Joseph Highley 1828 - 1904

In the last post we learned that Joseph Highley was living at Jonny-gate on Erringden Moor in 1864 with his wife Eunice and 6 children, and receiving poor relief from the township of Heptonstall. Jonny-gate would appear to be another name for Johnny Gap.

The photo below shows 'The remains of Johnny Gap'. I am indebted to Paul Knights for his permission to use this photo from his Blog 'Landscape Story' - Imprints – Landscape Story

The various census records show Joseph living at:

Haugh Gate Head in 1841

Law Hill in 1851, occupation Wool Comber

Jonny Gap in 1861, occupation Labourer

Bank Bottom in 1871, occupation Beerhouse keeper

Sportsman Inn in 1881, occupation Beer seller

Gates End in 1891, occupation Beer retailer

Four Gates End, Cragg in 1901, occupation Retired beer seller

Joseph was the landlord at the Sportsman Inn in Cragg Vale. His son Alfred took over from him.

The former Sportsman Inn, originally a Beerhouse, closed in 1950.
© Copyright Humphrey Bolton and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Jospeh, Eunice and two of their children, William Henry and Mary Ann are buried at the church of St John in the Wilderness in Cragg Vale.

Church of St John in the Wilderness, Cragg Vale (right) Grave of Eunice, Joseph, Mary Ann and William Henry

Gravestone inscription

 

Todmorden List of Paupers 1864

 Today's post looks at the Todmorden Union List of Paupers for 1864.

This document includes lists of persons whose relief was charged to the various townships of the Todmorden Union for the half-year ending March 26th 1864.

The information given was no. of males, no. of females, no. of children, no. of orphans, name, residence, cause of relief, relief given.

There are 4 Hileys/Highleys included in these lists:

M    F    C    O    Name                    Residence                Cause of Relief                Relief             

Township of Todmorden & Walsden

1     1     2           James Highley      Smails                      Rheumatism                    £0    7s  0d

       1                  Samuel Highley    Knowlwood             Old age                              £4  16s  0d

1     1     2           James Highley      Generalwood           Insufficient earnings     £0     8s 0d

Township of Erringden

1     1     6           Joseph Hiley         Jonny-gate               Without work                  £2     0s 0d

James Highley

James was born in 1839, the son of Reuben and Betty (nee Hudson). He married Mary Ann Lord in 1857. By 1864 they had had 2 children, Sarah Ellen and Reuben. They had 7 further children - Haigh, Hannah, Thomas, James, Lord, Emma and Mary Ann. James was a Carter. The census records show a number of residences in Walsden - Nicklety in 1851, Inchfield Fold in 1861, Newbridge in 1871, Strines in 1881 and 1891 and Smails (Smales) in 1864 at the time of this list.

Samuel Highley

Samuel was born in 1797, the son of John and Grace (nee Ogden). He married Mary Mitchell in 1817. The couple had 8 children - Thomas, Sarah, William, Mary Ann, John, Edmund, James, Joseph and George, but by 1864 all the children had left home. Samuel's occupation is given as Cotton Spinner in 1841, Cotton Carpet Weaver in 1851, Twister in Cotton in 1861, and Mule Spinner in 1871, two years before his death.

James Highley

James was the son of Thomas and Betty (nee Mitchell). He was born in 1839 and married Ellen Harrison in 1858. By 1864 they had had 3 children - Alice Ann, who died in infancy, Alfred and Harrison. At this time he was working as a Cotton Scutcher and living at General Wood in Walsden, not far from the Hollins Inn and Top o' th' Hill Road. James and Ellen had 6 further children - John Thomas, Sarah Ellen, Mary Ann, James Thomas, Martha Jane and Betsy. Ellen died in 1876 and James married again the same year, this time to Salome Wearne (nee Northey). He died in 1900.

Joseph Hiley

Joseph was born in Ovenden, Halifax in 1828 and married Eunice Wilcock in Heptonstall in 1852. By 1864 they had had 6 children - William Henry, John, Mary Ann, James, Hannah and Thomas and the document shows Joseph as being without work. Joseph and Eunice had 5 more children - Emma, Clara, Ada, Alfred and Sarah Ellen.

More about Joseph and his family in the next post

A trip to Oxford

Our posts on the life of Henry Hiley have reached the year 1930 and will resume shortly, but in the meantime a visit to Oxford recalls Henry's time at University there.

Henry wrote:

I went up to Oxford in 1937, becoming aware that the world was not at peace. Bolivia fought with Paraguay, the Chinese and Japanese were fighting in Manchuria, the Spanish Civil War involved 'volunteers' on both sides from many European countries, Mussolini invaded Abyssinia, Hitler was making outrageous claims in Germany. I slowly became more and more aware that I was unlikely to take my final schools in a world even technically at peace.

Even so, the two years before Hitler's war started were like magic to me. I had rooms in the New Buildings on the top corridor which had been broken through only during the summer vacation of 1937. I had a scout, Francis, to look after me and my rooms, a lady to make my bed, a boy to clean my shoes. I took a hot bath every morning, usually after a training run round Addison's Walk. Dinner was a four course meal, five courses on Sunday, and cost only half a crown.

New Buildings, Magdalen College

Entrance to Staircase no. 4

Top floor of Staircase no. 4

Bolton Brow graveyard, Sowerby Bridge

This Blog contains a number of posts about graveyards in Calderdale where Hileys/Highleys are buried.

There are over 30 such graveyards, several containing just a single Hiley/Highley grave. Most of the graveyards are accessible with a plan available, so it is usually possible to locate all the graves of interest.

But the graveyard at Bolton Brow Chapel in Sowerby Bridge is now completely overgrown and inaccessible so that it was not possible to find the two Hiley graves there.

The Bolton Brow Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was opened in 1831, extended in 1868, altered in 1897 and finally closed in 1979. The basement included warehouse facilities for the nearby Calder & Hebble Navigation. The premises were also used as a day school, for Salvation Army work and as the first cinema in Sowerby Bridge. The building was eventually converted into private flats.

Graveyard on the left of the path

Below is a map of the graveyard, situated to the left of the chapel between Rochdale Road and the canal. The two Hiley graves are next to each other - R11 and Q11. FH stands for Firth Highly, KHW stands for Kitson Hiley Walsh.

In grave Q11 is buried Priscilla Hiley.  

IN MEMORY OF PRISCILLA HILEY OF KINGS CROSS WHO DIED OCTOBER 10th 1846 IN HER 16th YR ALSO OF HARRIET DAUGHTER OF GEORGE AND SARAH ANN WALSH WHO DIED JUNE 25th 1865 AGED 18 YRS ALSO OF THE ABOVE GEORGE KITSON WALSH W WHO DIED AUGUST 11th 1872 AGED 54 YRS ALSO SARAH ANN RELICT OF THE ABOVE GEORGE KITSON WALSH WHO DIED OCTOBER 9th 1894 AGED 71 YRS "FOR SO HE GIVETH HIS BELOVED SLEEP"

Priscilla was the daughter of Mark Hiley and Sabina (nee Walsh). Her brothers William and Aquila are buried at King Cross Methodist Church in Halifax. Buried with Priscilla are George Kitson Walsh, son of Sabina, his wife Sarah Ann (nee Garside), and their daughter Harriet.

In grave R11 is buried Hannah Hiley (nee Firth).

THOMAS FIRTH OF BOLTON BROW WHO DIED THE 28th MAY 1850 AGED 19 YEARS ............... ALSO FANNY RELICT OF THE ABOVE ABRAHAM FIRTH WHO DIED THE 24th DAY OF APRIL 1853 AGED 75 ........... ALS0 HANNAH WIFE OF THE ABOVE BENJAMIN HIGHLY WHO DIED AUGUST 23rd 1879 AGED 77 YEARS

Hannah's husband Benjamin was the son of John Hiley and Mary (nee Shaw). Her parents were Fanny and Abraham Firth. The transcription above does not include details of Benjamin and Abraham so maybe the gravestone was partly illegible.

Benjamin and Hannah were married in 1851. The couple lived in Skircoat, Halifax. Benjamin worked as a woollen weaver and died in 1876.

(with thanks to Calderdale Family History Society for the two memorial inscriptions)

Joseph Highley and the Todmorden Relief Committee

The Todmorden Relief Committee was formed in January 1862 to address the widespread unemployment and distress in the area caused by the American Civil War and the resulting cotton famine. After a year it had collected over £26,000 for distribution, and operated a soup kitchen, along with organizing sewing classes as a form of relief. Its purpose was to provide relief to the large number of unemployed cotton workers in the Todmorden area, who were suffering from the lack of raw cotton imported from America due to the Civil War.

The pages below are taken from the Todmorden and Hebden Bridge Historical Almanack for 1890.

As a member of the Relief Committee Joseph might have been required to collect subscriptions locally (from millowners, tradespeople, churches, and private citizens), identify and assist local families in need, and help with “relief works” or “useful employment” schemes, which might include stone-breaking, drainage, road work, or public improvements.

The 1861 census shows Joseph, born in 1821, living at 9 Patmos, Todmorden with his wife Mary Ann (nee Lord) and children Elizabeth Ann, William, Charles, Agnes and Lilie. His occupation is shown as Cotton Manufacturer employing 8 people.

Joseph moved to Rochdale in later life and died there in 1890.

George Samuel Morris

Another story today from F.O.C.C.T., the Friends of Christ Church, Todmorden.

It describes the sad end of George Samuel Morris. Two of George's children married Hiley sisters - George Richard Morris married Alice Ann Hiley and Frank Morris married Betsy Hannah Hiley. Samuel, a brother of Alice Ann and Betsy Hannah, and my great grandfather, is mentioned in this story. 

George Richard and Alice Ann have already featured in a F.O.C.C.T. story in this Blog. Enter 'F.O.C.C.T.' in the 'Search This Blog' box to read their story and the others contributed by F.O.C.C.T.

38.10 – George Samuel Morris

by admin on Posted onMarch 8, 2024

George here was another transplant from Staffordshire who came here for work with his family. He met a wet end whose circumstances were sadly very predictable.

George Samuel Morris, or Samuel as he would choose to be known and to call himself, was born in 1820 in Monk Upton in Shropshire. His movements prior to his marriage to Mary Richards (whose surname we only know thanks to a family tree) are vague, and even his marriage isn’t firmly dated anywyere. But in 1858 he and Mary had moved to Tunstall in Staffordshire and they were welcoming their first child, their son George Richards Morris. 1859 saw the birth of Elizabeth Margaret and 1860 the birth of Simon. Shortly after Simon’s birth the Morrises came to Todmorden, and shortly after that Simon died. It was October 1861, he was a year old, and he was buried somewhere here at Christ Church.

There was then a six year gap before their third son and final child, Frank, was born in 1867. George and family had already settled near Gauxholme and in 1871 were resident at Lewis Street, Shade. George was working as a factory engine tenter, keeping the furnaces going. George seems to have liked a drink, getting picked up by the police now and again, but never for brawling or threatening behaviour…just a bit of staggering around.

On the night of July 22nd 1876, George left his house in the evening with a kiss to Mary and a promise of getting home soon so they could get to bed early. The Morrises by this point were living at Travis Holme, Clough, in Walsden. George headed down to the pub and never came home again. Mary and George Jr., Elizabeth and Frank waited for him, and waited, and waited. In the meantime Samuel Highley of Hollins Terrace was disturbed by a knock on his door at 11pm and answered it to find a very drunk George, who murmured that he was “a bad ‘un”, came in and sat, had a drink of water, sang a song, said again a few times that he was a bad ‘un, and then left. Samuel told him not to walk home along the canal, which was George’s preference, but George didn’t listen. Around 1am his children had had enough and went out looking, and Mary joined the search two hours later. It was Mary who found his hat and crutch on the canal bank. She got hold of George Jr., who went and got the police, and eventually on the morning of the 23rd the police arrived with grappling irons and pulled his body from the canal.

Todmorden Advertiser, July 28th 1876

The verdict was of drowning, with the reason unknown, as there was no real evidence to show he might have drowned himself intentionally apart from his statements to Samuel Highley. It was also his habit of walking home along the canal when drunk, known to everyone, and the jury clearly felt it was an accident. He was buried here, maybe with his son, maybe alone. The only initials we have here are his.

Mary died in 1882 and is also buried here at Christ Church somewhere. In the meantime, George Jr. married Samuel Highley’s sister Alice Ann. Something good came out of all that in the end…

Amy and Mabel

Today's post comes from the website of F.O.C.C.T., the Friends of Christ Church Todmorden.

F.O.C.C.T. are a community group whose aims include preserving the graveyard, improving accessibility, utilising the graveyard to educate all ages about the history of Todmorden and encourage emotional investment in the town’s past and future.

Their website contains research into the people buried in the graveyard and transcriptions of the monumental inscriptions of the gravestones.

F.O.C.C.T. – Friends of Christ Church, Todmorden (focct.org.uk)

This Blog has already published stories about Todmorden Hileys/Highleys from the website and I am indebted again to F.O.C.C.T. for this post about some of the children of Charles and Betty Hiley. The story is reproduced from their website with permission.

Charles Joseph Hiley (1843-1922) was a prominent figure in Todmorden during his lifetime. Several posts have already told of his life as a professor of music, organist, councillor, and shopkeeper. The story below tells about two of his daughters, Amy and Mabel.

43.52 – Charles and Sarah (Chaffer) Hiley and family

by admin on Posted onJanuary 1, 2025

This grave holds two parents, Charles and Sarah, and six of their eight children – Emily, William Campbell, Mary Jane, John Walter, Mabel, and Amy Elizabeth. Christopher Hiley’s excellent family history blog has already told Charles and Sarah’s stories so we’ll let you go there and read all about them. But what about the two daughters named here who lived to adulthood – Mabel and Amy?

                        Image of grave taken from Christopher Hiley’s blog

Mabel seems at first to have simply stayed at home after she finished school, but she soon took on work alongside her father as a music teacher. Charles must have been in high demand and needed help, and who better (and probably cheaper) than a daughter? Mabel was the eldest daughter and second eldest child so it makes sense; most eldest daughters ended up staying at home anyway to help with the other children, an informal but highly common Victorian custom. Mabel was at least, interestingly, advertising separately from Charles, which might indicate that her income was considered hers at least.

Sarah’s death in 1909 sealed the deal. Mabel, along with her other unmarried sister Edith (who had become headmistress at Roomfield School) and a servant named Bessie Whitham were at home with Charles on the 1911 Census and there they stayed. Mabel stayed busy by accompanying Edith when she played the violin at various functions, and during WW1 she got her qualifications with the St. John Ambulance Association. After Charles’s death in 1922 Mabel and Edith continued to live together, moving to Beech Avenue by the time of the 1939 Census. Edith continued to teach while Mabel stayed at home. After Mabel died in 1945 she was remembered in two ways: first, money donated to the War Fund in her memory by Horace and Nellie Hartley (of Hartley’s Opticians fame), and second, a purple burse (box for carrying altar cloths and vestments), veil, and four stoles donated to Christ Church by one of her sisters.

Edith kept Mabel’s piano and sheet music, and eventually they reached Amy’s granddaughter Carolyn (Baldwin) Nolan, who herself taught piano lessons using it and still has hold of it to this day. She also very kindly supplied these photos of the gravestone in better maintained days.

                                         Photo courtesy of Carolyn Nolan

Amy became a dressmaker, and in the early 1900s caught the eye of Sam Baldwin, one of the sons of mineral water manufacturer Greenwood Baldwin. Sam wanted to take the carbonated water experience a few steps further and instead of focusing on fizzy drinks went into the explosives business. That’s right – explosives! He was extremely intelligent and won scholarships to grammar schools and colleges, specialising in inorganic chemistry. He moved to Essex in 1905 to manage an explosives manufacturing business and in 1906 he and Amy married, and she joined him down south. The pair had two sons, George and Wilson, and Sam’s income increased to £500 a year from 1912 – very respectable at that time. His work meant he was spared heading to the front during WW1, no doubt a relief for Amy…but he did something for the war effort as he was given an MBE afterwards for his efforts. He went on to help run a gelignite factory, as would son Wilson. This is more about them than Amy, isn’t it? Amy was a quiet soul, maybe a homebody, and there are few mentions of any Mrs. A. or Mrs. S. Baldwins in Essex in the right time period, and none can be clearly identified as her. She got a small death notice in the papers here, at least, when she died in 1952. Sam followed her in 1957 and is buried elsewhere.

The Life of Henry Hiley Part 14 - Littleborough Central School

Today's post returns to the memoirs of Henry Hiley.

It’s time that I went back to school. That school, it had the baby class, that was called Class 3. Mrs Allerby looked after us there and then we went up to Class 2, Class 1 and then into, you might call it the big school, starting with Standard 1. And that went on, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 until Standard 6, maybe even Standard 7 and Standard 8.

I can’t remember an awful lot about the classroom work. I can remember my first reading lessons, I told you that, c in cat, d in dog and suchlike. But I do remember that we were given a little but not much homework, very seldom did we get homework, but once or twice we were expected to learn a psalm - Psalm 23, the first psalm of all. Well, when we got back to school the following morning the girls had usually learned them and I was about the only boy. I had great difficulty in getting them off by heart and I used to sit in the shop near to that big coke oven. I was at least warm and I struggled, I struggled, to commit anything to memory.

I was more interested in cricket. We used to play plenty of cricket on the street. We used to go on to the Rec. That was a big open space but there were great areas there where the grass was worn away. When we were playing amongst ourselves if any boy managed to score as many as 50 he was expected to declare. I very seldom did that. We didn’t play many outside schools. We played the Parish Church school in Littleborough. We played Dearnley Central School.

I stayed in that Elementary School as far as Standard 6. The school leaving age was 14. But the school also had a higher grade department. We called it the Science. My sister Mary went into the Science department. Agnes didn’t, she left school very early. She was poorly and what would have been her last school years were spent in a Sanatorium. Edith won the Junior Scholarship. She went off to Rochdale to the Secondary School in 1925 and about the time that I was being put in for the Junior Scholarship exam Barbara went into the Science department.

Henry - top row, furthest right

Henry - top row, 3rd from the right

Barbara Kershaw - 2nd row, 3rd from the right

Henry - 1st row, 3rd from the left

John and Mary Ann Bray Highley (Part 11 - John and Mary)

This is the final post in this series about John and Mary Highley and their family.

John died in 1929 at the age of 76. He had worked as a Cotton Weaver all his life. The last record we have of him is the 1921 Census where he is shown at age 68 working at Hollins Mill in Walsden for the Cotton Manufacturer Caleb Hoyle. 

Hollins Mill, Walsden in 2018

Mary carried on living at 106 Summit, Littleborough with Thomas Arthur and his family. The 1939 Register shows her occupation as ‘Retired. Unpaid Domestic Duties’. She died 2 years later at the age of 88. At the time, she was living with her daughter Mary Hannah in Todmorden. 

Entry in the Todmorden & District News 5th December 1941

John and Mary were buried at Calderbrook church in Littleborough.

Calderbrook church. View from John and Mary's grave

John and Mary's grave

Mary had lost 5 of her children in infancy and had lost 3 in the First World War. At the time of her death 4 of them were still living with their families. She had 20 grandchildren. She had survived her husband by 12 years.

John and Mary Ann Bray Highley (Part 10 - Thomas Arthur and Richard)

Thomas Arthur’s first wife Ann Selina died in 1923 and he remarried two years later Elizabeth Ann Threlfall. He worked as a Cotton Weaver for Fothergill & Harvey and lived at 106 Summit, just outside Littleborough. He died in 1952. 

106 Summit, Littleborough
(behind the maroon car)

Richard married Alice Hartley soon after the War ended. The couple had a daughter Phyllis who sadly died after only 2 days. In the 1939 Register Richard is shown as being divorced, working as a Cotton Weaver, and living with his sister Beatrice Annie and her family at 1 Sourhall Road in Todmorden. He died the year after Thomas Arthur.

1 Sourhall Road, Todmorden
(first house on left)

John and Mary Ann Bray Highley and their family (Part 9 - after the War)

In this post we look at the the fortunes of the families of John Henry, Ernest Jackson and Charles William after the War.

Grace
On 13 May 1921 Grace, John Henry's widow, together with Herbert (aged 12) and Jack (aged 7), left Liverpool for a new life aboard SS Melita bound for Quebec in Canada. 

SS Melita leaving Liverpool

This is Grace’s passenger declaration form for her arrival in Canada:

 

The family settled in London, Ontario. Grace married again in 1929.

Harriet Ann

Ernest Jackson and his wife Harriet Anne had had 4 children by the time Ernest Jackson was killed. Harriet Ann never remarried and lived to the grand old age of 92. She was the last of the various Highley families to live in the block of terrace houses originally known as Throstle Terrace in Walsden. She was living at 12 Throstle Street in 1932 - the 3rd house from the right hand end of the block.

Throstle Street in 2025

Mary 

This is a photograph of Charles William’s widow Mary and their daughter Miriam, taken in about 1930. Miriam had just turned one when her father was killed.

Miriam died in 1942 and is buried at Calderbrook church in Littleborough, although there is no gravestone there to remember her. Mary died in 1972 but there is no record of her burial.

The Hiley Y-DNA surname project newsletter

Today's post features the latest edition of the Hiley Y-DNA surname project newsletter.

If you have any queries, comments or suggestions then I would be very pleased to hear from you. You can contact me directly at christopherhiley@hotmail.com or you can post a comment at the bottom of the page. You are welcome to forward the newsletter to anyone you know who might have an interest in the project.

John and Mary Ann Bray Highley and their family (Part 8 - Mary Hannah and Beatrice Annie)

Two girls in the family, Mary Hannah and Beatrice Annie, lived into adulthood. They both outlived all their brothers.

They each married local Walsden men, who were both called John and worked as Picker Makers at Stoneswood Picker Works.

Picker Makers at Stoneswood Picker Works
(Photo shown with permission of Pennine Horizons Digital Archive)

A picker was a strong leather attachment used in weaving looms to move the shuttle back and forth. These were essential items for the weaving process in the textile industry. Picker makers made them from Buffalo hide and the photo shows men at Stoneswood with their buffalo hides. Todmorden was one of the most important areas for its production in England.

Mary Hannah and her husband John Stansfield had 3 boys and a girl. They lived on Bacup Road near the Picker Works at Stoneswood. Beatrice Annie and her husband John Fielden Barnes had 3 boys. They lived on Sourhall Road off  Bacup Road.

John and Mary Ann Bray Highley and their family (Part 7 - Thomas Arthur)

Thomas Arthur was the oldest of the 12 children. He married Ann Selina Lobb in 1899 and the couple lived next door to his parents John and Mary in Throstle Street, Walsden before moving to Littleborough. The couple had 6 children before war broke out.

Thomas Arthur was a very late entry into the War. This entry appeared in the Rochdale Observer on 22nd June 1918.

Grade 2 was a common designation for men who passed the medical examination but were not deemed fully fit for front-line duties. We don’t know why Thomas Arthur enlisted at such a late stage of the War but he joined the RAF on 13th August 1918.

His enlistment document tells us quite a lot about Thomas Arthur, including some physical details which aren't available for his four brothers.

Thomas Arthur was attached to the RAF Reserve Depot which was a key unit for training and managing personnel. He worked in the Heaton Park Dispersal Unit in Manchester. This had the capacity for demobilising up to 3000 men per day.

He enlisted in August 1918, the war ended in November that year, he was transferred to the RAF reserve in February 1919, and finally discharged in April 1920.

John and Mary Ann Bray Highley and their family (Part 6 - Richard)

Richard was the youngest boy in the family. This is the record of his baptism in Inchfield Bottom Methodist Chapel in Walsden, like his older brothers and sisters.

 

The diagram below shows the service periods of the 5 brothers involved in the War. Although he was much younger Richard went to the Front before both Charles William and Ernest Jackson. The diagram shows the short length of time each of the other 4 brothers spent fighting. Richard’s service was about twice the total length of time served by all his brothers together.

Richard joined the same regiment, the Devonshires, as his brother Ernest Jackson, but he was in a different battalion, the 1sts. He is referred to in a number of newspaper reports, shown below.

The top one was part of the report shown in the last post about Charles William applying for an exemption. In fact the information about Richard having gone through the Dardanelles campaign is wrong because the 1st Devonshires weren’t involved in that part of the world.

The 2nd one is part of the report of Ernest Jackson’s death in July 1916, and shows Richard back in England at that time.

And finally a year later, in the report about Charles William’s death, we learn that Richard is still serving, and attempts were being made to release him from duties.

It appears that those attempts were not successful because Richard saw out the War. Although he had lost 3 brothers it was obviously felt that the British Army couldn’t manage without him. Richard’s medal card showed that he was entitled to the Victory medal, the British War medal and the 1915 Star. In the remarks it stated that he was placed in the Z reserve. After World War I, the Class Z Army Reserve was a temporary measure to hold discharged soldiers who were not yet eligible for full demobilization. They were required to return if called upon, but were otherwise free to return to civilian life. It was abolished the following year.

John and Mary Ann Bray Highley and their family (Part 5 - Charles William)

Today's post tells the story of Charles William, the third of the brothers to lose his life in WW1.

Charles William Highley

When Charles William was born in 1889, Ernest Jackson was 10 and John Henry was 12. Before the War his life followed a similar pattern to his older brothers – working in the Cotton Mill as soon as he was old enough, then marrying a local girl and starting a family. The article in The Todmorden Advertiser above says that he was well-known in the district. He married Mary Carr on 20th March 1915 and their daughter Miriam was born in May the following year. Shortly after this Ernest Jackson was killed so Charles William had lost both his two older brothers who had gone to fight in the War.

In September 1916 Charles William applied for an exemption to being called up. A separation allowance was a payment to soldiers who were separated from their family due to serving in the war. He was given an exemption until 30th November that year. The other brother mentioned is Richard who survived the war and is the subject of the next post.

The following January Charles William enlisted in Todmorden with the 15th Battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers, known as the 1st Salford Pals.

When Charles William joined the Battalion in France they were fighting in the Somme region, but at the beginning of June they travelled by train to the extreme northern end of the Western Front, on the Belgian coastline at Nieuport. In a book on the Salford Pals the author Michael Stedman said that ‘the area provided the best opportunity for personal cleanliness that anyone could remember. At rest, behind the lines, a brief stroll took the men to the seaside, fishing, bathing and taking the sun.’

But away from the seaside in the frontline trenches there was heavy fighting and Charles William was killed in action on 22nd June.

Charles William was initially buried in a French Military Cemetery but after the war a number of graves were brought in from the battlefield and nearby smaller cemeteries and he was reburied at Ramscappelle Road Cemetery.

The burial return shows that he was identified by a piece of his boot which was stamped with his service no. 27557.

Ramscappelle Road Cemetery, Nieuport

Charles William's gravestone

Charles William was the last of the 3 Highley brothers to die. No two of them served at the same time in France or Belgium and the total time spent abroad between the three of them was only about 11 months.