Thirsk, Joseph | Kingston upon Hull War Memorial 1914

Hull Pals Memorial Post. L/CPL JOSEPH THIRSK 11/389. Born in 1888, Joseph was the seventh of nine children to Joseph and Jane Thirsk, of 79 Clifton Street, Hull. A Clerk before the war he queued to enlist at City Hall on 8th September 1914 and joined the fledgling 11th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment, ‘The Tradesmen’, 2nd Hull Pals. After training at barracks in Hornsea, Beverley and Ripon throughout 1915 the four Pals Battalions sailed for Alexandria, Egypt arriving before Christmas and serving their until they left Port Said for France on 29th February 1916. Arriving in Marseilles on 8th March they began the long haul north to the trenches of the Western Front. Joseph served on the Somme during the campaign there during the summer and autumn. He was seriously injured in the back during the Battle of Oppy Wood and evacuated from the front line to 1st Canadian General Hospital at Etaples where he died on wounds on 12th May 1917. Joseph is buried at Etaples Military Cemetery; he was 28 years old. Included in his effects were three unopened letters which were returned to his family, now living at 28 Carlton Street in Bridlington. I wonder if they arrived at the hospital or if they were set aside to read when he got back from the attack on Oppy Wood? Either way, it made me think how a mother would feel having her words returned to her unread by the son she would never see again.

The attack on Oppy Wood, part of the Battle of Arras, was a significant battle for the East Yorkshire Regiment and particularly for the city of Hull. All four Hull Pals battalions were involved on 3 May and all suffered heavy casualties, with 40% of those present killed or injured. 2nd Lieutenant Jack Harrison, a local teacher and rugby player with Hull FC, won a posthumous Victoria Cross for his bravery in rushing a machine gun position to protect his platoon. His body was never found.

The village of Oppy in France had been in German hands since October 1914 and was part of a formidable defensive system including trenches, dug-outs and thick barbed wire defences. During the Battle of Arras, which began in April 1917, the British tried to take Oppy. The first attack was a failure. A second attack was partially successful. The third attack on 3 May, known officially as the Third Battle of the Scarpe, was again unsuccessful with significant loss of life. The troops were ordered to attack at 3.45am, rather than at dawn, and the defending Germans could easily see the line of British soldiers clearly lit by the full moon. The British continued to attack Oppy and were finally successful the following year. The City of Hull Memorial at Oppy was unveiled in 1927 and commemorates the men of the Hull Pals who were killed on 3 and 4 May 1917.

First name:

JOSEPH

Regiment:

11th East Yorkshire Regiment (Hull Tradesmen)

Military Number:

389

Rank:

Lance Corporal

Date Died

13/05/1917

Place died:

Etaples Military Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France

Age:

39 , PROVIDENCE ROW, BEVERLEY ROAD, HULL, EAST YORKSHIRE, UK

Place Buried

D940, 62630 Étaples, France