Britton, Joseph

BORN HULL 1884. ENLISTED HULL. LISTED ON ST MATHEWS CHURCH, BOULEVARD.
Hull Pals Memorial Post. PRIVATE JOSEPH BRITTON 27871. Born 1884, Joseph was the eldest of two sons to Jane Britton of 118 Adelaide Street, Hessle Road, Hull. There is no record of his father and I suspect he died before Joseph even knew him. A Fish Worker on the docks by trade, he enlisted in December 1915, a few precious days before the dreaded Conscription Act became law, and originally entered the 4th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment before arriving with the Pals in mid-1918. Thanks to the memoirs of Private Pearson we know exactly how Joseph came to his end. He is listed as having died of wounds on 5th September 1918, though his story is both tragic and ironic, for it was a dreadful accident. The battalion came out of the front line on the 5th and was bound for a period of rest near Steenwerck station. En route someone found what was thought to be a dud shell and threw it. The shell exploded killing Joseph and injuring six others. The thrower received only minor wounds and must have felt dreadful. It was originally thought that it was caused by a German booby trap, but further investigations put it down to plain old bad luck and judgement. Joseph is buried at Longuenesse Souvenir Cemetery in St. Omer; he was 33 years old.
Joseph William Britton was the son of Joseph Britton & Jane Elizabeth Clay. Joseph Snr was a fisherman and died at an early age before Joseph Jnr was able to forge a relationship with him. Sadly Jane also died at an early age passing away in 1891 leaving Joseph living with his paternal grandmother Mary and a young girl Ada who may perhaps have been Joseph’s younger sister – she may have been a half sister or a full sister as I haven’t been able to trace his father’s death record as yet. We do know that he had an older sister Marian Elizabeth who died in infancy and also a younger brother George Foster Britton who lived St Marks Street. Sadly George also died during the war serving as a Marine Engineer in 1918, following complications of influenza.