Daniel Reynolds was a regular soldier enlisting in 1905 at the age of 19; before that time he had been working with his brothers Harry and Vic at the Whiting works at the top of the Westwood. The family lived in Flemingate Beverley. In 1911, Daniel and his brother Harry were stationed in Hull, another brother Vic served in the Royal Army Medical Corp.
The book published following the closure of Broadgate Hospital, “Across the Westwood, the life and times of Broadgate Hospital”, compiled by Robert Curry in 1991, lists a Mr. D. Reynolds, attendant, missing presumed killed. It is probable that this is the Daniel Reynolds listed on the Walkington War Memorial and the reason why he is commemorated at Walkington. The King’s Royal Rifle Corp would have landed at Le Harve on 13th August, 1914 as part of the British Expeditionary Force. The allies sought to halt the German advancement resulting in the lengthy, and costly siege warfare as the entrenched lines proved impossible to crack. The first phase of the war on the western front was just beginning. Daniel Reynolds died on 2nd November, 1914 aged 27 years, in the first battle of Ypres, making him the first soldier on the Walkington Memorial to die. His two brothers, Vic and Harry also died they are commemorated on the War Memorial on Hengate, in Beverley.
Pte Victor Reynolds no 6 Field Ambulance B. E. F. was awarded the Military Medal for conspicuous bravery under heavy shell fire. Daniel Reynolds is buried in the Larch Wood (Railway Cutting) Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium.
