CARRBROOK VILLAGE - HEROES OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR

Carrbrook St James' Football Team 1913-1914

For a number of years prior to the First World War, Carrbrook had a very good football team.

Carrbrook St James' football team played in the Hooley Hill and district Sunday School league and had a peak record in the 1913-1914 seasons. They were winners of the John Wood Cup, the league cup and medals, as well as the Uppermill Medal Competition for 1913, runners up in the League Championship and won a special cup 1914.

On that football team played goalie Ernest Sykes, defender Albert Shepley, striker Ernest Haslam and team mates Bob Williamson, Edward White, Frank Hague, Peter Robertson, and William Smith. The ambulanceman for the football team was Fred Futton.

With the outbreak of the First World War many members of that football team joined the forces. Ernest Sykes was awarded the Victoria Cross. Albert, Bob, Edward, Ernest H and Peter were killed in battle. Frank lost an eye. William and Fred survived.

Carrbrook Football Team
Carrbrook Football Team 1914 Front Row Sat Far Left
"E" = Ernest Haslam,

Front Row Sat Far Right
"W" = W Haslam,

Second Row Stood Far Right
"A" = Albert Shepley (stood behind "W")

Fred Futton
Ambulanceman Survived
Fred was the ambulanceman for the football team and he served with the army medical unit. He fought in the Dardanelles.

William Smith
Team Mate Survived
William lived at Castle Farm before he enlisted in the 7 Bn West Riding Regiment. During the war he was injured in three seperate incidents. First he was shot in the finger, then he was gassed; it was not until 1915 after the front of a trench he was in was blown up and he was buried for 3 hours that he was sent home on sick leave.

Frank Hague
Team Mate Lost an Eye
Frank worked at the Calico Printers Association, Buckton Vale print works.

Census Returns 1901
Address: Potters Stage 2, Stalybridge Place Born
Hague Annie Elizabeth Head Female Age 31 Cotton Weaver Stalybridge
Hague Hannah Maria Daughter Female Age 10 Stalybridge
Hague Harold Son Male Age 7 Stalybridge
Hague Frank Son Male Age 3 Stalybridge
Hague Nellie Daughter Female Age 2 Stalybridge
Mason Ann Maria Mother Female Age 55 Stalybridge
Mason John Brother Male Age 27 Core Maker Stalybridge
Mason Fred Brother Male Age 23 Iron Dresser Stalybridge
Mason Mary Hill Sister Female Age 19 Cotton Reeler Stalybridge

Edward White
Team Mate Killed in Battle
Service No 3230 Private 11th Battalion Manchester Regiment
Helles Memorial, Turkey. Edward served with the Military Police and was 23 years old when he died on Tuesday 10 August 1916. His name appears with 21,000 others on the Helles Memorial, which stands on the tip of the Gallipoli Penisula, Turkey and can be seen by ships passing through the Dardanelles. He had worked for the CPA in Carrbrook and was married to Lily who was living at Wooley's Yard, Robinson Street, Stalybridge.

Census Returns 1901
Address: 1 Merton Street, Stalybridge Place Born
White Edward Head Male Age 47 Quarryman Dresser Ellesmere
White Elizabeth Wife Female Age 46 Standish
White Elizabeth Daughter Female Age 22 Card Room Hand Standish
White Lilly Daughter Female Age 16 Tintwistle
White Nelly Daughter Female Age 13 Tintwistle
White Edward Son Male Age 8 Tintwistle
White Ada Daughter Female Age 5 Cheshire
White Ethel Daughter Female Age 2 Hadfield

Peter Robertson
Team Mate Killed in Battle
Service No 36210 Private 10th Battalion Cheshire Regiment

Westhof Farm Cemetery, Belgium Peter, the son of John and Elizabeth Robertson 7 South View, Carrbrook, was 27 years old when he died on Thursday 7 June 1917. He is buried at Westhof Farm Cemetery in Heuvelland, West Vlaanderen, Belgium. Westhof Farm was used by the New Zealand Division as HQ in May and June 1917. The cemetery was begun in May 1917. It was used until April 1918 when it fell into German hands for 5 months.

Census Returns 1901
Address: 16 Long Row Place Born
Robertson John Head Male Age 42 Calico Printer Scotland
Robertson Elizabeth Wife Female Age 36 Scotland
Robertson William Son Male Age 13 Messenger Boy Scotland
Robertson Peter Son Male Age 11 Scotland
Robertson Annie Daughter Female Age 7 Bromley
Robertson Maggie Daughter Female Age 2 Manchester
Johnson Samuel Boarder Male Age 29 Calico Printer Handforth

Albert Shepley
Defender Killed in Battle
Service No 39624 Corporal 126th Bn Machine Gun Corps (Inf)
Gommecourt Wood New Cemetery, France Albert had worked at the Calico Printers Association, Buckton Vale print works, had played for the Micklehurst Cricket Club and had been a headmaster of the Sunday School held at St James' School. He enlisted in June 1915 and he died in France on 6 April 1918, age 24. At the time his family were living at 4 Long Row. His grave is one of almost 750 in the Gommercourt Wood New Cemetery, two thirds of which are unidentified.

Census Returns 1901
Address: Brookhouses Place Born
Shepley Edward Head Male Age 29 Etcher Print Works Stalybridge
Shepley Mally
Kenworthy Wife Female Age 30 Saddleworth
Shepley Albert Son Male Age 7 Carrbrook
Shepley James Rad Son Male Age 3 Carrbrook
Shepley Edward Son Male Age 1 Carrbrook

Ernest Haslam
Striker Killed in Battle
Service No 267916 Private Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regt)
Barenthal Military Cemetery, Italy Ernest had worked for the CPA in the making up room. He was 25 years old when he was killed on the 22 June 1918 fighting at the Italian Front. The front had been comparatively quiet until the Battle of Asiago when the Austrians attacked in force. 1000 metres of allied line was penetrated on 15 June but the lost ground was retaken on the 16 June and the line re-established. Ernest is buried at Barenthal Military Cemetery, Italy, which is in a mountainous region rarely accessible from November to May due to deep snow falls.

Census Returns 1901
Address: Moorgate Cottages Place Born
Haslam Henry Head Male Age 43 Engraver Print Works Salford
Haslam Sarah Ann Wife Female Age 43 Pendleton
Haslam Edward Son Male Age 21 Engravers Apprentice Pendleton
Haslam Annie Daughter Female Age 19 Roller Painter Engraver Pendleton
Haslam Arthur Son Male Age 16 Joiner Apprentice Pendleton
Haslam Harry Son Male Age 13 Pendleton
Haslam Wilfred Son Male Age 10 Pendleton
Haslam Ernest Son Male Age 7 Pendleton
Haslam Frank Son Male Age 4 Stalybridge
Ratcliffe Bramley Nephew Male Age 23 Woolen Manufacturer Denton

Bob Williamson
Team Mate Killed in Battle
Service No 246349 Lance Corporal Royal Engineers
A peace advocate, a silent witnesses of war Bob was 27 years old when he died on 13th September 1918. He had served in France for 2 years when he was fatally wounded by shell fragments whilst asleep. He was married to Edith, who was living at Laburnum Cottage, Well-i-hole, Greenfield. Bob is buried at St Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen, France. The cemetery contains 8,345 burials from the First World War. A base supply depot and the General HQ were established in the city. Camps, a convalescent depot and 15 hospitals were stationed on the outskirts of Rouen.

Census Returns 1901
Address: 22 Long Row Place Born
Williamson Robert Head Male Age 41 Calico Printer Derbyshire
Williamson Hannah Wife Female Age 37 Hathersage
Williamson Nellie Daughter Female Age 14 Ring Spinner Dinting
Williamson James Son Male Age 13 Cloth Plater Dinting
Williamson Edith Daughter Female Age 11 Glossop
Williamson Robert Son Male Age 9 Mossley
Williamson Mary Jane Daughter Female Age 7 Mossley
Williamson Gertrude Daughter Female Age 5 Mossley
Williamson Elsie Daughter Female Age 3 Mossley
Williamson Hannah Daughter Female Age 11mn Stalybridge

Ernest Sykes
Goalkeeper Awarded the Victoria Cross
Service No 40989 Private Northumberland Fusiliers
Ernest Sykes was born on 4 April 1885 at Quick View, Mossley, part of Saddleworth, Yorkshire. He was educated at St George's School in Stalybridge. Ernest married Alice Sykes and then later Gladys Clough. He had two sons from his first marriage, Harold and Percy. Prior to the war Ernest was a platelayer on the London and North West Railway at Micklehurst and lived with his wife at 3 Bank Street, Mossley.
Ernest Sykes receives the Victoria Cross Ernest enlisted in the Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment as a Private on 31 August 1914 and served at Gallipoli where he was badly injured in the foot. He was posted back to the UK for surgery and after recovering was sent before a medical board and passed fit for home service only. However he was transferred to 27th (S) Battalion, The Northumberland Fusiliers, with whom he served in Flanders and France.
Ernest Sykes working as a Guard The London Gazette, 8 June 1917 records the following citation: Date of Act of Bravery 9 April 1917, near Arras in France No 40989 Private Ernest Sykes, The Northumberland Fusiliers. For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty when his battalion in attack was held up about 350 yards in advance of our lines by intense fire from front and flank, and suffered heavy casualties. Private Sykes, despite this heavy fire, went forward and brought back four wounded - he made a fifth journey and remained out under conditions which appeared to be certain death, until he had bandaged all those who were too badly wounded to be moved. These gallant actions, performed under incessant machine-gun and rifle fire showed an utter contempt for danger.
With his wife he attended a civic reception at the Empire Theatre, Newcastle in July 1917. They were given war bonds valued at �100, a timepiece and a wallet of notes.
His investiture took place at the Palace on 21 July 1917, when King George V decorated him with the Victoria Cross.

Ernest Sykes Grave Sykes also attended a civic reception at Mossley where the Mayor presented him an illuminated addres and a gold watch. Sykes was demobilized on 26 May 1918 due to sickness and the long-term effects of his wound sustained at Gallipoli. He also received the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and the Victory Medal. Stalybridge must be the only town to have built its War Memorial in the form of a bridgehead, the structure was unveiled on 6 November 1921 and Ernest Sykes laid the first wreath.
After the war he returned to the railways, working in the Engineering Department of the LNWR before becoming a guard. He attended the VC Dinner in the Royal Gallery at the House of Lords on 9 November 1929. He was an active trade unionist and a member of the NUR. In 1937 Sykes was awarded the Coronation Medal.
Alnwick Castle During the Second World War he served in the Home Guard, 25th (West Riding) Battalion. He was then living at 17 Thornfield Avenue, Lockwood, near Huddersfield, where he died on 3 August 1949, aged 64 years, from the long-term effects of his wound sustained at Gallipoli. He was buried on 6 August 1949 in Section F, Grave 227 at Lockwood Cemetery, Meltham.
The Victoria Cross awarded to Ernest Sykes and a memorial can be found at the Regimental Museum of the Northumberland Fusiliers, Alnwick Castle, Northumberland and an LMS locomotive was named after him.
Special Thanks to Kate Booth for her extensive research into the military history, family and social life of every soldier, man and boy, from Carrbrook and Millbrook and nearby areas, that served in the First World War. Thanks to Simon Dawkins for supplying information and inspiration for this web page. Thanks to the Regimental Museum for information and photographs about Ernest Sykes. Thanks to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission web site for information and photographs in regard to the other team mates.

For a number of years prior to the First World War, Carrbrook had a very good football team.
Carrbrook St James' football team played in the Hooley Hill and district Sunday School league and had a peak record in the 1913-1914 seasons. They were winners of the John Wood Cup, the league cup and medals, as well as the Uppermill Medal Competition for 1913, runners up in the League Championship and won a special cup 1914.
On that football team played goalie Ernest Sykes, defender Albert Shepley, striker Ernest Haslam and team mates Bob Williamson, Edward White, Frank Hague, Peter Robertson, and William Smith. The ambulanceman for the football team was Fred Futton.
With the outbreak of the First World War many members of that football team joined the forces. Ernest Sykes was awarded the Victoria Cross. Albert, Bob, Edward, Ernest H and Peter were killed in battle. Frank lost an eye. William and Fred survived.

Carrbrook Football Team
	Front Row Sat Far Left "E" = Ernest Haslam, Front Row Sat Far Right "W" = W Haslam, Second Row Stood Far Right "A" = Albert Shepley (stood behind "W")

Fred Futton	Ambulanceman	Survived
Fred was the ambulanceman for the football team and he served with the army medical unit. He fought in the Dardanelles.

William Smith	Team Mate	Survived
William lived at Castle Farm before he enlisted in the 7 Bn West Riding Regiment. During the war he was injured in three seperate incidents. First he was shot in the finger, then he was gassed; it was not until 1915 after the front of a trench he was in was blown up and he was buried for 3 hours that he was sent home on sick leave.

Frank Hague	Team Mate	Lost an Eye
Frank worked at the Calico Printers Association, Buckton Vale print works.

Census Returns 1901
Address: Potters Stage 2, Stalybridge							Place Born
Hague	Annie Elizabeth	Head	Female	Age	31	Cotton Weaver	Stalybridge
Hague	Hannah Maria	Daughter	Female	Age	10		Stalybridge
Hague	Harold	Son	Male	Age	7		Stalybridge
Hague	Frank	Son	Male	Age	3		Stalybridge
Hague	Nellie	Daughter	Female	Age	2		Stalybridge
Mason	Ann Maria	Mother	Female	Age	55		Stalybridge
Mason	John	Brother	Male	Age	27	Core Maker	Stalybridge
Mason	Fred	Brother	Male	Age	23	Iron Dresser	Stalybridge
Mason	Mary Hill	Sister	Female	Age	19	Cotton Reeler	Stalybridge

Edward White	Team Mate	Killed in Battle
Service No 3230	Private	11th Battalion Manchester Regiment
	Edward served with the Military Police and was 23 years old when he died on Tuesday 10 August 1916. His name appears with 21,000 others on the Helles Memorial, which stands on the tip of the Gallipoli Penisula, Turkey and can be seen by ships passing through the Dardanelles. He had worked for the CPA in Carrbrook and was married to Lily who was living at Wooley's Yard, Robinson Street, Stalybridge.

Census Returns 1901
Address: 1 Merton Street, Stalybridge							Place Born
White	Edward	Head	Male	Age	47	Quarryman Dresser	Ellesmere
White	Elizabeth	Wife	Female	Age	46		Standish
White	Elizabeth	Daughter	Female	Age	22	Card Room Hand	Standish
White	Lilly	Daughter	Female	Age	16		Tintwistle
White	Nelly	Daughter	Female	Age	13		Tintwistle
White	Edward	Son	Male	Age	8		Tintwistle
White	Ada	Daughter	Female	Age	5		Cheshire
White	Ethel	Daughter	Female	Age	2		Hadfield

Peter Robertson	Team Mate	Killed in Battle
Service No 36210	Private	10th Battalion Cheshire Regiment
	Peter, the son of John and Elizabeth Robertson 7 South View, Carrbrook, was 27 years old when he died on Thursday 7 June 1917. He is buried at Westhof Farm Cemetery in Heuvelland, West Vlaanderen, Belgium. Westhof Farm was used by the New Zealand Division as HQ in May and June 1917. The cemetery was begun in May 1917. It was used until April 1918 when it fell into German hands for 5 months.

Census Returns 1901
Address: 16 Long Row							Place Born
Robertson	John	Head	Male	Age	42	Calico Printer	Scotland
Robertson	Elizabeth	Wife	Female	Age	36		Scotland
Robertson	William	Son	Male	Age	13	Messenger Boy	Scotland
Robertson	Peter	Son	Male	Age	11		Scotland
Robertson	Annie	Daughter	Female	Age	7		Bromley
Robertson	Maggie	Daughter	Female	Age	2		Manchester
Johnson	Samuel	Boarder	Male	Age	29	Calico Printer	Handforth

Albert Shepley	Defender	Killed in Battle
Service No 39624	Corporal	126th Bn Machine Gun Corps (Inf)
	Albert had worked at the Calico Printers Association, Buckton Vale print works, had played for the Micklehurst Cricket Club and had been a headmaster of the Sunday School held at St James' School. He enlisted in June 1915 and he died in France on 6 April 1918, age 24. At the time his family were living at 4 Long Row. His grave is one of almost 750 in the Gommercourt Wood New Cemetery, two thirds of which are unidentified.

Census Returns 1901
Address: Brookhouses							Place Born
Shepley	Edward	Head	Male	Age	29	Etcher Print Works	Stalybridge
Shepley	Mally Kenworthy	Wife	Female	Age	30		Saddleworth
Shepley	Albert	Son	Male	Age	7		Carrbrook
Shepley	James Rad	Son	Male	Age	3		Carrbrook
Shepley	Edward	Son	Male	Age	1		Carrbrook

Ernest Haslam	Striker	Killed in Battle
Service No 267916	Private	Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regt)
	Ernest had worked for the CPA in the making up room. He was 25 years old when he was killed on the 22 June 1918 fighting at the Italian Front. The front had been comparatively quiet until the Battle of Asiago when the Austrians attacked in force. 1000 metres of allied line was penetrated on 15 June but the lost ground was retaken on the 16 June and the line re-established. Ernest is buried at Barenthal Military Cemetery, Italy, which is in a mountainous region rarely accessible from November to May due to deep snow falls.

Census Returns 1901
Address: Moorgate Cottages							Place Born
Haslam	Henry	Head	Male	Age	43	Engraver Print Works	Salford
Haslam	Sarah Ann	Wife	Female	Age	43		Pendleton
Haslam	Edward	Son	Male	Age	21	Engravers Apprentice	Pendleton
Haslam	Annie	Daughter	Female	Age	19	Roller Painter Engraver	Pendleton
Haslam	Arthur	Son	Male	Age	16	Joiner Apprentice	Pendleton
Haslam	Harry	Son	Male	Age	13		Pendleton
Haslam	Wilfred	Son	Male	Age	10		Pendleton
Haslam	Ernest	Son	Male	Age	7		Pendleton
Haslam	Frank	Son	Male	Age	4		Stalybridge
Ratcliffe	Bramley	Nephew	Male	Age	23	Woolen Manufacturer	Denton

Bob Williamson	Team Mate	Killed in Battle
Service No 246349	Lance Corporal	Royal Engineers
	Bob was 27 years old when he died on 13th September 1918. He had served in France for 2 years when he was fatally wounded by shell fragments whilst asleep. He was married to Edith, who was living at Laburnum Cottage, Well-i-hole, Greenfield. Bob is buried at St Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen, France. The cemetery contains 8,345 burials from the First World War. A base supply depot and the General HQ were established in the city. Camps, a convalescent depot and 15 hospitals were stationed on the outskirts of Rouen.

Census Returns 1901
Address: 22 Long Row							Place Born
Williamson	Robert	Head	Male	Age	41	Calico Printer	Derbyshire
Williamson	Hannah	Wife	Female	Age	37		Hathersage
Williamson	Nellie	Daughter	Female	Age	14	Ring Spinner	Dinting
Williamson	James	Son	Male	Age	13	Cloth Plater	Dinting
Williamson	Edith	Daughter	Female	Age	11		Glossop
Williamson	Robert	Son	Male	Age	9		Mossley
Williamson	Mary Jane	Daughter	Female	Age	7		Mossley
Williamson	Gertrude	Daughter	Female	Age	5		Mossley
Williamson	Elsie	Daughter	Female	Age	3		Mossley
Williamson	Hannah	Daughter	Female	Age	11mn		Stalybridge

Ernest Sykes	Goalkeeper	Awarded the Victoria Cross
Service No 40989	Private	Northumberland Fusiliers
	Ernest Sykes was born on 4 April 1885 at Quick View, Mossley, part of Saddleworth, Yorkshire. He was educated at St George's School in Stalybridge. Ernest married Alice Sykes and then later Gladys Clough. He had two sons from his first marriage, Harold and Percy. Prior to the war Ernest was a platelayer on the London and North West Railway at Micklehurst and lived with his wife at 3 Bank Street, Mossley.
	Ernest enlisted in the Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment as a Private on 31 August 1914 and served at Gallipoli where he was badly injured in the foot. He was posted back to the UK for surgery and after recovering was sent before a medical board and passed fit for home service only. However he was transferred to 27th (S) Battalion, The Northumberland Fusiliers, with whom he served in Flanders and France.
	The London Gazette, 8 June 1917 records the following citation: Date of Act of Bravery 9 April 1917, near Arras in France No 40989 Private Ernest Sykes, The Northumberland Fusiliers. For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty when his battalion in attack was held up about 350 yards in advance of our lines by intense fire from front and flank, and suffered heavy casualties. Private Sykes, despite this heavy fire, went forward and brought back four wounded - he made a fifth journey and remained out under conditions which appeared to be certain death, until he had bandaged all those who were too badly wounded to be moved. These gallant actions, performed under incessant machine-gun and rifle fire showed an utter contempt for danger.
With his wife he attended a civic reception at the Empire Theatre, Newcastle in July 1917. They were given war bonds valued at �100, a timepiece and a wallet of notes. His investiture took place at the Palace on 21 July 1917, when King George V decorated him with the Victoria Cross.

	Sykes also attended a civic reception at Mossley where the Mayor presented him an illuminated addres and a gold watch. Sykes was demobilized on 26 May 1918 due to sickness and the long-term effects of his wound sustained at Gallipoli. He also received the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and the Victory Medal. Stalybridge must be the only town to have built its War Memorial in the form of a bridgehead, the structure was unveiled on 6 November 1921 and Ernest Sykes laid the first wreath.
After the war he returned to the railways, working in the Engineering Department of the LNWR before becoming a guard. He attended the VC Dinner in the Royal Gallery at the House of Lords on 9 November 1929. He was an active trade unionist and a member of the NUR. In 1937 Sykes was awarded the Coronation Medal.
	During the Second World War he served in the Home Guard, 25th (West Riding) Battalion. He was then living at 17 Thornfield Avenue, Lockwood, near Huddersfield, where he died on 3 August 1949, aged 64 years, from the long-term effects of his wound sustained at Gallipoli. He was buried on 6 August 1949 in Section F, Grave 227 at Lockwood Cemetery, Meltham.
The Victoria Cross awarded to Ernest Sykes and a memorial can be found at the Regimental Museum of the Northumberland Fusiliers, Alnwick Castle, Northumberland and an LMS locomotive was named after him.
Special Thanks to Kate Booth for her extensive research into the military history, family and social life of every soldier, man and boy, from Carrbrook and Millbrook and nearby areas, that served in the First World War. Thanks to Simon Dawkins for supplying information and inspiration for this web page. Thanks to the Regimental Museum for information and photographs about Ernest Sykes. Thanks to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission web site for information and photographs in regard to the other team mates.