The War Dead of WW1 and WW2
Search for all individuals who died serving their country, and who are known to have some connection with Bollington and Kerridge.
A casualty of World War 1.
Private ARTHUR BIDDULPH 2nd Battalion Canadian Infantry (East Ontario Regiment) 442615.
He was born 11 September 1889 at Buglawton, the son of William Biddulph and Mary Ann, and was baptised 23 December 1889 at Buglawton.
He lived at Pegley Lane, Buglawton in 1891, at Rainow Mill in 1901 and was a crofter at the bleach works living at 31 High Street in 1911. He emigrated from Liverpool 28 March 1913 to Canada on the “Victorian” (with a number of other Bollingtonians) and worked as a farmer.
He enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary force on 7 June 1915 (giving his birthplace as Bollington), was killed in action at the Somme 23 September 1916 aged 27 and was buried at the 2nd Canadian Cemetery, Sunken Road, Contalmaison.
He is named on the memorials at Bollington and St Oswald’s. He is listed among the “fallen at the post of duty” on the 1917 Roll of Honour.
He was named as one of those "who have paid the Supreme Sacrifice during the War" at a Solemn Requiem Service held at St John's at 10.30 am on 3 November 1918
The following report appeared in the Macclesfield Times of 13 October 1916:
Official intimation has been received by Mrs Biddulph, 13 Wellington Road, Bollington, that her son, Private Arthur Biddulph of the Canadians was killed in action in France on September 23rd.
The deceased soldier was born in Bollington 27 years ago and received his education at the Church Schools under Mr Oliver Kenyon. For some time he was in the employ of Messrs A J Hammond & Co and also worked at the Ingersley Vale Bleachworks. Three years ago Private Biddulph emigrated to Canada. He enlisted in June 1915, being at that time in British Columbia, and was sent to France twelve months later. Formerly he was a regular attendant at the Kerridge Wesleyan Chapel.
In his last letter home, dated September 14th, Private Biddulph stated:- "We have been very busy and have succeeded in our business. We could not avoid losing a number of men, but I came out all right. I have stood in the midst of dead bodies, but the dead in death feel no pain and do not feel the soldier who has to step over them. It is useless to live with the dead; the first consideration is that of the living. I hope no one will worry or fret about me if God wills that I do not come through, as it will be for the best."
His parents moved to 28 Queen Street.
The battalion boarded the S.S. Cassandra from Quebec City on 22 September 1914 and more troops were collected at Gaspé Basin. They finally left here on 3 October as part of a convoy of at least 30 other ships, carrying a combined 32,000 Canadian soldiers, which would be the first of the Canadian infantry contributions to the war. The Cassandra landed at Plymouth on 25 October, where the battalion disembarked and began rigorous training for the European battlefield.
On 8 February 1915, the battalion was mobilized for war. They sailed out of England aboard the S.S. Blackwell, bound for France. The battalion’s first taste of battle came later that month, on 19 February, when they entered the trench system at Armentières. Their first battle was the Second Battle of Ypres.
The Battle of Flers–Courcelette (15–22 September 1916) was fought during the Battle of the Somme in France, by the French Sixth Army and the British Fourth Army and Reserve Army, against the German 1st Army. The strategic objective of a decisive victory was not achieved. The infliction of many casualties on the German front divisions and the capture of the villages of Courcelette, Martinpuich and Flers had been a considerable tactical victory but the German defensive success on the British right flank, made exploitation and the use of cavalry impossible. Tanks were used in battle for the first time in history and the Canadian Corps and the New Zealand Division fought for the first time on the Somme. There were Gereman counter-attacks in the days following.
The photo below shows the Battle list for Canadian Troops on the Western Front on a plaque in Currie Hall, Royal Military College of Canada (photo by Victoria Edwards).
Contalmaison is a village in the Department of the Somme, 4 miles east-north-east of Albert. The Sunken Road Cemetery was made in July-October 1916, during the middle fighting in the Somme offensive. There are now over 200 WW1 casualties commemorated in this site.
Notes:
If you wish to visit a war grave or memorial please consult the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website. This will provide detailed directions to the location, information about opening hours, and advise of any accessibility issues.
The not-for-profit War Graves Photographic Project may be able to provide you with a high resolution photograph of the grave/memorial for a modest fee.
As a general rule in these short histories, details of campaign medals awarded are NOT included unless there is something of particular interest. See the section on Medals for an explanation of how soldiers qualified for the various campaign medals.
Unless otherwise stated, addresses are in Bollington, near Macclesfield. St John's was the local Anglican church, and St Gregory's was the local Roman Catholic church. (Neither church is still in use, replaced by St Oswald's and the new St Gregory's respectively. However, each of the former churches has its own burial ground.) The Wesleyan Methodist chapel is on Wellington Road opposite St Gregory's, but is no longer in use as a chapel. The Primitive Methodist church (now demolished) was on High Street and the Methodist New Connexion chapel (now demolished) was on Grimshaw Lane. The Congregationalist chapel was at the bottom end of Palmerston Street; part of the building still stands and is now used as offices.
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