Alfred Marriott
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
Alfred was the son of Alfred and Agnes Scott (née Marriott). Birth registered Alfred Scott Marriott. His father Alfred was born in Mansfield in 1874, the son of Thomas and Sarah Ann Scott. His mother Agnes was born in Sutton in Ashfield in 1876, the daughter of Samuel and Ann Marriott. Alfred and Agnes were married at Sutton in Ashfield St Mary Magdalene in May 1897 and had six children, born in Mansfield, three of whom died in infancy or childhood. Their children, including Alfred who was born before their marriage, were: Alfred Scott (reg. surname Marriott) b. 2 June 1896 bap. Mansfield St John the Evangelist 30 June 1896; Elizabeth b. 1897; Agnes b. 2 June 1899 d. 1899; Hector Macdonald b. 26 September 1900 d. 1904 (O/N/D); Herbert birth registered 1903 (J/F/M) and Nellie b. 1904 d. 1904. Elizabeth, Agnes and Hector were also baptised at St John the Evangelist. The baptismal records show that Agnes was living at 2 Welbeck Street, Mansfield, when her son Alfred was baptised in 1896 (father not named on baptismal record) but she and her husband were living at Keir's Building, Westfield Lane, Mansfield when Elizabeth was baptised the following year. They were still living at Keir's Building at the time of the 1901 census. In the home on the night of the census were Alfred (27) a stonemason, Agnes (25), Alfred (4), Elizabeth (3) and Hector (6m). Another daughter, Agnes, had died in 1899. Alfred and Agnes had two more children, Herbert in 1903 and Nellie in 1904. Nellie and her older brother Hector died in 1904. It seems likely that Alfred and Agnes had separated by 1911 as at the time of the census Alfred and two of his children, Elizabeth and Herbert (8), were living with his widowed mother, Sarah Ann Scott, in Mansfield, while Agnes, described as head of household, and Alfred [listed as Alfred Scott Marriott], a moulder (iron foundry), were living at 35 Swann Street, Sutton in Ashfield. Alfred jnr. attested in the Territorial Force in 1913; he was a collier at Pinxton Colliery and living at 6 John Street, Sutton in Ashfield. His father Alfred Scott of Linden Street, Chesterfield Road, Mansfield, was named as his next of kin on his service record, but his name was deleted (undated) and replaced with Agnes Scott of 6 John Street, Sutton in Ashfield. Agnes completed a form for the army in May 1919 listing her son's surviving blood relatives. She was living at 6 John Street, Sutton in Ashfield, while Herbert was living in Burton on Trent and her daughter Elizabeth Orton (sic) was in Huddersfield. Her husband Alfred's address was 'unknown'. Alfred snr. probably died in 1928 (reg. Mansfield) and Agnes in 1935.
1/8th Bn Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment) Served as Alfred Scott. Alfred attested in the Territorial Force (4 years service UK) in May 1913 at the age of 17 years 1 month. He transferred to embodied service on 5 August 1914 with the 2/8th Bn Sherwood Foresters but later transferred to the 1/8th Bn. Alfred served at home until he embarked at Southampton for France on 25 June 1915. He joined in the field on 28 June. Alfred was killed in action less than two months later on 7 August 1915 during the Second Battle of Ypres. He was one of two men from the battalion killed that day, the second being Private H Moore (2461, see record on this Roll of Honour). Alfred has no known grave and is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium (Panel 39 and 41). He qualified for the 1914/15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. CWGC - History of the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial (extract): 'The Menin Gate is one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders which cover the area known as the Ypres Salient. Broadly speaking, the Salient stretched from Langemarck in the north to the northern edge in Ploegsteert Wood in the south, but it varied in area and shape throughout the war. The Salient was formed during the First Battle of Ypres in October and November 1914, when a small British Expeditionary Force succeeded in securing the town before the onset of winter, pushing the German forces back to the Passchendaele Ridge. The Second Battle of Ypres began in April 1915 when the Germans released poison gas into the Allied lines north of Ypres. This was the first time gas had been used by either side and the violence of the attack forced an Allied withdrawal and a shortening of the line of defence. 'There was little more significant activity on this front until 1917, when in the Third Battle of Ypres an offensive was mounted by Commonwealth forces to divert German attention from a weakened French front further south ... The campaign finally came to a close in November with the capture of Passchendaele. The German offensive of March 1918 met with some initial success, but was eventually checked and repulsed in a combined effort by the Allies in September. 'The battles of the Ypres Salient claimed many lives on both sides and it quickly became clear that the commemoration of members of the Commonwealth forces with no known grave would have to be divided between several different sites. The site of the Menin Gate was chosen because of the hundreds of thousands of men who passed through it on their way to the battlefields. It commemorates casualties from the forces of Australia, Canada, India, South Africa and United Kingdom who died in the Salient. In the case of United Kingdom casualties, only those prior 16 August 1917 (with some exceptions).' (www.cwgc.org)
CWGC - age 18. He was born J/A/S/1896 (reg. Alfred Scott Marriott) so may have been 19 when killed. Note: baptismal record gave date of birth 2 June 1896. Mansfield Reporter, 20 August 1915: ‘Sutton Soldier’s Death. Another Sutton soldier to fall in the fight for his country’s cause is Private Alfred Scott Marriott, of John-street. The first news of the sad occurrence was received from Pte. Beniston, of the 8th Sherwood Foresters, who says: ‘I am going to take this unpleasant task on behalf of your son, Jack. He has died a soldier’s death, doing his duty like a man. He was my pal up to the last. We are in the thick of it, and it is something to remember, I can tell you. I hope you will bear up in your loss, and be pleased to know that he died for his country’s sake. We are all doing our level best, and we hold our name up as the gallant 8th. We are all needed at this serious time,as it is a hard nut to crack. I will close with our Company’s deepest sympathy for you.’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) WW1 Pension Ledgers Index Cards: mother, Agnes Scott, resident Sutton in Ashfield. Alfred's personal property was returned to his mother in December 1915. His effects comprised: knife, mirror, bible, note book, gospel, praise book and disc. Relatives were asked to confirm receipt of the effects and Agnes wrote the following letter dated 3 January 1916: 'Dear Sir, I am very glad to send you word that I received the parcel on Saturday night of my son's personal belongings and I am glad you have been so good to take the pains you have done to forward them to me and I thank you most sincerely for the trouble you have taken.’
