Kingston upon Hull War Memorial 1914 - 1918
The story of Hull in World War 1
Over, 7,500 Hull men died in the First World War. Over 1,200 of these were sailors working with the fishing fleet, or serving with the Merchantile Marine, the Royal Navy and the Royal Navy Reserve. They carried out vital war work, bringing in supplies, transporting troops and minesweeping the seas
There were nearly another 1,500 men who were born in Hull, but who lived elsewhere. They died fighting for Australia, Canada, New Zealand and America. There are many others, who enlisted in Hull or who were associated with the City, but are not usually remembered on Hull war memorials. As Hull had four large hospitals and was the port of entry for repatriated prisoner of wars, servicemen from all over the world are buried in Hull. The Kingston Upon Hull Memorial aims to remember all those with a Hull connection who died in the First World War.
There are over a hundred families on the Hull Memorial that lost two or more of their family. Sometimes fathers, sons and brothers were lost on the same day. Some families lost three sons, other Hull families lost four sons, including all their children in the First World War. At least one in six Hull families lost a direct relative. Many others would lose close friends, work colleagues or others known to them. Each death was irreplaceable and an individual tragedy for someone.
Unfortunately, not all deaths were recorded in official casualty figures, particularly if soldiers died of sickness, accidents or were discharged home with wounds, of illness. By 1924 the Ministry of Pensions reported that there were 20,000 war wounded living in Hull. Although they survived the war, they are rarely recorded on war memorials. What follows here are snippets of some of those people who died, whose deaths were reported in the local newspapers.
Deckhand, Harold Moisey, died at sea on 16th March 1915, aged 28. His younger brother, Pte, John Moisey, Manchester Regiment, died a few weeks later on 4th June 1915, at Gallipoli, aged just 18 years old. They were the sons of Mr Albert Henry and Mrs Louisa Ann Moisey, 28 Commerce Lane, Hessle Road, Hull.
Brothers George and John Thomas Clare, died in 1917 & 1918 respectively. They were the sons of Thomas and Margaret Clare in Humber Street, Hull.
Brothers Arthur and Charles Snowley, both lived at 43 Wellington Lane and died within 9 months of each other in 1917.
Cpl, John Ernest Porter, 1/4th EYR lived at 5 Clifton Gardens, St Georges Road. He had been a Hull Policeman before the war and was killed in action on the 27th May 1918, aged 25. His younger brother, Robert Henry Porter had previously been killed in action on the 10th May 1916, aged 17. They … Read more
Pte, Ernest Sleight, 9th York and Lancaster Regiment died 9th June 1917 at Ypres, aged 21. His brother Pte, George Sleight, 10th East Yorkshires was killed on the 12th April 1918 aged 29 years. Their father Thomas was a Shopkeeper who lived at 351 Holderness Road.
Ernest Carmichael, was lost on the 20th May 1917 when the Hull steam ship ‘Tycho’ bound from Bombay to Hull was sank by a torpedo from UBoat 40. His brother William Albert Carmichael, was lost on the 21st December 1916 when the Hull trawler ‘St Ives’ was mined in the English Channel off Falmouth, Cornwall. … Read more
More Johnson brothers include, Private, Clifford Hardy Johnson, Durham Light Infantry, lost in action, on 25th October1918, aged 19 years old. He is buried at Tyne Cot cemetery along alond with nearly 12,000 others. His brother, Sgt, Fred Walter Johnson, 3rd EYR, died at Archangel, Russia, on the 19th February 1919. He is commemorated here … Read more
Two more teenage brothers, Arthur William Johnson aged 15, and John Edward Johnson aged 17 died together on 21st May 1915, when the Hull Trawler ‘Sabrina’ struck a mine in the North Sea. They were the sons of John Edward and Florence Ada Johnson, who lived at 343 Hawthorne Avenue.
Pte, Alfred Fenton Johnson, 7th EYR was killed at Arras on 21/3/1918, aged 21. His brother, George Edward Johnson had died at sea on the 17th May 1917, aged only 15 years old. They were the sons of Mr Christopher Bacon and Mrs Louisa Johnson and lived at 426 Beverley Road
Pte, Alfred John Edward Piggott had emigrated from Hull and died fighting for Canada at Vimy Ridge on the 6th September 1916. His brother Fred Piggott was killed on the 18th September 1916 serving with Border Regiment on the Somme. His body was never recovered and he is recorded as missing on the Thiepval memorial … Read more
