Joseph Gray
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
Joseph Gray was the son of John Henry (Henry) and Hannah Gray (née Cotterill). His father John Henry was born in Bingham, Nottinghamshire, in 1866. His mother Hannah Cotterill was born in Parkgate, Yorkshire, in 1868. His parents were married in 1889 (reg. Rotherham) and had ten children: Thomas b. 1891 and Joseph b. 11 December 1893 (reg. 1894 J/F/M) who were both born in Parkgate, Beatrice b. 1895 (reg. 1896 J/F/M), Hannah b. 1898, Pretoria May b. 1900 and Eva b. 1903 who were all born in Rotherham, Harry b. Crowle 1905 (reg. Thorne Yorks) and Gladys S b. 1908, George E. b. 1911 and Hilda b. 1915 who were born in Styrrup. The five eldest children were baptised at Rotherham Minster, Joseph on 10 January 1894. In 1891, two years after the marriage and shortly before the birth of their first child, Henry, a steam crane driver, and his wife were living in Greasbrough, Rotherham. By 1901 they were living in Golden Cup Yard, Brinsworth Street, Rotherham; Henry was employed as a coal miner hewer. He and Hannah now had five children: Thomas, Joseph, Beatrice, Hannah and Pretoria May. The family settled in Styrrup in around 1907 and on the 1911 Census Henry was recorded working as a farm labourer. By this time the couple had eight children, seven of whom were in the home on the night of the census: Thomas, a labourer/coal miner (above ground), Joseph a farm labourer, Hannah, May, Eva, Harry and Gladys. Their daughter Beatrice was working as a domestic servant for George Sowersby, a farmer, and his wife Sarah, also of Styrrup. Joseph later moved to Preston, Lancashire, where he worked as a gamekeeper, and he attested in Preston. Joseph's father probably served in the Militia before the war and had also enlisted during the war, first in the Royal Regiment of Artillery, from which he was discharged, and secondly in the Royal Engineers from which he was also discharged as 'no longer fit for war service.' (See 'Extra information'). Thomas, Joseph's older brother, who had been employed as a gamekeeper in Oxford before the war, served as a private in the Hussars. Henry and Hannah, their son Harry and probably their two youngest children, George and Hilda, were still living in Styrrup in 1921. Hannah died in 1938 and the following year when the England & Wales Register was compiled, Henry, a retired farm labourer, was living with his unmarried daughter Hilda on Woads Row, Styrrup. He died in 1944.
'D' Battery 110th Bde, Royal Field Artillery '110th Bde. RFA was raised to support the 25th Division, and moved to France on 25th September 1915. The Division was engaged during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. In May and June 1917, it took part in the Battle of Messines, and in July/August, the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele).' (iwm.org.uk) Joseph joined the Colours a month after the declaration of war and served in France from the end of 1914. He was killed in action on 26 July 1917 and is buried in the Brandhoek New Military Cemetery, Belgium (grave ref. II. A. 9). Joseph proved himself an able soldier and was mentioned in dispatches and awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal; the citation was printed in the London Gazette 16th August 1917. Citations of DCM:- 57008 RFA (LG 16 Aug 1917) 'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He showed the greatest energy and fearlessness in laying telephone wire under heavy shell fire. During a subsequence advance he carried messages four times for his battery commander through enemy barrage, displaying fine courage and keenness in doing so.' Note: CWGC lists gallantry awards as 'Mentioned in Despatches' and 'Distinguished Conduct Medal.' UKSDGW lists DCM. CWGC - History of Brandhoek Military Cemetery (extract). The cemetery is 6.5 km from Ieper (Ypres). 'During the First World War, Brandhoek was within the area comparatively safe from shell fire, which extended beyond Vlamertinghe Church. Field ambulances were posted there continuously. Until July 1917 burials had been made in the Military Cemetery, but the arrival of the 32nd, 3rd Australian and 44th Casualty Clearing Stations in preparation for the new Allied offensive launched that month made it necessary to open the New Military Cemetery, followed in August by the New Military Cemetery No 3. ... The burials are of July and August 1917.' (www.cwgc.org)
Joseph's father may have served in the army (regular or Militia) before the war. On 4 January 1915, giving his age as 44 (note: b. 1866) and occupation as saddler, he attested in the Royal Regiment of Artillery (72278 Gunner). He was posted to Newcastle the same day, serving with 145th Battery RFA, but was discharged on 25 January 1915 as 'not likely to become an efficient soldier (medically unfit).' Nevertheless, on 13 December 1916 he attested in the Royal Engineers (220888 Sapper/Pioneer) and joined at Pontefract the same day. He was posted on 14 December to the RCC [Road Construction Companies] 302nd Company and served with the BEF France from 15 January 1917. He was probably wounded on 16 May and also suffered from ''shell shock' mild', and admitted from the BEF to the Queen's Canadian Military Hospital, Shorncliffe, on 27 July; the hospital record gave his age as 54. He was discharged from hospital on 2 August 1917 and then discharged from the army on 24 September 1917, 'no longer fit for war service', returning to his home in Styrrup. He was awarded Silver Badge no. 241468. There is a record on the WW1 Pension Ledgers that he claimed a disability pension. Nottinghamshire Archives (ref PR 23,108/1-12) photocopy of newspaper report for Harworth dated 26 January 1918 (newspaper not specified). Extract: 'STYRRUP DCM. Mr and Mrs JH Gray, Styrrup, Bawtry, received on Saturday, the Distinguished Conduct Medal from the War Office won by their second son, Corporal Joseph Gray, RFA, for bravery in the field a fortnight before he was killed in action in France last summer. The gallant soldier who was 24 years of age was before the war a gamekeeper to Mr Franklin, White House Game Farm, Preston, Lancs. He joined the Colours a month after the declaration of war and had been in France since the end of 1914. He had only had one leave during the whole time of service. The eldest son, Private Tom Gray, Hussars, has been two years in France, and was home on furlough last Xmas. He was also a gamekeeper at Oxford, and is 28 years of age. Mr JH Gray is an old soldier having served 17 years in the Army. He joined a Labour Battalion in December 1916 and was wounded last May. He returned to the village from France last August. It is probable that the medal gained by his son will be publicly presented to him.' Nottinghamshire Archives (ref PR 8446), Harworth Register of Burials: ‘Members of the Parish of Harworth who died in the Great War of 1914-1918 and are buried abroad’. Names included 'Gray Joseph DCM (Styrrup), Gunner Royal Field Artillery, 27 July 1917, killed in action on the Western Front.' Registers of Soldiers' Effects: his father John Henry was his legatee. Research by Colin Dannatt
