The World War 1 Project
The Moseley Society Local History Group’s WWI project will run until 2018. The project involves researching local war memorials and telling the stories of some of those who fought and died in the War. We are also looking at those who served in supporting roles (such as nurses) and at life back home in Moseley, including the role of Moseley women, land use (e.g. allotments), volunteering at local auxiliary hospitals and fund-raising.
Memorials to men killed in World War 1
There were 198 men from Moseley killed in World War 1 who were commemorated on 10 different Moseley war memorials. This spreadsheet lists the names of these 198 men (click to view).
Click below to view each of these 10 war memorials and the Wintersloe School Roll of Honour:-
1. St. Mary’s Church – 2. St Anne’s Church – 3. St Agnes’ Church – 4. Calvary Church of God in Christ (formerly the Baptist Church) –
5. St Columba’s United Reform Church – 6. Cambridge Road Methodist Church –
7. Moseley Ashfield Cricket Club – 8. Moseley Football Club (Rugby Union) – 9. Moseley Golf Club – 10. Windermere United Services Club –
11.Wintersloe School Roll of Honour
This Schools’ Educational Package for WW1 has been produced to assist teachers who are planning projects for Moseley school children to commemorate World War 1 as we approach the anniversary of Armistice Day. The document includes a long list of useful reference sources including those on this web site.
Moseley Men commemorated on War Memorials
– St Mary’s
Edwina Rees has been researching the lives of those commemorated on the War Memorial in St Mary’s Church 100 years after their deaths. The following articles tell the stories of these men killed in action in the war who are commemorated on the war memorial. Click on the year to read articles on the men who were killed in that year:-
1914 — 1915 — 1916 — 1917 — 1918 — 1919
– Calvary Church of God in Christ (formerly the Baptist Church)
Articles on men killed in the war who are commemorated on the War Memorial in the Calvary Church of God in Christ (formerly the Baptist Church) can be found here.
Moseley Men with no Local Memorial
Jim Hone has researched and written a considerable collection of articles about Moseley men who died fighting for their country but have no memorial here in Moseley in order that their bravery and sacrifice might not be forgotten.
Another such man was 2nd Lt James Henry Duffell whose story is told here. James enlisted in the 2nd Birmingham Pals in September 1914 and was wounded twice in fierce trench warfare near Vimy Ridge and during the Somme campaign before receiving his commission and joining the newly inaugurated Tank Corps in July 1917, when he was put in charge of a tank. He was killed using his tank to protect the retreating infantry during the rapid German advance known as Operation Michael on 22 March 1918, fighting to the end from a rifle dug-out when his tank was incapacitated.
Further Articles on men who fought in World War1
Lieutenant Geoffrey Hugh Hadley joined the Royal Warwickshire regiment and fought in several offensives in the Battle of the Somme before finally being taken prisoner on 14 March 1917 and sent to the Officers POW camp at Karlsruhe. The article contains detailed accounts of his life in the camp at Karlsruhe and interesting information about his subsequent life and family after the war.
Jane Barry had grandfathers who fought on opposing sides in the First World War, one British, one Prussian. This article on my “My Two Grandfathers in WW1” researched by Jane Barry with assistance from the History Group, tells their story and answers the questions “Were they ever in direct conflict on the front line?” and “Did they ever meet?” With her husband Bill’s agreement, this article is published in tribute to Jane Barry following her untimely death in March 2022.
An article about Trooper Horace George Turner and his family describes the life and military career of Horace George Turner who was killed at Suvla Bay in August 1915 in the Gallipoli Campaign. It also provides interesting detail about the lives of his father and brothers who were prominent West Midlands businessmen and holders of public office in the community. His younger brother Douglas once lived at St Agnes Road, Moseley.
There is a brief article about a recent donation of two copies of a book of poetry by T Ewart Mitton, recently republished at the instigation of Patrick Fuller, the great-grandson of Mabel Mitton, J.R.R. Tolkien’s sister. See also the article on the wartime activities of Lieutenant T Ewart Mitton ,who was killed in December 1917.
The complete article “Jack the war hero and Dora his widow who became a Lady – a Moseley tale of love” by Jim Hone is now available to read (click to view). The original article told the story of Lieutenant Colonel J H S Dimmer, a war hero and holder of both the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry, and the Military Cross and his marriage to a local Moseley girl, Dora Bayley-Parker. Jack was sadly killled in action just a few months after his marriage. This updated article goes on to tell the story of his wife Dora, who subsequently married Lord Garvagh and lived a glamorous and highly successful life at the head of an aristocratic dynasty.
An article on Captain Roger Cholmeley MC describes the life of a man of action (click to view) who after a varied career in South Africa and Australia served with distinction as an Intelligence Officer with The Cheshire Regiment in WW1 and was subsequently killed in 1919 fighting with the Allied forces in support of the White Russians against the Bolsheviks in northern Russia at the age of 47. He himself had no connection with Birmingham but he is commemorated on the St Anne’s war memorial because his brother lived in Strensham Hill.
An article about Andrew Franklin CVO, (click to view) who accumulated an impressive collection of Chinese ceramics and art whilst working as a British diplomat in China, subsequently bequeathing a large portion of it to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. The article also describes his interesting experiences in Germany during World War 1 where he was born whilst his mother was visiting her German family at the outbreak of war and subsequently stranded, having to conceal his British nationality.
There is also an article on Percy Jeeves the cricketer who played for Moseley Cricket Club and who was killed on the Western Front in 1916. Click to view. Hannah Williams has recently chosen to do a history project on Percy Jeeves as part of her school’s commemoration of the 1918 Armistice. Click to see a picture of Hannah displaying her project and a close-up of Hannah’s project on Percy Jeeves. Well done, Hannah!
Family Stories
You can also read stories about the part played by certain families in World War 1. Click to view.
The Frazier brothers in WW1 – Gordon who fought in the Battle of Passchendaele and Rowland who was shot down in a bombing raid over Bulgaria and wrote accounts of his exploits for Popular Flying and The National Review magazines.
The Underhill family in WW1 – the stories of Lieutenant Baron Collingwoode Seymour Underhill, Private Thomas John Vincent Underhill, Lieutenant Andrew Victor Barclay and Captain Leo Edward Barton.
Gallipoli Commemoration event – 17 October 2019
On 17th October 2019 an event was held at St Mary’s church to commemorate those who died or served in the Gallipoli Campaign. A report of the Gallipoli Memorial service can be read here.
Toc H
An article on Toc H here describes the origins and history of the organisation founded to provide fellowship and support for soldiers during World War 1, and the role it has subsequently played in Moseley and Birmingham over the past century to help the disadvantaged in British society.
Conscientious Objectors
These articles tell the stories of conscientious objectors during the war, their moral beliefs and the treatment they received.
Harry Payne, a local personality who was a conscientious objector during WW1 and subsequently decided to run his business on co-operative profit-sharing lines. You can also read the article about Harry Payne taken from Moseley Personalities.
George Ewan – a detailed account of George’s experiences in prison as a conscientious objector during WW1
Beatrice Cadbury and Kees Boeke, Quakers and pacifists who opposed the war and faced considerable opposition from the authorities, including imprisonment, but remained true to their faith.
On 5/7/2015 the Group visited the King Edward’s School War Memorial. Click to read an account of the visit.
There is an article in Local History Newsletter June 2012 featuring local people’s oral histories of World War 1. (Click to view)
See also the gallery of World War 1 photographs showing life in Moseley during the War and damage sustained to Moseley buildings.