Gordon Valentine Wykes
He was employed as an errand boy in 1911.
- Family History
- Military history
- Extra information
- Photographs
Gordon Valentine was born in 1898 in Nottingham and was the son of Annie Wykes née Milner and John Collishaw Wykes, a cab driver. They lived at 23 Parliament Terrace, Nottingham.
His father John Collishaw Wykes was born in 1864 in Nottingham and his mother Annie Milner was born in 1867 in Cawthorn near Barnsley. They were married in Nottingham in 1884 and went on to have 10 children, sadly one died in infancy, their surviving children were all born in Nottingham and were:- Harold b1885, Blanche b1888, Horace Arthur b1890, Lawrence William b1893, Leonard Ashton b1895, Gordon Valentine b1897, Daisy Maud b1900, Clarence William b1901 and Gordon Frances b1902.
His father John Collishaw Wykes died in Nottingham in 1909 he was 44 yrs of age.
In the 1911 census the family are shown living at 23 Parliament Terrace, Nottingham and are shown as Annie Wykes 43 yrs a widow, head of the family and a charwoman she is living with her children Horace Arthur 21 yrs a labourer, Lawrence William 17 yrs a labourer, Leonard Ashton 15 yrs a van boy, Gordon Valentine an errand boy, Daisy Maud 11 yrs, Clarence William 10 yrs and George Francis all schoolboys.
His brother Lawrence served with the Sherwood Foresters and was killed on June 18th 1917. Also A Wykes KOYLI, July 1st 1916.
Private Gordon Valentine Wykes, served on HMS Montagua - January 1917 to May 1918, 10th CS Northern Patrol. Mined and damaged on Sierra Leone convoys in collision with USS Manley.
The ship's log of HMS Montagua of the 19th March 1918, lists 1 Officer and 17 men missing, 2 Officers and 17 men identified killed and 1 unidentified killed. In addition there were 30 on the sick list. HMS Montagua reached Plymouth assisted by a tug.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission lists 2 Officers and 27 men (Navy, Merchant Navy and Royal Marines) who died on the 19th or within a month of that date from HMS Montagua. Those killed on the 19th were buried at sea.
Gordon Valenine is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.
Nottingham Evening Post, 'Roll of Honour', 23 March 1918 (abridged): 'Wykes. Lost at sea March 19th, Private G Wykes RMLI, 30 St Alban's Street, age 20. Also L Wykes Sherwood Foresters, June 18th 1917. Also A Wykes KOYLI, July 1st 1916. Mother sisters, brothers.'
His brother Private Horace Arthur Wykes enlisted at Nottingham, he served with the 8th battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. He was killed in action on 1st July 1916, the first day of the 'Battle of the Somme' he has no known grave and his name is commemorated on the Theipval Memorial, Somme, France.
His brother Lawrence William Wykes originally enlisted on 4th September 1914 at Nottingham and was posted to the 8th Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. However within 34 days on 7th October 1914 he was discharged as unlikely to become an efficient soldier. His discharge address was 48, Pym Street, St Anns Well Road, Nottingham.
He was called up later in the war and was serving with the 1/7th Battalion Sherwood Foresters when he died of wounds at No. 7 Casualty Clearing Station on 18 June 1917.
He was buried in Noeux-les-Mines Communal Cemetery (grave ref. ll.B.11).
Photo of Gordon Valentine Wykes
Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Courtesy of the cwgc.