Harold Blackwell
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
Harold was the son of William and Mary Ann Blackwell (née Townroe). His father William was born in Risley, Derbyshire, in 1866 and his mother Mary Ann was born in 1867. They were married in 1889 (reg. Mansfield) and had five children of four of whom survived infancy: Sydney Frank b. Flinton Lancashire (reg. Barton upon Irwell) 1890, Sarah Ann b. Flinton 1891, Harold b. Mansfield 1897 and Winifred Mary b. Mansfield Woodhouse 1901. In 1901 William, a joiner, and Mary were living at 5 Rose Lane, High Street, Mansfield Woodhouse, with their three children Sydney (10), Sarah (9), and Harold (3). They were still living at the same address in 1911 with their four children, Sydney, a bricklayer, Sarah, Harold and Winifred (9). Wiliam, a joiner and undertaker, and Mary were still living at 5 Rose Lane in 1939 when the England & Wales Register was compiled. Mary died in 1941 and William in 1951.
6th Bn Bedfordshire Regiment, formerly Dm2/230764 RASC Harold died of wounds on 31 December 1917 and is buried in Outtersteen Communal Cemetery Extension, Bailleul, France (grave ref. II.D.61). CWGC - History of Outtersteene Outtersteen Communal Cemetery Extension (extract): 'Outtersteen was captured by the III Corps on 13 October 1914 but no Commonwealth burials took place there for nearly three years. In August 1917, during the Third Battle of Ypres, the 2nd, 53rd and 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Stations came to Outtersteene, and the first and last of these remained until March 1918. The hamlet was captured by the Germans on 12 April 1918, and retaken by the 9th, 29th and 31st Divisions, with the ridge beyond it, on 18 and 19 August, but the cemetery was not used again during hostilities. After the Armistice, over 900 graves of 1914 and 1918 were brought into Plots I, II and IV from the battlefields surrounding Outtersteene and from certain small cemeteries, including [listed].' (www.cwgc.org)
CWGC headstone personal inscription: 'Ever in our thoughts Mam and Dad' Mansfield Reporter, 17 May 1918: ‘Mansfield Woodhouse. Memorial Service. An impressive memorial service conducted by the Vicar, Rev. ET Harcombe, was held at St Edmund’s Church on Sunday morning. The service was to the memory Lieut. Kenneth Leigh Turner, on of the late Mr FJ and Mrs Turner. He was in the Worcester Yeomanry, and fell in his first action on May 2nd in Palestine; also to Pte Harold Blackwell, of the 6th Bedford Regiment, who was killed in action in December last; to Pte Ernest Newton, Sherwood Foresters, killed in action; and to Richard Bertie Yates, 5th Sherwoods, who was wounded and taken prisoner but who afterwards succumbed to his injuries. A muffled peal was also rung to their memory.’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) Registers of Soldiers' Effects: his mother was his sole legatee
