day ever come?), all the information will find its way into a book of some form. As a cyber-tribute to them (my cyber monumentum mortuorum, if you like), I'm going to commemorate each one in my blog on the 100th anniversary of their deaths (which means I've got to keep blogging until 2019). The details I'll be able to give will vary with the success of my researches: in most cases I have only the name as the starting point. I'll apologise in advance for any errors of fact and I would love to hear from anyone who is able to correct me. It is important to be as accurate as possible.
The first man from the Parish to die was 3/4261 Private Thomas Hancock of the 1st Battalion, Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry. His regimental number suggests that he was a pre-war reservist, probably a member of the 3rd (Reserve) Batallion, formerly known as the "Royal Cornwall Rangers, Duke of Cornwall’s Own Rifles". As such, he would have been called up for active duty very early after the outbreak of war.
Thomas’s parents, William and Mary Anne, were living at Treburyse Farm Cottages, just outside of Launceston, when he was born in April 1877. William was a farm labourer and the family seems to have moved from farm to farm until they settled in Venterdon in the late 1890s. At the time of the 1911 census, Thomas was a fruit grower and still living with his parents in Venterdon.
I'm not certain when Thomas embarked for France but I do know that his battalion was heavily engaged in activities in Northern France when he died on 16th March 1915 of wounds sustained in an earlier action. At the time, his battalion was involved in The Battle of Neuve Chapelle which began on 10th March and the subsequent action at St Eloi on 14th/15th March. Neuve Chapelle was significant as it was the first large scale organised attack undertaken by the British army during the war and it followed the miserable winter operations of 1914-15. During the action British losses were 544 officers and 11,108 other ranks killed, wounded and missing. German losses are estimated at a similar figure of 12,000, which included 1,687 prisoners. In retrospect, although not a defeat, the Battle of Neuve Chappelle was not a great success. More than anything it revealed inadequacies in the strategy adopted - the artillery bombardment was too light to suppress the enemy defences; there were too few good artillery observation points; the reserves were too few to follow up success quickly; command communications took too long and the means of communicating were too vulnerable.
Thomas Hancock is buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, which is well away from any battle activity, suggesting that when he died he was in one of the many military hospitals that had been established around the port.
Thomas’s parents, William and Mary Anne, were living at Treburyse Farm Cottages, just outside of Launceston, when he was born in April 1877. William was a farm labourer and the family seems to have moved from farm to farm until they settled in Venterdon in the late 1890s. At the time of the 1911 census, Thomas was a fruit grower and still living with his parents in Venterdon.
I'm not certain when Thomas embarked for France but I do know that his battalion was heavily engaged in activities in Northern France when he died on 16th March 1915 of wounds sustained in an earlier action. At the time, his battalion was involved in The Battle of Neuve Chapelle which began on 10th March and the subsequent action at St Eloi on 14th/15th March. Neuve Chapelle was significant as it was the first large scale organised attack undertaken by the British army during the war and it followed the miserable winter operations of 1914-15. During the action British losses were 544 officers and 11,108 other ranks killed, wounded and missing. German losses are estimated at a similar figure of 12,000, which included 1,687 prisoners. In retrospect, although not a defeat, the Battle of Neuve Chappelle was not a great success. More than anything it revealed inadequacies in the strategy adopted - the artillery bombardment was too light to suppress the enemy defences; there were too few good artillery observation points; the reserves were too few to follow up success quickly; command communications took too long and the means of communicating were too vulnerable.
Thomas Hancock is buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, which is well away from any battle activity, suggesting that when he died he was in one of the many military hospitals that had been established around the port.
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