TOPIC:

William Claricoates

Wounded in Action - 1st day of the Somme – 1 July 1916

Corporal, 2nd Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment – Anglo Boer War
Sergeant, Leinster Regiment & 18th (Service) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment – WWI

- Queens South Africa Medal (Tugela Heights, Relief of Ladysmith) to 2327 CORL W. CLARICOATES. W. YORK: REGT.
- 1914-15 Star to 16-1654 SJT W. CLARICOATES. W. YORK: R.
- British War Medal to 16-1654 SJT. W. CLARICOATES. W. YORK. R.
- Victory Medal to 16-1654 SJT. W. CLARICOATES. W. YORK. R.
- Army Long Service & Good Conduct Medal GVR to 1566 SJT. W. CLARICOATES. LEINS:R.




A Bradford Pal, William Claricoates was born on 16 February 1873 at 150 Belgrave Gate, Leicester. He was the son of Robert Claricoates and his wife Jane, formerly Taylor. According to the 1881 England census he was 8 years old and living with his parents and siblings at 28 Pasture Lane, St Margaret’s, Leicester. His father was a Shoe Maker by trade whilst his mother was a Dressmaker. Older sister Ada, 16, was a Factory Hand whilst Charles, 10, and William were both at school.



William, like so many of his peers, wasn’t shy about fabricating his age when the need arose. This was the case seven years later when at Leicester on 31 October 1888, he completed attestation forms for service in the army. Although only 15 years of age (according to his date of birth) he claimed to be 18 years and one month old when he signed on for 7 years with the Colours and 5 years with the Reserve.

Physically, he was described as being 5 feet 5 ½ inches in height with a weight of 116 lbs, a fresh complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. A member of the Church of England, he sported a number of tattoos – a bracelet on his right wrist, crossed flags and an anchor plus an indistinct tattoo on his left forearm and an anchor on the back of his left hand. A Moulder by occupation, he was assigned to the West Yorkshire Regiment and was initially posted to the Depot before being posted to the 1st Battalion on 21 February 1889 with no. 2327 and the rank of Private.

He was promoted to Lance Corporal on 12 June 1893 and returned to the Depot on 30 September of that year. Advancement to Corporal came on 1 May 1895, along with a posting to the Provisional Battalion two weeks later on 19 May 1895. Having completed his seven years with the Colours, Claricoates was placed on the Reserve on 31 October 1895. He had made good use of his time in uniform, being awarded a Third Class Certificate of Education at York on 18 December 1893 and a Second Class Certificate of Education, also at York, on 28 March 1894. All of the aforementioned service was in the United Kingdom.

Temporarily out of uniform, Claricoates found employment with the Midland Railways entering their employ on 27 December 1895. Appointed as an Assistant Caretaker at the Langley Mill Station in Nottinghamshire at a rate of 16/- per day his service wasn’t destined to be a lengthy one – he resigned on 27 March 1896. Intriguingly he was declared to be 25 years old on his last birthday – 25 September 1895 – thereby perpetuating the myth that he was born in 1870. He was also described as being 5 feet 7 inches in height.

There was time for romance as well – at Christ Church in Worley, Essex on 14 October 1897 he wed Frances Pender who was to give him a number of children in the years that followed.

As the 19th century drew to an end the spectre of war began to loom large. The two Boer Republics of the Transvaal and her neighbour the Orange Free State in far away South Africa declared war on Great Britain on 11 October 1899 and, in preparation for the inevitable, the various regiments called up their Reserves. Claricoates was recalled on 9 October 1899. A short two weeks later he, and the 2nd Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment, sailed on the Roslin Castle on 19th October 1899, and arrived at the Cape about 8th November and at Durban about the 11th. Along with the 2nd Queen's, 2nd Devons, and 2nd East Surrey, they then formed the 2nd Brigade under Major General Hildyard.

Their baptism of fire, as it were, was at Willow Grange neat Estcourt on 22nd November, when Hildyard made the night attack on Joubert's people. The West Yorks had the place of honour and reportedly did well. In his report, dated 24th November 1899, General Hildyard said, "Colonel Kitchener, West Yorkshire Regiment, led the assaulting force with energy and judgment, and all ranks of the 2nd Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment behaved admirably". The losses of the battalion were approximately 10 men killed, 1 officer and 50 men wounded.

At Venter's Spruit, in the run-up to the epic battle of Spionkop, the battalion had some very severe fighting on the left of Warren's force, particularly on 21st January. One company got so far in advance of the general line that they had to remain isolated till nightfall. That day the battalion lost 1 officer and 5 men killed, and 1 officer and over 40 men wounded.

What followed was a lull in the campaign with Buller, having been repulsed twice in his efforts to relieve Ladysmith, licking his wounds whilst pondering his next move. This was to come at the beginning of February 1900 when, at Vaal Krantz, the battalion held the right of the hill, and were badly bothered all the 7th February by rifle and shell fire, but held their ground without a murmur. This was, once more, to no avail, as Buller ignominiously ordered his army back across the Tugela.



His fourth and final attempt, ultimately crowned with success, was in the great combat between 13th and 27th February, known as the battle of Pieter’s Hill, where the West Yorks were constantly in the thick of things. In his despatch of 14th March General Buller says: "The 2nd Brigade crossed the nek and assaulted Monte Cristo, the steep crags of which were brilliantly carried after considerable resistance by the West Yorkshire and Queen's Regiments. Captain T H Berney, West Yorkshire Regiment, a most gallant officer, led the assault and was the first man up. He was, I regret to say, shot through the head as he got to the top". The battalion's magnificent attack on Railway Hill on the afternoon of the 27th greatly assisted to set the long doubtful issue at rest. That day the battalion was temporarily attached to the Lancashire Brigade, the brigadier being their own former Colonel F W Kitchener.

The capture of Railway Hill will always be one of the proudest of the regiment's feats; and it must be remembered that the task was designed for two battalions, that by an accident it was left to this battalion alone, and they did it. Captain Conwyn Mansell-Jones was awarded the VC for "his self-sacrificing devotion to duty at a critical moment" in the action. Seven officers and 9 non-commissioned officers and men were mentioned by General Buller and General Warren for exceptional gallantry, 4 of the latter being recommended for the distinguished conduct medal. The losses of the battalion on the fourteen days' fighting were approximately 1 officer and 6 men killed, 6 officers and 85 men wounded.

Ladysmith was relieved the next day and Claricoates, fortunately emerging unscathed from the conflict, was returned home to England on 30 April 1900 – at which time the battalion were recuperating after their recent exertions and before they tackled the last stretch of the fighting in Natal.

Once home Claricoates was posted to the Depot and, availing himself of the opportunity, he re-engaged for the West Yorks Regiment on 9 November 1900 “for such time as shall complete 21 years service.” Posted to the 2nd Battalion again on 8 April 1903, to coincide with a return posting to South Africa, he was promoted from Lance Sergeant to Sergeant on 25 July 1903 and, on the same day, was appointed Sergeant Master Cook – having been awarded his certificate at Aldershot on 6 April 1903. All the while his residential address around this time was “Old White Swan Hotel,” Goodramgate, York – a later address was 3 Russell Square, Lancaster.

Claricoates’ second stint in South Africa was a far cry from that during the Boer War. There were now no Boers to fight and the Battalion’s role would have been very much a passive one. He was returned to the United Kingdom on 2 June 1904 and was posted to the Permanent Staff of the 4th Battalion on 20 January 1905. Having achieved his goal of 21 years service, he was discharged at York, time served, with a Character rating of Exemplary, on 7 April 1910. Now 39 years and 6 months old he had grown in stature and was now 5 feet 8 inches tall. By way of Special Qualifications for employment in civil life, it was stated that he had been employed as Mess Sergeant in the Officers Mess (Depot)

At the time of the 1911 England census he was a Boarder in the house of Sarah Coates, 54 Fenton Street, Lancaster. Stated to be an Army Pensioner, there was no sign of his wife and children. Later that year his request for the award of the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was rebuffed. On 13 December 1911, the War Office wrote to The Officer in Charge of Infantry Records, York advising that,

“I am directed to inform you that an application for the grant of the medal for Long Service and Good Conduct has been received in this department from Mr W. Claricoates, late no. 2327, Sergeant, 4th Battn. West Yorkshire Regiment. This application has been refused, as Mr Claricoates had not served for 18 years with the Colours.

From a perusal of the discharge documents, it is observed that this non-commissioned officer incurred an entry of “Severe Reprimand” on 4th November 1902, and, as he was discharged on the 7th April 1910, he was not 9 years clear of this entry, and therefore not eligible for the “Exemplary” character awarded on final discharge.

It is now, however, not possible to amend the discharge certificate, but I am to request that the greatest care may be exercised in assessing character awarded to soldiers on discharge in future.”

Claricoates could have been forgiven for thinking that, after such long service, he was “done” with a life in uniform. Unfortunately Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany had other ideas and, after much sabre-rattling, declared war on Great Britain on 4 August 1914. Despite his frustration at not being granted the medal referred to above, Claricoates seems to have always put duty first. His country needed him and he was not wont to let her down. On 11 December 1914, whilst living in Haggard Street, Trim, County Meath, he applied for Short Service (For the Duration of the War) and was assigned to the 18th (Service) Battalion of his old regiment, the West Yorks, with No. 18- 1654 and the rank of Sergeant.

Now 44 years old he was no longer in the first flush of youth but was ready, willing and able to “do his bit.” On 6 December 1915 he embarked for Egypt as part of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force aboard the Empress of Britain and, having sailed into Alexandra Bay on the 21st, disembarked on 22 December. The 18th Battalion remained in a tented camp just outside Port Said until 1 January 1916 when they headed for Kantara, a small town on the east bank of the Suez Canal. From there they moved into the desert, to a place known as “Point 70” where they were employed on outpost duties and the construction of defences.

After a trying time with poor rations and exposure to the heat, sand and flies, Claricoates sailed from Port Said on 5 March 1916 bound for Marseilles in France. Once disembarked his Battalion entrained for Pont Remy near Abbeville and marched from there to Citerne where they remained for two weeks. It began to snow which was in sharp contrast to the extreme heat they had become accustomed to. On 25 March they marched to the Beaumont-Hamel area, finally going into billets at Bus-les-Artois at the beginning of April. On 19 April the 18th Battalion occupied the right sub-sector south of the Serre Road, facing Redan Ridge and the Quadrilateral Redoubt.

Here their tours of duty alternated between four days in the front line followed by four days in the support trenches and then a few days in the Reserve. The main activities took place at night when wiring parties were sent out with appropriate covering to explore and identify German positions. On 19 June the 93rd Brigade, of which the 18th West Yorks were part, headed for Gezaincourt in preparation for the coming offensive, the so-called "Big Push” which would end the war. The “fourth bound” as it was known was allocated to the 18th Battalion – this was to the Blue Line – with the objective being to take the German trench at the junction of Pendant Valley East and Puiseux Trench. In order to facilitate the attack five days of heavy bombardment were to soften up the Germans.



On 30 June the Battalion was ordered to advance to the front line. The War Diary for 1 July 1916 – the first day of the Somme offensive read thus:

“Bus-les-Artois, In the Field –

4.30 a.m. Battalion in position in assembly trenches. Some casualties en route and whilst in these trenches.

8.40 a.m. – Battalion left assembly trenches. Under heavy machine gun fire from the time of leaving dead ground up to our front line trenches, and an intense barrage of shrapnel and H.E. Casualties very heavy. Brigade advance was held up in front of German wire but, 15th, 16th, 18th West Yorks advanced as if on parade. One platoon of “B” Company reported to have reached the German wire, under Lt Akam. Owing to the unexpected resistance of the enemy the Brigade was compelled to retire, and a verbal message to this effect was received. For a time the first and second line were vacated, and the Battalion was broken up through retiring through our trenches.

The majority of our casualties occurred between LEEDS trench and our own wire, and were due chiefly to machine gun fire from flank and front. Three very heavy barrages were formed along our line, which hampered the advance and caused other casualties before reaching LEEDS trench. A number of casualties were also caused by indirect frontal machine gun fire. Approx total casualties: 16 officers, 400 Other ranks.”


Advances Dressing Station Somme 1 July 1916

Of the casualties was none other than William Claricoates – with a Gun Shot Wound to his Right Shoulder. He was evacuated to a Casualty Clearing Station nearby, treated at the Australian General Hospital on 3 July and repatriated to England on 4 July 1916. After 336 days at home he was transferred to the “P” Reserve on 2 June 1917, enrolled as a National Service Volunteer and discharged, no longer physically fit for war service, on 10 January 1918. He was awarded the Silver War Badge no. 125028 for Wounds received. His discharge address was Princes Street, Corbridge.

Prior to this Claricoates had taken up the cudgels with regard to his Long Service Medal once more. From Whitley Bay on 24 May 1917, the O.C. 3rd West Yorkshire Regiment had penned a Memorandum to Infantry Record Office, York asking if they “would kindly inform me if this man fulfils the required conditions for the grant of the G.C. Medal. This N.C.O. is a re-enlisted pensioner and is due for transfer to the “P” Army Reserve on the 2nd Approx.” To this the Infantry Records Office replied that, “No previous application has been made as Sgt Claricoates had not sufficient service for the award on the previous application.”

From home in Corbridge-on-Tyne on 8 August 1918 Claricoates himself wrote to the Records Office as follows:

“Dear Sir – On getting my discharge in June 1917 I entered my name at the Orderly Room at Whitley Bay (giving all particulars) for application for Long Service & Good Conduct Medal. I wrote the O.C. again in February 1918 on the subject and received a reply from Capt. A.W. Wilson, Adjt., that my name had been forwarded to Record Office York, and that I should receive information some time in June, it is now August and I have heard none.”

A flurry of correspondence followed, including a Memorandum from the War Office in September 1918 wherein it was divulged that Claricoates had served in the Leinster Regiment and asking for his number in the same. In reply it was revealed that his number whilst with the Leinster’s was 1666 and that he had been transferred from that Regiment to the West Yorks on 13 October 1915.

This was all behind the scenes prompting Claricoates to write again on 29 November 1918:

“Dear Sir – Reference to your letter of 9 August 1918 re: Long Service Medal. You state the Board of Officers recommended my …, but I have not yet received either medal or any word about same. I would thank you very kindly if you could furnish me with some information concerning same as it is 1 ½ years since I first entered my name for it.

At the same time may I ask if I may wear the ribbon for the 14 & 15 Star and also if the Kings Certificate has been posted to discharged men as I have not received mine yet.

Yours in anticipation

Wm. Claricoates, Late Sergeant, W. Yorks Regt.”

Sanity finally prevailed and he received a Memorandum dated 22 April 1919 wherein he was advised that the medal had been issued on 29 October 1918 and forwarded to Captain G. MacGillicuddy on 4 November 1918. Claricoates signed an acknowledgement of receipt for this medal on 7 May 1919.

At this juncture it is probably worth noting that of the residents at home with Claricoates in the Boarding House in 54 Fenton Street, Leeds in the 1911 census – one Frank Ibbetson was Killed in Action with the 1st/7th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment on 21 July 1916. Perhaps illustrating just how many people were affected by the war.

The issue of his Long Service medal resolved, Claricoates appeared next in the 1921 England census. He was still living in Princes Street, Corbridge, the house of one Robert Atkin. Still without his family he was stated to be an Army Pensioner and with the Board of Trade (out of work)


Claricoates seated to the left sporting a number of bogus medals

The Hexham Courant of Saturday, May 1818, 1929 carried an article and photo wherein Claricoates appeared. It read thus:

“Mr W. Claricoates is a veteran of several campaigns, as his show of medals testifies. He enlisted in 1888; in the Prince of Wales’ Own West Yorkshire Regiment and served with his battalion in India for several years. His regiment was at Gibraltar on the way home from India when trouble broke out on the West Coast of Africa, and he served through the Ashanti campaign of 1895 and 1896. Several years in South Africa followed, and Claricoates holds both the King and Queens medals for the South African War.

At the outbreak of the European War he was appointed a Staff Sergeant Instructor in one of the new Kitchener battalions, and after service with them in Egypt, he went with the 18th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment to France. He was disabled on July 1st 1916 on the first day of the battle of the Somme, while holding the acting rank of Regimental Sergeant Major. He was discharged from the Army in 1919 as unfit for further service.

Mr Claricoates has had the unique experience of serving on Guards of Honour for three generations of Princes of Wales. At Delhi he served as Guard of Honour for the late King Edward, then Prince of Wales, and later for our present sovereign at York, before he ascended the throne, and on Tuesday, he completed a record of which any man might well be proud.

Mr Claricoates has been in business in Hexham as a firewood dealer and fire-lighter manufacturer for some years, trading under the name of W. Clarry.”

There are a number of inaccuracies in this account – either by the reporter or, more likely, by Claricoates himself. For a start his service file makes no mention of service in India and, consequently, no service in the Ashanti War in West Africa. In point of fact he never left Great Britain’s shores in the period the Fourth Ashanti War was fought, being in the employ of the Midland Railways whilst on the Reserve for the Army. That he was never in India would then mean that he was never a Guard of Honour to Prince Edward (later King Edward VII). Of course, as previously stated, one could embellish one’s record almost without fear of being discovered in a day and age where there were no online records to check at the press of a button.

Another give- away is the “rack” of medals adorning Claricoates jacket in the photograph that accompanied the article. He appears to have far too many medals for the campaigns we know he was present at.

That aside, Claricoates made the newspapers for a second time when he was referenced in the Leicester Daily Mercury of 24 May 1938. Under the headline “His Leicester Relatives May Think He Died In The War,” the article read as follows:

“An old soldier disabled in the Great War believes he may have relatives in Leicester who think he was Killed in Action – William Claricoates was born in Belgrave Gate, Leicester, 66 years ago, and joined the Army at the age of 16. He served in South Africa, and since coming back to this country he has not written to or received a letter from any relative in Leicester. It is 33 years since he was last in the city.

Mr Claricoates was latterly an acting Sergeant Major, and he was disabled during the Great War, in July, 1916. He is now living in Hexham-on-Tyne, and has written to the secretary of the Leicester British Legion to see if he can inform him whether any relatives are here. He himself was the youngest in the family, but believes he has nephews in Leicester.”



The very next day, 25th May 1938, a follow-up article was placed in the same publication. Under the heading “Relative Of Long-Lost Soldier” it read thus:

“Sister-in-Law comes forward – Following the story, in last night’s Leicester Mercury, of the old soldier who thinks he may have relatives in Leicester who believe he was killed in the Great War, he is being put in touch with the sister-in-law with whom he stayed for eight weeks on his return from the Boer War, and who had given him up for dead long ago.

William Claricoates, of Hexham-on-Tyne, a native of Leicester, wrote to the British Legion asking them if they could put him in touch with any relatives in Leicester. It was 33 years, he said, since he was last in the town, and not once during that time had he heard from them or they from him. He was wounded in 1916, and he thought they might have concluded that he had been killed.

Today, Mrs Rose Claricoates, of 2 Court A, Gray Street, Leicester, called at the Leicester Mercury’s offices. She saw the story last night, and at once realised that William Claricoates was her husband’s younger brother. He stayed with them in Leicester when he returned from South Africa, but she has not heard of him since, and concluded that he was dead. Her eldest son was named after him. Her husband died 32 years ago.

William Claricoates believed there were only nephews and nieces left. He thought he was the last of his generation of Claricoates – and Mrs Rose Claricoates thought SHE was.”

Claricoates soldiered on after this revelation and was next seen in the 1939 Register where he was recorded as being an Incapacitated Army Pensioner Retired, living at 1 Round Close, Hexham. With him was his second wife, Annie Mary whom he had married in 1925 after his first wife passed away in Ireland (the suspicion was that they were separated).

This intriguing and complex man passed away at his residence, 1 Round Close, on 20 January 1945 from Chronic Myocarditis. He was 72 years of age and described as Sergeant, West Yorks Regt. Retired. His daughter advised the authorities of his demise.

Acknowledgements:

- The Bradford Pals by Ralph N Hudson
- Various newspapers referred to in the text.
- Public Health, Inequalities, and Stronger Communities Directorate, Northumberland CC., Hexham Library & Tourist Information Centre – Andrew and Deborah.
- Find My Past & Ancestry