Pte 25235 Hubert Wood

Hubert was born in Pickup Bank, Hoddlesden, east of Darwen, Lancashire, in 1894 (Ancestry trees show his birthdate as 20th March 1894), the son of George Wood and his wife Mary Alice (née Townsend). His parents, were both born in Pickup Bank, and married in Blackburn Register Office in 1890, they had four children, all boys; Hubert had older brothers James Henry born in 1890 and George Albert 1892,  and younger brother Alfred, born in 1896. 

His father had been left a widower with four children in 1886: Nanny, born in 1874, John 1875, Jane Ellen 1876, and Charles Edwin 1881. 

 

In 1901 the family is at Treacle Row, Yate and Pickup Bank. His father, is aged 50, Hubert's half siblings John, 24, Jane, 22, and Charles, 19, are all cotton weavers.  His mother is 45, James is 10, George 8, Hubert 7, and Alfred 4. The family has a boarder, (his uncle) James Townsend, 47, is also a cotton weaver.

 

(Pickup Bank was the hilly area above Hoddlesden. There was an old coal pit and a well nearby.  Possibly the "treacle" was water leaching from the old pit which was black in colour.)

 

Hubert and his siblings were educated at Hoddlesden National School.  He left school in 1908 when he turned 14. 

His father died of pneumonia later in that year, on 11th November 1908, aged 57. 

His half brother Charles Edwin married in 1907 and died in 1910, aged 29.

 

Hubert enlisted in Darwen joining the 14th Battalion of The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private 25235. Unfortunately, his service record has not survived, but based on the amount of the War Gratuity, Hubert served just under four years, indicating he enlisted in about November 1914, when he was 20 years old.   

The battalion trained in Eastbourne and Seaford, and shipped to France on 05th September 1915. They entrained for Marseilles and from there embarked in October for Salonika in the Balkans. They fought in the Battles of Horseshoe Hill and Machukovo in 1916, and at Doiran in 1917.

They moved to the Western Front in June 1918, via Itea in Greece and Taranto, Italy, and were absorbed by the 18th Bn K.L.R. in August, becoming the 18th (Lancashire Hussars), of The King’s (Liverpool Regiment). 

 

The 100 Days Offensive, the Allied push that would eventually bring the war to an end, began in August, and by early October the 18th Bn arrives at the Hindenburg Line in the region of Bony. The Allies pursue the retreating German Army and on 8th November 1918, in what would be their last engagement of the war, the 18th Bn attacks the Germans near Marbaix. 

It is not known when Hubert was wounded, but he died of his wounds on 02nd December 1918 at Rouen. A number of Commonwealth hospitals were established at Rouen during the war, and the British evacuation chain was based on the city.  

 

He now rests at St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen.

During the First World War, Commonwealth camps and hospitals were stationed on the southern outskirts of Rouen. A base supply depot and the 3rd Echelon of General Headquarters were also established in the city.

Almost all of the hospitals at Rouen remained there for practically the whole of the war. They included eight general, five stationary, one British Red Cross and one labour hospital, and No. 2 Convalescent Depot. A number of the dead from these hospitals were buried in other cemeteries, but the great majority were taken to the city cemetery of St. Sever. In September 1916, it was found necessary to begin an extension, where the last burial took place in April 1920.

The Cemetery and the Extension adjoin each other but have separate Registers.

During the Second World War, Rouen was again a hospital centre and the extension was used once more for the burial of Commonwealth servicemen, many of whom died as prisoners of war during the German occupation.

The cemetery extension contains 8,348 Commonwealth burials of the First World War (ten of them unidentified) and in Block "S" there are 328 from the Second World War (18 of them unidentified). There are also 8 Foreign National burials here. The adjoining St. Sever Cemetery contains 3,082 Commonwealth burials of the First World War. There is also 1 French burial and 1 non war service burial here.

The extension was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield. 

Hubert’s death appeared in the Weekly Casualty List on 14th January 1919.

 

Hubert earned his Victory Medal and British War Medal. The medal roll for the 1914-15 Star shows his entry into the theatre of war 2a (Balkans) as 14/1/1915, and is crossed off. The date is apparently in error, as there were no British troops in the area at that date, but a replacement entry cannot be found.

 

His mother, Mrs. Mary Alice Wood, at 24 Browning Street, Hoddlesden, Darwen, received his Army effects of £30-10s-4d, as well as a War Gratuity of £22-10s. 

The pension card appears to show that a pension was refused, reason unknown. 

 

His mother died in 1921. His parents are buried together in the churchyard of Pickup Bank Independent (Congregational) Chapel.  His brothers all married and remained in the area. 

 

Hubert is commemorated on the following memorials -

Hoddlesden, Waterside, Pickup Bank, and Blacksnape Memorial

Pickup Bank New Congregational Chapel and Sunday School, Hoddlesden.

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