Harold Wragby
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
Harold was the son of William David and Kate Wragby (née Hallam). Both parents were born in Nottingham, William David in 1869 and Kate in 1872. They were married at Nottingham St Ann in October 1894 and had eight children, two of whom died in infancy or early childhood. Their surviving children, who were all born in Nottingham, were: Harold birth registered 1900 (J/F/M), Herbert b. 1897 bap. St Ann 1898, William Edward b. 1892, Rachel b. 1904, Leonard b. 1907 and Arthur b. 1909. One of the children who died in infancy was Kate Edith b. February 1898 bap. St Ann September 1898 d. 1899. William and Kate were living at 41 Little John Street, Peas Hill Road, Nottingham, in 1898 when two of their children, Herbert and Kate, were baptised and still at the same address in 1911: William David a tailor's presser, Kate, Herbert (14) printing trade, Harold (11), William (9), Rachel (7), Leonard (4) and Arthur (2). Arthur died two years later in October 1913. William David died in 1922 and in 1939 when the England & Wales Register was compiled his widow Kate was living at 12 Hedderler street, Nottingham, with three of her children, Leonard a club steward and Rachel a hosiery winder who were both single and her married son William a packer. The record of another member of the household remains closed. Kate's third surviving son, Herbert, was married and also living in Nottingham. Kate died in 1953. According to a notice in the local paper, Harold's brother Herbert also served in France.
1/5th Bn. Devonshire Regiment 5th (Prince of Wales’s) Bn Devonshire Regiment formed in the Territorial Force in 1908 by the amalgamation of two existing volunteer battalions of the Devonshire Regiment. The 1/5th battalion was mobilised on 5 August and posted to India to replace regular army units of the British and Indian armies which were deployed to the Western Front. The battalion disembarked at Karachi on 11 November 1914 but three years later in April 1917 was sent to Egypt for service in Palestine. The following year the battalion was posted to the Western Front, landing at Marseilles on 1 June 1918, and joined the 185th Brigade, 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division. On 12 September 1918 the Division fought in the Battle of Havrincourt which began the German retreat back to the Belgian border with France. Although it is not known if Harold was wounded during the battle, his death on 13 September 1918 was as a result of wounds received in action. He is buried in Grevillers British Cemetery, France (grave ref. XIII.B.21). Harold qualified for the British War Medal and Victory Medal, meaning that he did not serve in theatre before 1916. CWGC - History of Grevillers British Cemetery (extract): the village of Grevillers is 3km from the town of Bapaume, Pas de Calais. 'The village of Grevillers was occupied by Commonwealth troops on 14 March 1917 and in April and May, the 3rd, 29th and 3rd Australian Casualty Clearing Stations were posted nearby. They began the cemetery and continued to use it until March 1918, when Grevillers was lost to the German during their great advance. On the following 24 August, the New Zealand Division recaptured Grevillers and in September, the 34th, 49th and 56th Casualty Clearing Stations came to the village and used the cemetery again. After the Armistice, 200 graves were brought in from the battlefields to the south of the village, 40 from an adjoining cemetery made during the German occupation, and some from the following cemeteries [listed].' However, the information about these other cemeteries makes it unlikely that Harold's grave was brought in from one of them. (www.cwgc.org)
Nottingham Evening Post, ‘Roll of Honour’, 23 September 1918: ‘Wragby. Died of wounds, September 13th, 1918, our dearly loved son Harold. If we could have raised his dying head, and heard his last farwell, the parting would not have been so hard, for those who loved him well. Sorrowing mother, father, brothers and sisters (Herbert in France).’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) Nottingham Evening Post, ‘Roll of Honour’, 23 September 1918: ‘Wragby. Died of wounds, September 13th, 1918, Pte Harold Wragby. One of the best that God could send. Grandma, aunts Lucy, Edith, cousins.’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) Nottingham Evening Post, ‘Roll of Honour’, 23 September 1918: ‘Wragby. Died of wounds, September 13th, 1918, Pte Harold Wragby. Duty nobly done. Sorrowing Lily, Mr and Mrs Wainman and family.’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) Registers of Soldiers' Effects: his mother Kate was his legatee.
