Arthur Cresswell
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
Arthur was born in Belper, Derbyshire in 1896 and was the son of Joseph a brick layer and his first wife the late Sarah Creswell née Billyeald of 40 Cow Hill, Belper. His father Joseph was born in 1874 at Belper, his mother Sarah Billyeald was born in 1876 at Belper she died in 1901 at Belper aged 25 yrs, they were married on 23rd May 1894 at St Peters Church, Belper, they had the following children, Arthur b1896, Arnold b1899. Following his mothers death his father re married Gertrude Watson (born 1878 Belper) in 1903 in Belper, they went on to have the following children, Joseph b1905, Alwyn b1906 and Thomas b1908 all were born in Belper. In the 1911 census the family are living at 40 Cow Hill, Belper and are shown as Joseph Cresswell 37 yrs a bricklayer, he is living with is wife Gertrude 33 yrs and their children, Arthur 15 yrs of age and a miner/horse driver working below ground, Arnold 12 yrs a scholar, Joseph 6 yrs, Alwyn 5 yrs and Thomas 3 yrs of age. The family later move to Arnold where they lived at the Seven Stars Inn, Calverton Road, Arnold.
Private Arthur Cresswell enlisted into the army on 4th September 1914, he served with the 2/5th battalion Sherwood Foresters Regiment. He landed in France on 1st March 1915 and whilst in the Trenches at Kemmel on 8th June 1915 he was wounded in the right arm which resulted in the arm being amputated . Following treatment at the hospital at Boulogne he was returned to England on 4th July 1915 and was then taken to the Duchess of Bedfords Hospital at Woburn from where he received his discharge from the army on 11th April 1916. He died on 24th September 1917 and is buried in Belper Cemetery. He was awarded a silver war badge on his discharged.
The British Empire lost more than 700,000 service personnel killed in World War 1. An even greater number were discharged because of wounds or illness. In September 1916, King George V authorized the Silver War Badge (SWB) to honor all military personnel who had served at home or overseas since 4 August 1914 and who had been discharged because of wounds or illness. The SWB was a small, circular badge made of sterling silver, bearing the king’s initials, a crown, and the inscriptions ‘For King and Empire’ and ‘Services Rendered’. The SWB was not simply an honor; it also served a practical purpose. At the time, men of military age who were not obviously in the service were sometimes accosted or insulted by civilians presenting them with white feathers — a symbol of cowardice — for shirking their patriotic duty. The badge served as an outward symbol that the wearer’s duty to country had been honourably fulfilled.
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