HODGKINSON

		Sources:
		CWGC	SDGW	Uttoxeter Advertiser	Other
Parents
Where born	Uttoxeter, Staffordshire		Yes		8
Where born	Staffordshire				4d
When born	About 1882				6
Address	Mother: Balance Hill, Uttoxeter			9d, 9h
	Balance Hill, Uttoxeter			9g
	Uttoxeter, Staffordshire				8
	1911: Grindley, Uttoxeter, in the parish of Chartley Holme				4d
Spouse
Children
Employment Before Joining up	1911: Waggoner on farm				4d
Employment Before Joining up	He worked at the Leighton Ironworks			9a	8
Where enlisted	Uttoxeter, Staffordshire		Yes		8
Regiment	North Staffordshire (Prince of Wales’s)	Yes	Yes	9d	1, 8
Unit	1^st/6^th Bn.	Yes	Yes
	6^th Bn			9d
	1/6^th (T.F.) Bn				8
	August 1914: “G” Company				8
	‘B’ Company				1
Rank	Lance Corporal	Yes	Yes	9d, 9e, 9f, 9g, 9h	1, 8
Service Number	2477	Yes	Yes		1, 8
Date of Death	1 July 1916	Yes	Yes	9d, 9f, 9g, 9h	1, 8
Age at time of death	About 34				6
Where Killed or died	Somme – 1^st day (Gommecourt)			9f
	Gommecourt Wood			9h
	France/Flanders		Yes
How he died	Killed in Action		Yes	9d, 9g	1, 8
Location of Grave or Memorial	Thiepval Memorial for the Missing Pier and Face 14 B and 14 C.	Yes
Location of Grave or Memorial	Uttoxeter Town War Memorial				8
Awards

In 1911 Harry was living with Ernest and Sarah Elizabeth Brown. Ernest Brown was a farmer and Harry was his servant as a waggoner on the farm^4d. He was single^4d.

He was a member of the Territorial Forces and was one of the first men to leave Uttoxeter for war. On the 29^th August 1914, three weeks after the outbreak of war, he left Luton with the recruits for “G Company, 1^st/6^th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment⁸.

Writing to his parents, Private J. Marsh of the 1^st-6^th North Staffordshire Regiment said,

"He will not only be missed by me, but by all who knew him. He was always bright and merry, no matter where he was, and was always ready to face danger; in fact, he did not know what fear was. I have known him volunteer for listening post and other duties when it was not his turn.".

His officer also indicated in his letter that Harry had died in a charge on the enemy.

He has no known grave and his name is recorded on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing.

The Uttoxeter Advertiser published an extract from a letter that his parents had received from Private J. Marsh of the 1^st-6^th North Staffordshire Regiment^9d:

His officer also indicated in his letter that Harry had died in a charge on the enemy^9d.

The Thiepval Memorial

Harry’s family mourned his loss:

This touching notice was posted in the Uttoxeter Advertiser in July 1917^9f to mark the first anniversary of his death

In Loving Memory of Lance-Corporal Harry Hodgkinson, who was killed at Gommecourt on July 1, 1916.

Could we have raised his dying head

And heard his last farewell,

The grief would not have been so hard

For us who loved him well.

- From his Loving Mother and Step-father.

This notice followed a year later in 1918^9g, marking the second anniversary of his death

In Loving Memory of Lance-Corpl. Harry Hodgkinson, of Balance-hill, Uttoxeter, killed in action at Gommecourt, July 1, 1916.

Two years have passed, but still we miss him,

Never will his memory fade,

Loving thoughts will ever linger

Round the spot where he is laid.

- From his loving Mother, Step-Father, Sisters and Brothers.

This was posed in the Uttoxeter Advertiser in July 1919^9h to mark the third anniversary

In Loving Memory of Lance-Corpl. Harry Hodgkinson, killed at Gommecourt Wood, July 1, 1916.

He bravely answered duty’s call,

He gave his life for one and all.

The unknown grave is the bitterest blow –

None but aching hearts can know.

- From his loving Mother, Fathers, Brothers and Sisters, Balance-hill, Uttoxeter.