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Harold Barker

Born in Hampsthwaite, Harold was the fourth son of Frederick and Margaret Barker of Barton House, Ripley and the 1911 census shows him living there with his widowed father and four of his siblings. He was then working as a farm labourer.

Aged 19, he enlisted in Harrogate on the 25th February 1915 with a service number of 16766 and joined, as a Private, the 9th Battalion of the York and Lancashire Regiment. He was only 5'3" in height.

He was posted to France in March 1916 and wounded in the thigh shortly afterwards. He rejoined the 9th Regiment but was again wounded, this time in the head, and died of his injuries two days later on the 9th January 1917 at the age of 21.

He was buried in I.C.6. Hazebrouk Communal Cemetery, France.

He was the brother of F.William (Willie) Barker and they were both cousins of Arthur Barker and Wilfred Stanley Barker.

(Click here to read the Barker Family History, here for the article "Tom Wright reflects upon the Barker family in Hampsthwaite" and here for Shaun Wilson's article on "Descendents of John and Grace Barker")

Awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal.

British War Medal	Victory Medal

Thomas Ellis

Born at Felliscliffe, Hampsthwaite in 1880, Thomas was the son of Thomas and Emily Ellis and husband of Clara Knowles of Harrogate with whom he had four children. He worked in Killinghall for Mr Lambert, a butcher. His father had been a farmer from Grayston Plain, Hampsthwaite.

He enlisted in Harrogate and with a service number of 33747 joined the 15th Battalion of the Prince of Wales Own (West Yorkshire Regiment)

He was killed in the France/Flanders war theatre on the 3rd May 1917.

His name is also recorded on the memorial at Arras.

Awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal

British War Medal	Victory Medal

Herbert Hainsworth

Herbert, or Bert as he was probably known, was born in 1916, the son of Wilfred and Robina Hainsworth of Hampsthwaite. He later moved to Harrogate and married Alberta Elizabeth Schofield

He was enlisted into the Royal Army Service Corps with a service number of T/194036 and became a Driver.

He died on the 30th April 1943 in North Africa and was buried at 16.F.18,Medjez-el-Bab War Cemetery, Tunisia.

George Henry Ness

Although he was born in nearby Killinghall in 1882, no connection of George to Hampsthwaite has yet been found.

He married Mary Elizabeth Hainsworth at Leeds in 1906 and by 1911 they were living in Darley and working at the laundry there. Their son George was born in 1911.

George (senior) enlisted in the 1/4th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers with a service number of 201602. He died on the 17th February 1917 being then stationed at Catterick Camp, Richmond and (presumably) whilst still in training.

He is buried in Hampsthwaite churchyard.

John Gledhill

Born in Leeds, John was a joiner with J.Bowers in Hampsthwaite before enlisting in Harrogate as a Driver in the Royal Horse Artillery. He had a service number of 39733. He also served with B Battery of the 107^th Brigade Royal Field Artillery.

He was killed in action on the 4^th April 1918 and was buried at IV. A. 17. Longueau British Cemetery, France.

He was awarded the Star, British War and Victory Medals.

1914-15 Star	British War Medal	Victory Medal

Newton Gill

Born in Leeds, the son of Richard Gill, a blacksmith, Newton enlisted in York but the nature of his connection to Hampsthwaite is not yet fully established. The 1901 census appears to show him when he was six years of age living with his farm-labourer uncle, William Scruton, at Hirst Mill, Markington and between 1906 and 1909 his name appears in the records of Hampsthwaite Village School. In 1916 he married Jane Elizabeth Thorpe at Killinghall and by 1917 they lived at 9 Euclid Avenue, New Park,Harrogate.

He had connections to the Territorial Army, having been given a service number of T/4/140212 A.S.C. He became a Private in the 2nd Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment with a service number of 50608.

He was killed in action in France on the 16th June 1917 and is commemorated at Bay 4, Arras Memorial, Arras, France. His name also appears on the Killinghall Memorial.

He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals.

Basil Henry Bottomley

Basil Henry was born in 1920 to Henry Naylor and Alice Mary Bottomley both of whom died in the 1950s and are buried in Hampsthwaite churchyard.

Basil lived in Thornhill, Clint with his wife Elaine (known as "Billy").

He joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve and served as a Lieutenant at H.M.S. Landrail, a Royal Naval Air Station close to Campbeltown in Argyle and Bute, Scotland. He died, aged 25, on the 31st August 1945 whilst on flying duty.

He is commemorated on both the Burnt Yates war memorial and on Bay 6, Panel 2 of the Lee-on-Solent Memorial.

Frederick Walton

Frederick (or "Fred", as he preferred) was born in November 1924, the youngest son in the large family of Hardy and Sarah Jane Walton of Hampsthwaite.

He joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1941 with a service number of 1436208, attended several mechanical courses, and within two years had become a Sergeant Flight Engineer.

He took part in many Bomber Command raids over Germany but failed, with his crew, to return from a raid over Mannheim on the 10th August 1943.

He is buried in Plot 10 Row A Coll grave 4-9, Boulogne Eastern Cemetery.

Click here to read a fuller account of his life and service

Awarded the 1939-1945 War Medal, the 1939-1945 Star and the Aircrew Europe Star.

1939-1945 War Medal	1939-1945 Star	Aircrew Europe Star