Pte 300338 Cornelius Palfrey

• Age: 33
• From: St Helens, Lancs
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 18th Btn
• K.I.A Tuesday 4th December 1917
• Commemorated at: Hooge Crater Cem, Zillebeke
  Panel Ref: XVII.J.1

Cornelius was born in St Helens in the third quarter of 1884, the son of Henry Palfrey and his wife Ellen (nee Ogden). He was the third of six children.

In 1891 the family are living at 40 Mount Pleasant, Parr, St Helens. His father is a 36 year old pit sinker born in Cornwall in 1855, whilst his mother is 38 years of age, born in Warrington in 1853. They have four children in the household, all born in Parr: William aged 11, Maud aged 9, Cornelius aged 6 and Mansel aged 4.   

His mother died in 1894 aged 42.

By the 1901 Census, Cornelius now 17 years of age and employed as a haulage hand in a coal mine is living with four of his siblings at 161 Derbyshire Hill Road, St Helen's. His brother William is the head of the household, he is a 21 year old bricklayer, also present are Maud, aged 19, Mansell aged 15 and Henry aged 8.  

In 1906 he married Charlotte Pratt but sadly Charlotte died in 1907 aged 22.

In 1910 he married Maud Lawrenson and they had three daughters; Helen, Evelyn and Elsie. 

The 1911 Census shows Cornelius and Maud living at 23 Epsom Street, Parr, St. Helens with their 3 month old daughter Helen. 

Cornelius enlisted at Prescot joining the Lancashire Hussars Yeomanry as Private 250338. He served overseas from November 1915. He subsequently transferred to the 18th Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment as Private 300338. He was killed in action on 04th December 1917, aged 33. 

The 18th Battalion War Diary records -

On 4th December the battalion moved up to front line trenches at Gheluvelt, No.3 Coy on right, No.4 Coy in centre, and No.2 Coy on left.  Heavy enemy shelling, all calibres and Minenwerfers. Several direct hits on R. Coy posts. Retaliation asked for but little response from our guns.  Casualties 6 killed, 6 wounded.

Cornelius was one of those casualties referred to in the diary as killed. The other men killed on the same day were; James Gerald Baron, John George Haywood, Thomas James Hennessy, Edward Ernest Roberts, and Peter Walsh.

Hooge Chateau and its stables were the scene of very fierce fighting throughout the First World War. On 31 October 1914, the staff of the 1st and 2nd Divisions were wiped out when the chateau was shelled; from 24 May to 3 June 1915, the chateau was defended against German attacks and in July 1915, the crater was made by a mine sprung by the 3rd Division. On 30 July, the Germans took the chateau, and on 9 August, it and the crater were regained by the 6th Division. The Germans retook Hooge on 6 June 1916 and on 31 July 1917, the 8th Division advanced 1.6 Kms beyond it. It was lost for the last time in April 1918, but regained by the 9th (Scottish) and 29th Divisions on 28 September.

Hooge Crater Cemetery was begun by the 7th Division Burial Officer early in October 1917. It contained originally 76 graves, in Rows A to D of Plot I, but was greatly increased after the Armistice when graves were brought in from the battlefields of Zillebeke, Zantvoorde and Gheluvelt and the following smaller cemeteries:-

BASS WOOD CEMETERIES No.1 and No.2, ZILLEBEKE, on the East side of the Bassevillebeek, 1 Km South of Herenthage Chateau. They contained the graves of 48 soldiers from the United Kingdom who fell in December 1917 - March 1918. 

There are now 5,916 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 3,570 of the burials are unidentified, but special memorials record the names of a number of casualties either known or believed to be buried among them, or whose graves in other cemeteries were destroyed by shell fire.

The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

An In Memoriam notice was placed in the local press:

PALFREY - In loving memory of my dear husband, Private Cornelius Palfrey, Lancashire Hussars, killed in action December 04th, 1917. 

When nights are long and friends are few,

Dear Daddy, we do think of you,

From memory's page we will never blot,

Three little words, "Forget Me Not." 

From his wife and children, 288 Park Road.   

He left a widow and three children then aged 6, 4 and 2 respectively. Maud never remarried and died in 1976, aged 89. 

Cornelius is commemorated on the following Memorials:

St Helens Civic Memorial

St Peter's Church in Parr, St Helens.

Cornelius's brother Mansell served with the South Lancs Regiment seeing action at Gallipoli before he was invalided out of the Army in 1916 due to deafness as a result of shell concussion.

Grateful thanks are extended to Louise Claire from MoMos History cafe in St Helens for sourcing the photograph of Cornelius which is now on this site.

We currently have no further information on Cornelius Palfrey, If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.