Joseph Ernest Wright
- Family History
- Military History
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Joseph Ernest Wright was born in Ilkeston in 1895 and was the son of John a iron moulders labourer and Jane Wright née Hopewell of Beeston. His father John was born in 1855 at Beeston, his mother Jane Hopewell was born in 1864 at Cotgrave, they were married in 1889 their marriage was recorded in the Bingham registration district, they went on to have the following children, Harry b1889 Beeston, John William b1894 Ilkeston, Joseph Ernest b 1895 Ilkeston, Arthur b1897 Beeston, Thomas b1899 Beeston and Ellen b1900 Beeston. In the 1911 census Joseph was living as a boarder on Calverton Road, Arnold, with the Hopewell family they were shown as John Hopewell 56 yrs a brewers labourer he is living with his wife Fanny Hopewell 48 yrs (this is Joseph's aunt) and their five children and Joseph Wright 16 years of age, single and was a coalminer ganger His pension record card shows his next of kin as his aunt Fanny Hopewell of 11 Ellis Yard and later 181 Front Street, both Arnold, Nottingham.
Private Joseph Ernest Wright enlisted at Nottingham into the Sherwood Foresters Regiment and joined the 17th (Welbeck Rangers) Battalion of the regiment. At the beginning of September 1916, the battalion was in training near Bertrancourt, but on the 2nd of the month received orders to move into the front line 1500 yards to the south of the village of Beaumont Hamel, on the Somme. At 5.10 am on the morning of the 3rd September, the battalion moved to attack under an artillery barrage. At 6am “A” Company had occupied the first line of German trenches. By 6.10am they discovered that the enemy second line was very strongly held with many machine guns firing a wall of flying lead. Casualties in the part of the battalion were very heavy and reinforcements were requested. At 7.15am two companies of the Kings Royal Rifle Corps moved up to reinforce the attack but the action was against them, the enemy being very strong in both artillery and machine guns. At 2pm orders were given for all to withdraw to their own trenches. Joseph was one of those who went forward that morning but was hit and killed instantly by the heavy hostile machine gun fire of the enemy. He was buried in Knightsbridge Cemetery, Mesnil-Martinsart, France (Plot D. Grave 18).
Nottingham Evening Post, ‘Roll of Honour’, 2 October 1916: ‘Wright. Killed in action, September 3rd, Pte. Joseph Wright, Sherwood Foresters, Ellis-yard, Arnold. Mother and family’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co)
