Hotchkin

Private Ernest Hotchkin,1225, 12th East Yorkshire Regiment, and his brother Private Fred Hotchkin, 1226, 12th East Yorkshire Regiment, joined together and also died together on the 13th November 1916. They were the sons of Mark and Minnie Hotchkin, who lived at 7 Sophia’s Terrace, Spyvee Street, Hull. They were aged 28 and 22 years respectively.

Betts

Pte. George Edward Betts, 12th EYR, (20 years) and brother, John Betts, 8th EYR, (24 years), were killed on the 13th November 1916. Both were sons of Joshua & Harriet Betts, 6 Lucas Square, Sykes Street, Hull.John Betts lived with his wife Margaret & their two children nearby, at 4 Carlton Place, Francis Street, Hull.Incidentally, … Read more

A Global War

We now call it the First World War or World War One. Contemporaries certainly thought it was a world war and called it that. The term “World War” (Weltkrieg) first appeared in Germany in 1914. The French and British referred to the war as “La Grande Guerre” or the “Great War”, but also adopted the term … Read more

The Western Front

While fighting during WW1 spanned the globe, the Western Front was the primary focus of Britain’s war. The ‘Western Front’ marked the furthest German advances. It was a 400 mile battle line, extending from the North Sea coast at Nieuwpoort, to the Swiss border. The French held about 360 miles of this line and carried much of … Read more

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OPPY WOOD, 3rd May 1917 – The Hull Pals Attack The Capture of Oppy Wood was an engagement, North East of Arras, between May and June 1917. The Germans were in possession of a fortified wood to the west of the village of Oppy, which overlooked British positions. The wood was 1-acre (0.40 ha) in area and contained many German observation … Read more

Influenza Epidemic 1918-1919

A separate, but related event to the Great War, was the great 1918 flu pandemic. It exclusively attacked human beings and not other animals. This deadly flu virus infected more than one-third of the world’s population, and within months had killed more than 50 million people – three times as many in World War I … Read more

Hull before 1914

Kingston Upon Hull was founded over 700 years ago, by Monks from Meaux Abbey, who used the deep, wide, Humber, to trade wool into Europe. Hull has had a long and varied history since then and is the place best known for abolishing slavery and where the English Civil war began. However, it was not … Read more