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Robert READ

Main CPGW Record

Surname: READ

Forename(s): Robert

Place of Birth: Bradford, Yorkshire

Service No: 12837

Rank: Private

Regiment / Corps / Service: Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding Regiment)

Battalion / Unit: 'D' Coy 9th (Service) Battalion

Division: 17th (Northern) Division

Age: 28

Date of Death: 1915-12-20

Awards: ---

CWGC Grave / Memorial Reference: IV. A. 24A.

CWGC Cemetery: LIJSSENTHOEK MILITARY CEMETERY

CWGC Memorial: ---

Non-CWGC Burial: ---

Local War Memorial: SILSDEN, YORKSHIRE

Additional Information:

Robert Read was the son of William and Ellen Read, née Baldwin. William was born at March, Cambridgeshire and Ellen at Silsden, Yorkshire.

1891 Silsden, Yorkshire Census: 20, Bridge Street - Robert Reed, aged 4 years, born Silsden, son of William and Ellen Reed.

1901 Silsden, Yorkshire Census: 4, North Street - Robert Read, aged 13 years, born Bradford, Yorkshire, son of William and Ellen Read.

1911 Silsden, Yorkshire Census: 34, Keighley Road - Robert Read, aged 23 years, born Bradford, Yorkshire, son of Ellen Read (married).

British Army WW1 Medal Rolls Index Cards: Pte Robert Read, 12837, W. Rid. Rgt. Theatre of War first served in: 1 - France. Date of entry therein: 15.7.15. Died 20.12.15.

British Army WW1 Medal and Award Rolls: Pte Robert Read, 12837, 9 W. Rid. R. D. of W. 20.12.15.

Data Source: Craven’s Part in the Great War - original CPGW book entry

View Entry in CPGW Book

Entry in West Yorkshire Pioneer Illustrated War Record:

READ, Robert, aged 28, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Read, 32, Tufton Street, [Silsden], died in hospital in France after being wounded Dec. 19, 1915.

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Private Robert READ

Private Robert READ

Regiment / Corps / Service Badge: Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding Regiment)

Regiment / Corps / Service Badge: Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding Regiment)

Divisional Sign / Service Insignia: 17th (Northern) Division

Divisional Sign / Service Insignia: 17th (Northern) Division

Data from Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914 - 1919 Records

Soldiers Died Data for Soldier Records

Surname: READ

Forename(s): Robert

Born: Bradford, Yorks

Residence:

Enlisted: Silsden, Yorks

Number: 12837

Rank: Private

Regiment: Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)

Battalion: 9th Battalion

Decorations:

Died Date: 20/12/15

Died How: Died of wounds

Theatre of War: France & Flanders

Notes:

Data from Commonwealth War Graves Commission Records

CWGC Data for Soldier Records

Surname: READ

Forename(s): R

Country of Service: United Kingdom

Service Number: 12837

Rank: Private

Regiment: Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)

Unit: 9th Bn.

Age: 28

Awards:

Died Date: 20/12/1915

Additional Information: Son of Mr. and Mrs. William Read, of 70, Tufton St., Silsden, Keighley, Yorks. (CWGC Headstone Personal Inscription: WE SHALL MEET AGAIN)

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Craven Herald and Wensleydale Standard Logo

31 December 1915

SILSDEN – MACHINE GUN PALS KILLED AND WOUNDED

News was received at Keighley on Tuesday that Pte. Lyndon Hanson Hall, 22, of Cross Street, Keighley, and a member of the First Sixth Battalion, Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, had died from the effects of poisonous gas. Pte. Hall enlisted in the Territorials shortly after the outbreak of war, and went out to France in April last. He was well known both in Keighley and Silsden, and particularly in the latter place where he had resided for some time. Second Lieut. F. Longden Smith, writing to his mother in a letter dated December 22nd. states:– “I cannot say how sorry I am to have to write and tell you that your son has died from the effects of gas poisoning received last Sunday. He was with the Machine Gun Section and close up in support, and the gas was on them before they could get their gas helmets on. He was always a cheerful and willing worker. You could always be quite sure that if he was in charge of a gun team the gun would be in good working order and always well manned. On behalf of the N.C.O.’s and men let me offer you my deepest sympathy in your great loss.”

Pte. Hall was a member of the same team as Pte. Joseph Dunn to whom we refer as being wounded. They have been pals at the Front for some time.

Pte. Robert Reed, of the 9th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, and also of Silsden, is reported to have been killed in France – wounded one day and died the next.

07 January 1916

SILSDEN – TENTH SILSDEN SOLDIER KILLED

Mr. and Mrs. William Read, of 32 Tufton Street, Silsden, have received word that their only son Pte. Robert Read of the 9th Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, D Company, has died in hospital from wounds received on December 19th. Capt. Marsden Robertson, in a letter to his parents, states:–
“I am very sorry to have to tell you that your son died in hospital shortly after he was wounded on the 19th December during the movement forward of the Battalion under very heavy fire. He was badly hit in the back and lost a lot of blood, but the doctor did what he could to relieve his pain. I am full of sympathy that your Christmas time should be clouded by this sorrow, and I am sorry myself to lose another plucky man from the company.”

Pte. Read, who was 28 years of age, enlisted soon after the war broke out and went out to France in July last. He was formerly employed at Messrs. John Dixon and Sons, bobbin works, Steeton.
In his last letter home to his parents he stated that he was ‘all right and in the pink.’

14 January 1916

SILSDEN – Service in Memory of Fallen

A service in memory of two Silsden soldiers, Private Nelson Holmes of the 6th West Riding Regiment, and son of Mr. Timothy Holmes, of 67, Aire View, Silsden, whose death took place on the Western Front on December 14th, and Private Robt. Read, of the 9th West Riding Regiment D Company, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Read, of 32, Tufton Street, who died in hospital from wounds received on December 19th, was held at the Parish Church on Sunday morning. There was a large congregation. During the service special lessons were read and hymns sung. The Vicar (Rev. E.E. Peters) conducted the service, preaching from 1 Corinthians xiii., 12 and 13.

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West Yorkshire Pioneer Logo

31 December 1915

Tenth Silsden Soldier Killed

Information has been received of the death of Pte. Robert Read, of the 9th Battalion, Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, the only son of Mr. And Mrs. Read, of 32, Tufton Street, Silsden. The sad news was received in a letter by Mrs. Wm. Baldwin, Bolton Road, Silsden, from her son, Sergt, John Baldwin, of 9th Battalion, Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, who had been home for a few days on furlough from the Front, and left Silsden on Wednesday of last week for the Front again. The letter, which is dated, Dec. 25th, states:– “I am sending you a few lines to let you know that I arrived back safe and sound, but my regiment have lost a lot of men last Sunday in these gas attacks at Ypres. So you see lots of lads I know have passed away. You will have got to hear about Robert Read. He was very badly wounded, and passed away the day after I arrived, by what I can get to hear, so that adds another to the list for our village.”

Pte. Read, who was only 28 years of age, enlisted on the 7th of September of last year. He served a period of training at Skipton, Wimbourne, and Winchester, leaving the latter place to go to the Front in July last. This makes the tenth Silsden soldier who has given his life for his country.

14 January 1916

SILSDEN

MEMORIAL SERVICE – An in memoriam service was held on Sunday morning last at the Silsden Parish Church for the late Private Nelson Holmes, 6th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, and Private Robert Read, 9th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, who were killed in action. Special hymns and psalms were sung, and an appropriate sermon was preached by the Vicar.

28 July 1916

SILSDEN’S GALLANT HEROES

Since the war commenced Silsden has lost fourteen of her gallant fighting sons while serving their King and Country. Their names are:–Pte. Ben Hodgson, Pte. Rhodes Spence, Pte. Isaac Wade, Pte. J. Faulkner, Pte. Nelson Holmes, Gunner Edward Lund, Pte. Ernest Hustwick, Pte. Wm. Gill, Pte. Harold Snoddin [Snowden] (killed on the railway while on guard duty in the country), Pte. Thomas Stanley Wrigglesworth, Pte. John Gill, Sergt. John Baldwin, Pte. Robt. Reed, and Pte. Herbert Harper.

05 January 1917

INTERCESSION AND MEMORIAL SERVICE AT SILSDEN – Impressive Sermon by Rev. W. Dickinson

An intercession and memorial service for the fallen heroes in the war was held at the Silsden Primitive Methodist Church on Sunday evening last. There was a large congregation, and the officiating minister was Rev. Wm. Dickinson (pastor). During the service the hymns 'O God our help in ages past,’ ‘Lord God of hosts, Whose Almighty hand,’ ‘God the all terrible! King Who ordainest,’ and ‘When wilt Thou save the people’ were sung. Miss Clara Fortune also ably sang the solo ‘O rest in the Lord,’ and at the close of the service the organist (Mr. Bernard Longbottom) played the ‘Dead march’ in ‘Saul,’ and the National Anthem was sung.

WAR A HARMFUL THING

Preaching from the text Psalm 46, 9th verse, ‘He maketh wars to cease unto the ends of the earth,’ Mr. Dickinson said it seemed almost superfluous to say in this sad day in which we lived that war was a serious and harmful thing. It was, however, a great outstanding fact. When they looked at the expense even in times of peace, when nations made preparations for war, it was even then a great expense, but in days of actual warfare as to-day, when the nation was spending at least £5,000,000 a day, then it was that they were reminded that war was a serious thing from a financial point of view. They tried to have dreams or visions as to what would have been done with that money for philanthropic purposes and for the social amelioration of the people of this country, but the country had put those dreams or visions in the back ground. Then we had the cruelty of it, and the passions that it excited. It marched to hunger and thirst and wounds and death. Then we had the bereavements. Children were made orphans, women were made widows, and parents mourned over children and many were left childless. Then we also had the deplorable feelings produced by war, feeling of revenge, feelings that produced quarrelsomeness, a desire for power and an unholy lust of ambition. That was seen by the works of the great Napoleon, and also by the Kaiser and the Prussian War Lords. The question that now forced itself to the front was ‘Is all war morally wrong?’ We had a very high ideal, and we believed that war was all wrong. They read in the Old Book that David was not allowed to build the temple of the Lord because his hands had been stained by blood, and he was spoken of as a man of war. But, in these days we had to look at actual facts. What was the actual state today? When one side would prepare for war and was determined to declare war, what then could we do? That great poet in Russia called Tolstoy preached the doctrine of being passive, but when we came to think of it, could we be passive? If our homes were to be destroyed and our wives and children to be taken from us, could we be passive? Did it not arouse within us that spirit of manhood that we must assert ourselves and that we must fight? If we were not prepared to do that, all he could think was that we were cowards. They ought to bury their heads and be ashamed of themselves. In days of peace with one breath they would denounce all war, and yet in the very next breath they would ask the question why the Congo atrocities were not stopped even if force were necessary. To-day they looked upon a devastated Serbia, Montenegro, Belgium, and alas Roumania, and they came to the conclusion that there were worse things than war – Armenia and the Congo, and the slavery of the South Americans; and what would have been the slavery of Europe had it not been for the call to arms in a cause that was just and righteous?

A JUST AND RIGHTEOUS CAUSE

If it were not for that conviction that the cause for which they were at war was just and righteous, many of them would have failed to preach, to pray, or to look to God. But, it was that which gave them strength that they looked to him Who was the present help and refuge in their trouble. In their fight against war whom should they attack? Often in the past the attack was made upon the soldier. They could not do that to-day as far as this country war concerned. They had a great civilian army, and they were fighting for freedom, for righteousness, and for justice. They never wanted to be soldiers, they never wanted to fight, but the call had come and they could do no other. Who made war, and why should there be war? Not the soldier. In the days that were gone, it was more the civilian than the soldier, the civilian because he was represented by his Parliament and that Parliament as the representative of the civilian often made war, because the lust for power and the lust for gold had got hold of them. Then in the commercial world, amongst what was known as the ruling classes, there was generally speaking a disposition to make war because there was the old saying that trade followed the flag. The soldier fought because he was ordered to do. It was neither Roberts, Kitchener, nor Buller who made the Boer War. If anybody made it, it was Kruger, Milner, and Chamberlain, and it was made because they had greed for power, and an unholy ambition and wish for gold. If they went back through the pages of history, they would find that that was the source of war as far as this country was concerned. He had come to the conclusion that the man who shouted for war had an axe to grind. The man who shouted for war ought to be made to go and face the music and not to send others. What did soldiery stand for? Generally speaking it stood for the aggressive, the quarrelsome, the brute force. They could not say that of the civilian army that had been raised by this country. They were not aggressive, they were not quarrelsome, and neither could they say that they were asserting brute force. He was sorry to have to say it of the Central Powers where conscription had been reigning for so many years. It was the brute force and the aggressive power that they would have to abolish. But when they had said that, they were bound to come to the conclusion that

SOLDIERY HAS ITS GOOD POINTS

The soldier side by side with the doctor stood to give his life for his country and that was a great deal. He would advise anyone to pause before he sneered at a soldier. He stood between them and the enemy, and if it had not been for the brave men who had stood thus, where would they have been to-day? They had no words too high in their commendation and admiration and love for the civilians of this Empire, who had stood between them and the enemy in this time of crisis. The question came to each one of them what was their position and what were they doing in the national crisis that was before them, and still after all they came to the conclusion that the soldier's life as they saw it to-day was a regrettable necessity, that all those brave men should have to shoulder the musket and defend our shores and fight for the freedom, righteousness, and justice of a cause that none of them disputed. They regretted in this the 20th century that such a thing should have happened. It ought not to have come to pass, and it never would have come to pass if the great Central Powers of Europe had taken heed of the sayings of Christ, and had seen His crucified hands instead of the mailed fist, and if they had listened to His beatitudes instead of the philosophy of the German teachers. How were they to lessen those evils? They must attack the root, that lust for power, that quarrelsome spirit, and that unholy ambition that had dominated the great Central Powers. How were they to attack the root? By educating the people for peace at the proper time, and that perhaps was not just yet. It was an easy matter to give descriptions of the horrors of war, to speak of its abominations, and even to denounce statesmen and people who sanctioned war, but how few people there were who searched for methods by means of which war could be put down and destroyed. When the history of the war and the part which the British Empire had taken in it came to be written – he was not a prophet or the son of a prophet – he ventured to say that the writer would pay a fine testimony to the ex-Foreign Minister of this country (Sir Edward Grey) who night and day at the beginning or before the declaration of war strove with all the brain power he had, and with every ounce of strength, he could put in, to avert this great catastrophe. If to-day he was in the back ground, he would looked upon as one of the finest statesmen this country ever had. On what lines were they to educate people for peace? There was a form of Government not only to arrest this demon war, but to bind him in chains. What was it? A cosmopolitan administration or a great Federal Government of the world. They might be dreamers, but certainly there would come a day either in London, Paris, or New York, when there would be a great Federal Government, and that Government would help them to the day when wars would cease.

THE CHURCH'S ROLL OF HONOUR

Proceeding, Mr. Dickinson said he was sure he was voicing the feelings of all present when he said they sympathised very deeply with the families of Pte. Percy Kellett and Lance-Corpl. T.C. Green, both of whom were in hospital suffering from wounds. They prayed for their speedy recovery, and also that their parents and relatives might he comforted. Then they had Ptes. Bernard Locker and Gannett Longbottom, who were reported as missing, and it was hoped that before long good news would be heard of them. They had to add two other names – Pte. Dan Faulkner and Gunner W.H. Sutcliffe, both of whom had been killed in action – to their list of fallen who had been intimately associated with their church and Sunday-school. Mr. Dickinson then read a list of Silsden soldiers who had died serving their King and Country. They were as follows:– Pte. Harold Snoddin [Snowden], Pte. B. Hodgson, Pte. I. Wade, Pte. R. Spence, Pte. E. Hustwick, Gunner E. Lund, Pte. W. Gill, Pte. J. Faulkner, Pte. N. Holmes, Pte. R. Read, Pte. J. Gill, Pte. S. Wrigglesworth, Sergt. J. Baldwin, Sergt. R. Hill, Pte. Wm. Richmond, Pte. W.H. Teale, Corpl. F. Taylor, Pte. H. Harper, Pte. D. Faulkner, and Gunner W.H.Sutcliffe.

Mr. Dickinson also read the church's roll of honour, which comprised 110 names.

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