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

A family history trip to Calderdale - 7 Christ Church, Mount Pellon

 This is the last post in this series. 

There are 11 separate references to Highley families in the burial records for Mount Pellon Church. Of these 2 are shown as 'empty plots', 3 are 'unmarked graves', 4 have readable gravestones, 1 has an unreadable gravestone, and 1 shows the names of two Highleys on a WW2 memorial inside the church.

Buried in this grave are Betty Highley and her children James and Ellen.

Betty and her husband John lived in New Pellon and had eight children altogether.

All the family were employed in the weaving industry. The 1861 Census shows that John, Betty and their daughter Mary were all Worsted Weavers, James was a Cotton Piecer, and their sons John and Thomas were Worsted Spinners. In the 1851 Census the older children Elizabeth and Hannah were Mule Operatives and Ann was a Handloom Weaver. Ellen died in 1856, aged 10.

  

In 1931 William Highley married Elizabeth Sutcliffe (nee Tidswell). Elizabeth had previously been married to Fred Sutcliffe who died in 1918.

William first married Mary Tattersall in 1879 and the couple had three children - Frank, Annie and Olive. Mary died in 1930.

In the 1939 Register William and Elizabeth were living at 11 Woodhead Street, close to the church at Mount Pellon. William was described as a Retired Carpet Layer. Elizabeth died in 1941 and William in 1947.

On 1st August 1898 in Halifax Parish Church, Fred Highley, aged 24, a Labourer of Sky Alley, Halifax, married Leah Jowett, aged 25, of Bank Bottom, Southowram. The couple had three children, Annie, Vincent and Ernest. In 1921, Fred, Annie and Vincent were all working for Patons & Baldwins Ltd, Hosiery Manufacturers in Halifax.

The post of 23rd February 2019 was about Horace Highley who was killed fighting in Belgium in WW1. Horace is commemorated on the family gravestone at Mount Pellon.

Also named on the stone are his father Joseph, his mother Lilly (Charlotte Elizabeth, nee Thomas), his sister Clara, and his brother George Thomas.

George Thomas was killed in a railway accident which became the subject of a court case. His story will be told in a future post.

Inside the church, near the altar, is a memorial to the men of the parish who gave their lives in WW2. Amongst the list of names are Fred Highley and Robert Highley. The lives of these two soldiers will be covered in a future post.

Charles Frederick William Hiley

.........continuing the series on Hileys/Highleys killed in WW2.

Charles Frederick William Hiley is the only Hiley listed as a 'Civilian War Death' in WW1 or WW2. He was injured in Westminster, London on 3rd July 1944 and died in Westminster Hospital the same day.

Charles was born in Lambeth in 1909, the son of Charles William and Ethel. He married Freda Hughes in 1937 in Uxbridge. The 1939 Register showed Charles and Freda living in Ruislip-Northwood. The entry for his occupation is 'Book Keeper & Clerk Chemical Merchants Office and Full Time Auxiliary Fireman'.

Charles was a Fireman with the National Fire Service.

Soon after the successful D-Day landings in north western France on 6 June 1944 Hitler launched a final air assault on London using V-Weapons (Vengeance Weapons). Between 13 June 1944 and 29 March 1945 over 3000 of these hit the capital and its suburbs. Almost 9000 people were killed and at least 24000 others were seriously injured.

The first of these weapons were V1 flying bombs (known to Londoners as ‘Doodlebugs’). In the City of Westminster, from 18 June to 27 August 1944, 30 V1s killed 267 people, seriously injured 663 and otherwise injured over 1,000 others.

The circumstances of Charles's death are not known but it is possible that he was on duty as a fireman at the time dealing with the result of a V1 bomb attack on Westminster.

Firemen in London train their hoses on burning buildings following an air raid during the Blitz

Men of the National Fire Service listen for survivors following a V1 attack

Pictures in the Public Domain

Remembering the Lancastria

Following on from the last post about Arthur Thomas Highley who was killed when the troopship Lancastria was bombed and sunk on 17th June 1940, below is a link to an excerpt from a 'Who Do You Think You Are' episode. Amanda Holden's grandfather Frank Holden was one of the survivors.

Arthur Thomas Highley

Today's post features the second in the series on Hileys/Highleys who were killed in WW2. Arthur Thomas Highley, the son of Fawthrop and Emily (nee Burton) Highley, was born in Warley near Halifax in 1899. 

Arthur served for many years in the Army and joined up in WW1, serving with the Royal Scots Fusiliers. He married Alice Anne Dover in Bradford in 1919 and the couple had seven children. They lived at 17 Back Bedford Terrace in Halifax and Arthur worked at the Cote Hill Bobbin works.

Arthur rejoined the Army in January 1940 and went to France the following month. He was aboard the troopship RMS Lancastria on 17th June 1940 when it was bombed and sunk off St Nazaire in France. The Lancastria was a British ocean liner requisitioned by the UK Government during WW2 and it had received an emergency order to evacuate British nationals and troops from France. The ship was loaded well in excess of its capacity of 1300 passengers and it is estimated that between 4000 and 7000 people died during the sinking.

The sinking of the Lancastria was the largest loss of life from a single engagement for British forces in World War Two and the largest loss of life in British maritime history - greater than the Titanic and Lusitania combined.

A postcard of RMS Lancastria from 1927

The sinking of the Lancastria seen from a rescue ship

Although Arthur died on 17th June 1940 the Halifax Evening Courier still reported him as missing on 7th August.   

This picture appeared in the Courier on 9th August 1940

Arthur's grave at Pornic War Cemetery in France

Louis John Hiley

Louis John Hiley was born on 14th June 1917 in Sydney on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. He signed up  in October 1939 and joined the 1st Battalion Cape Breton Highlanders. His attestation papers show him as a labourer and single. His parents were Louis François and Mary.

Signals Platoon of Headquarters Company

Cape Breton Highlanders

Sydney, Nova Scotia, c1940

Louis is on the far right of the 3rd and 4th rows

Source: website 'Cape Breton Military History Collections'

Canada's participation in the Italian Campaign was one of the most important efforts the Canadian Army made during the Second World War. More than 93,000 Canadians served in Italy between the summer of 1943 and the winter of 1945 and more than 26,000 of them would become casualties.

In May 1944 The Cape Breton Highlanders were involved in the Battle of the Liri Valley near Cassino in Italy, between Rome and Naples. Heavy fighting took place to breach the enemy's formidable Hitler Line. On 23rd May, under the cover of heavy mortar and machine gun fire, the Canadians broke through the German defences. Louis was killed in action on that day and was buried in the Cassino War Cemetery.

Canadian forces advancing to the Hitler Line
Liri Valley, Italy
May 1944
Source: website 'Cape Breton Military History Collections'

                     L-R Louis Hiley, Fred Cederberg and Tom Summerall.
                             Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
Photo is a copy of the version available on the Veterans Affairs Canada website.

About 800 Canadians were killed in the Battle of the Liri Valley, while about 2500 more were wounded. The Italian Campaign played an important role in helping the Allies eventually end the Second World War. The fighting there tied down German soldiers in Italy and kept them from being used to reinforce enemy troops on the Eastern Front or along the coast of Northwest Europe where they could have helped resist the eventual Allied landings on D-Day.

Louis's grave at Cassino

Next post: Louis's parents - Louis François and Mary

Hileys/Highleys killed in WW2

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission website lists 29 Hileys and 11 Highleys who were killed in the First World War. So far in this Blog there have been posts about 17 of these soldiers.

On their Welcome page the Commission says:

WE HONOUR AND CARE FOR THE MEN AND WOMEN

 OF THE COMMONWEALTH FORCES WHO DIED IN

 THE FIRST AND SECOND WORLD WARS, ENSURING

 THEY WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN.

The site gives details about each soldier who died:

Name

Date of death and age at death

Rank and service number

Regiment and unit

Country of burial

Cemetery and grave reference

Additional family information

There are details of the cemetery where the soldier is buried or the monument where the soldier is commemorated. Sometimes there is a map of the cemetery so that the grave can be located.

There are also details of the personal and military inscriptions on the headstones and grave registration details.

Grave of James Joseph Highley from Halifax Berles New Military Cemetery

Longuenesse (St Omer) Souvenir Cemetery Fred Hiley from Rugeley is buried here

In the Second World War 7 Hileys and 3 Highleys were killed. This year the Blog will feature some of these soldiers as well as those from WW1.

The first in this series will be Louis John Hiley, from Sydney in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Louis fought with the Cape Breton Highlanders and was killed in Italy in 1944.

Look out for the next post!

Another medal and some prize money

The last post of 2020 (18th December) featured the seven war medals of Henry Hiley.

Another one needs to be added to the list because in 1991 Henry received a medal called the '40th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War Medal', popularly known in the UK as the Russian Convoy Medal. It was awarded to all military and civilian personnel of the USSR Armed Forces who took part in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, to partisans of the War, and it was also made available to sailors who had taken part in the Arctic Convoys from Britain to the Soviet Union.

Participant in the War 40 years of victory in the great patriotic war 1941-1945

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Certificate
for the Jubilee medal
'40 years of victory
in the great patriotic war
1941-1945'

Certificate
HILEY H
Presented with the Jubilee medal 
                                                             Participant in the War                                                               
31 JULY 1991

Henry Hiley's medals

Henry at Portsmouth 1940

In 1950 Henry received five medals for his service in the Royal Navy in WW2.

  

Above: the box in which the medals arrived Left: Letter from the Admiralty

Display frame for Henry's medals

The medals were:

1 1939-1945 Star 

Dark blue, red and light blue in three equal vertical stripes. This ribbon is worn with the dark blue stripes furthest from the left shoulder. 

This star was awarded for service in the Second World War between 3rd September 1939 and 2nd September 1945. Royal Navy personnel had to complete 6 months service afloat in active operational areas. 

The ribbon has three vertical stripes of dark blue, red and light blue. The dark blue stripe represents the Naval Forces and the Merchant Navy, the red stripe the Armies and the light blue stripe the Air Forces. The ribbon for this medal, along with those of the other Second World War campaign stars, is reputed to have been designed by King George VI, with the three equal bands representing the equal contributions towards victory of the Royal Navy, Army, and the Royal Air Force respectively.

 

2 Atlantic Star (with Clasp France and Germany)

Blue, white and sea green shaded and watered. This ribbon is worn with the blue edge furthest from the left shoulder.

This star is a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth that was awarded for service in World War 2. The star was awarded for six months service afloat, in the Atlantic or in Home Waters, within the period 3 September 1939 to 8 May 1945. The 1939-45 Star must have been earned before commencing qualifying service for the Atlantic Star. 

The France and Germany Clasp was awarded to those who subsequently became entitled to the France and Germany star. 

The shaded and watered blue, white, and sea-green stripes represent the colours of the Atlantic Ocean.

3 Africa Star 

Pale buff, with a central vertical red stripe and two narrower stripes, one dark blue, and the other light blue. This ribbon is worn with the dark blue stripe furthest from the left shoulder.

The star was awarded for a minimum of one day service in an operational area of North Africa between 10 June 1940 and 12 May 1943. Naval personnel anywhere at sea in the Mediterranean or in harbour in North Africa, Malta or Egypt between the above dates will qualify.

The sand of the desert is represented by pale buff, the Royal Navy (and Merchant Navy), British Army and Royal Air Force are represented by stripes of dark blue, red, and light blue respectively. 

4 Defence Medal 

Flame coloured with green edges, upon each of which is a narrow black stripe.

The Defence Medal was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in World War II. It was instituted to recognise both military and some types of civilian service. 

Flame coloured in the centre flanked by stripes of green to symbolise enemy attacks on Britain’s green and pleasant land, with narrow black stripes to represent the blackout.

5 War Medal 1939-1945 

A narrow central red stripe with a narrow white stripe on either side. A broad red stripe at either edge, and two intervening stripes in blue.

The War Medal was awarded to all full time personnel of the armed forces wherever they were serving, provided they had served for at least 28 days between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945. Sometimes described as the 'Victory Medal'.

The colours represent those of the Union Flag.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Malta GC Commemorative Medal 

In 1993 Henry received a sixth medal. He was invited to receive it at a ceremony at the Malta High Commission in London.

Henry's Malta medal

The Malta George Cross Fiftieth Anniversary Medal is a commemorative medal created by the government of Malta and awarded by, or in the name of, the President of Malta. Established on 17 January 1992, it could be awarded to individuals who met the specified requirements of service and made application for award of the medal by 15 April 1994. The medal honours the collective award of the George Cross to the island of Malta during World War II. 

The medal was awarded for service during the qualifying period of 10 June 1940 to 8 September 1943 during and after the Siege of Malta.

The colours of the ribbon, two narrow stripes of white and red on a background of blue, are representative of the Malta flag and the George Cross.

Arctic Star 

Arctic Star

Henry died in 2007. In 2014 his son John applied to the Ministry of Defence Medal Office and received Henry's Arctic Star in January 2015.

The Arctic Star is a retrospective award, announced in late 2012, nearly seven decades after the end of the Second World War. It is granted for operational service of any length, from 3rd September 1939 to 8th May 1945 inclusive, north of the Arctic Circle on the Greenland Sea, Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea. The Arctic Star is intended to commemorate the Arctic convoys and is designed primarily for the ships of the convoys to North Russia and their Escorts.

The three colours represent the forces which were involved in the campaign, light blue for the Air Forces, dark blue for the Navy and red for the Merchant Navy, while the central white band, edged in black, represents the Arctic.

Look out next year for more posts about Henry's service in the Royal Navy