Henry Beadsworth
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
Henry Beadsworth was born in 1887 in Nottingham and was the son of William a bricklayer and Esther Beadsworth née Tansley of 4 Castle Street, Nottingham. His father William was born in 1857 at Cottingham, Northamptonshire and his mother Esther Tansley was also born in 1857 in Cottingham, Northamptonshire, they were married on 25th December 1877 in Cottingham, they went on to have 16 children, sadly 9 were to die in infancy or early childhood their surviving 7 children were all born in Nottingham, except their first born Alice b1878 who was born in Cottingham, their other children were Emma b1884, William b1886, Henry b1887, George b1893, Priscilla b1898 and Fred b1900. Henry married his wife Ada Clements in 1908 in Nottingham, they went on to have a son Henry born 1908 in Nottingham, they lived at 4 Colton Terrace, Arkwright Street, Nottingham. In the 1911 census the family living at 4 Colton Terrace, Arkwright Street, Nottingham and are shown as Harry Beadsworth 23 yrs a threader, he is living with his wife Ada 23 yrs and their son Harry 2 yrs. In the same 1911 census his parents are living at 4 Castle Street, Nottingham and are shown as William 53 yrs a bricklayer, he is living with his wife Esther 53 yrs a plain net mender and their children George 17 yrs a threader and Fred 12 yrs a scholar.
Private Henry Beadsworth enlisted in Nottingham and served with the 1/7th Robin Hood battalion, Sherwood Foresters, he landed in France on 28th June 1915 and was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme 1st July 1916. Having no known grave his name is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial
An article published 29th May 1915 in the Nottingham Daily Express concerning the rescue of his son from the river Trent :- On 28th May 1915 George Sprake was presented with a Royal Humane Society testimonial for saving the life of Harry Beadsworth, a six year-old boy who had fallen into the Trent. “A BRAVE DEED. “Nottingham Man's Plucky Rescue from the Trent Rewarded. “For an act of heroism and bravery Mr. George Sprake, a lacemaker, of 56, Beauvale-road, Nottingham, has received the Royal Humane Society's honorary testimonial; and at the Nottingham Guildhall yesterday [28th May 1915] the parchment was handed to him by Mr. H. Franks (who had Mr. A. Eberlin as his colleague on the bench). “The Chief Constable (Mr. T. Clarke) stated that early on the evening of April 17th a six-year-old boy named Harry Beadsworth fell into the Trent from the Victoria Embankment near the Great Central Railway bridge. He was carried out by the stream, and sank. A member of the National Reserve who was on duty on the bridge saw the occurrence and attracted the attention of Mr. Sprake, who without hesitation ran to the waterside (a distance of about 150 yards), divesting himself of his coat while running, and jumped into the water. He dived twice before he recovered the boy, who was unconscious. “Had it not been for Mr. Sprake's promptitude and pluck, said Mr. Clarke, the boy would certainly have been drowned, as he was unconscious on the bed of the river. “Mr. Franks said that the river at this particular spot was deep and dangerous, and complimented Mr. Sprake on his pluck and courage, but for which the boy would have been drowned.” Harry Beadsworth survived his experience. His father, also Harry Beadsworth, did not survive the war, being killed with the Robin Hood Rifles on 1st July 1916. He is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. Above article is courtesy of Jim Grundy and his facebook pages Small Town Great war Hucknall 1914-1918
