Pudsey Remembers: Lost and Found War Memorials part 4

Part 4 – The Missing Names: Putting the Record Straight

This research and the creation of the Missing Names Memorial at Pudsey Cenotaph were supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, whose funding helped make the project possible.


When Pudsey Cenotaph was unveiled in September 1922, it commemorated 333 local men who had lost their lives in the Great War.

But it wasn't a complete record of the town's losses.

And before anyone blames those who compiled the original list, consider what they were dealing with.

Hundreds of casualties, grieving families, changing addresses, incomplete military records and a mountain of information gathered through correspondence, newspapers and handwritten index cards.

The original archivists did a remarkable job with the resources available to them. But keeping those records accurate and up to date was virtually impossible, particularly when so many people had died in such a short period.

Finding the Missing Names

When I began researching the identities of everyone named on Pudsey Cenotaph, something unexpected happened.

While working through contemporary newspapers, military records, cemetery registers and other local memorials, I kept finding casualties who appeared to qualify for inclusion but weren't recorded on the Cenotaph.

Some had moved away. Others had served in different parts of the world, died after discharge or simply hadn't been identified when the original lists were compiled.

I established qualifying criteria based on residence, family connections, burial records and contemporary evidence, then individually researched the missing casualties.

The result was a new Missing Names Roll of Honour, unveiled at Pudsey Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday, 11 November 2018, by Gulf War veteran Darren Walker.


Four Remarkable Discoveries

Drummer/Cyclist John Wilkinson – The Boy Who Came Home

Born in Pudsey in 1899, John served with the Army Cyclist Corps and survived the fighting in France. Known only from a series of letters written to his sweetheart, Hilda. By coincidence I had already listed him as a potential forgotten war casualty before the written evidence came to light.

John died aged just 21 from heart disease. His sweetheart, Hilda Margaret Smith of Crimbles Terrace, never married and died at a care home in Farsley at 1981.

Both are buried in Pudsey Cemetery and are fondly remembered.




Lieutenant Ernest Holden – an Englishman in New York

Born in Lowtown, Pudsey, Ernest emigrated to America and was serving, we believe on attachment with the US Army's famous 369th Infantry Regiment, the Harlem Hellfighters.

This predominantly African-American regiment fought under French command and earned an extraordinary reputation.

Ernest died on 30 September 1918, aged 24, and is buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in France.

His remarkable journey from Pudsey to New York and the Western Front remains a fascinating subject for further research.

Harlem Hell Fighters in Séchault, France on September 29 1918
during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive

Lance Corporal Cecil Maurice Thrippleton

Cecil died on 19 September 1917 and had connections with Fartown Sunday School.

Although his name was missing from the Cenotaph, he was commemorated at Pudsey St Lawrence and St Paul Church. Cecil is buried at CWGC Cement House Cemetery in Belgium, it was an honour to visit him and pay our respects.

His case illustrates how changing residence and local connections can complicate memorial records.

 
Private Robert Wade – A Mystery from 1914

Robert died on 12 September 1914, shortly after joining up, in circumstances that still deserve investigation. He was our first casualty of the First World War, despite drowning in the canal at Huddersfield.

Like Cecil, his name survived on the St Lawrence and St Paul memorial, providing vital evidence of his connection to Pudsey. His ommission from Pudsey Cenotaph is troubling and open to speculation. However his service was recognised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which is good enough for me.

The Pudsey Cemetery grave of Private Robert Wade,
in the care of CWGC EOHO volunteer Malcolm Booth


A Chapter That Will Never Be Closed

The Missing Names Memorial corrected an important omission in Pudsey's remembrance history, but it wasn't the end of the research.

Since its unveiling in 2018, I've continued to identify further eligible casualties through newly available records and connections between local memorials.

And there will almost certainly be more.

The original archivists worked with paper records and limited communications. Today we have searchable databases, digitised newspapers and military records that continue to become available.

We cannot change what happened to these people, but we can continue to put the historical record straight.

This is one chapter of Pudsey's history that will never truly be closed.

Next: Part 5 – Pudsey Parish Church and its War Memorials.

Sources and thanks: My original research published at Pudsey Cenotaph – Missing Names, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, contemporary newspapers, military and cemetery records. Thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund for supporting the research and new memorial, Pudsey & Farsley Royal British Legion, Pudsey & District Civic Society and the late Margaret Ford for her memorial transcription work.

Enjoyed the blog? Have an interesting Church or Pudsey memorial tale of your own? Please leave some feedback in the comments. Wait – there's more! Follow for future blogs on a wide range of local interest topics.

All views my own unless specifically quoted, or clearly promoted on behalf of an organisation, group or individual. To avoid stepping on copyright toes I generate and edit my own images, credit given where others' work is used.

©damosblogspot 2026

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