Pauline Priano has submitted the following-:
Henry Aloysius Coleman born at Lanchester, County Durham, in 1895 was the only son of Irish immigrants William Coleman born 1863 and Margaret Price born 1862, They were married in the district of Lanchester in 1890, initially living at 165, Chapel Row, Esh, with her parents Henry and Ellen Price, her 3 brothers, who like their father were employed as coal miners, sister Ann and niece Margaret. In error Margaret in the 1901 census, although married is listed as Henry’s daughter-in-law and coal miner William Coleman as a boarder along with 24-year-old Patrick Conner. Their daughter Elizabeth Ann was born in 1892. By 1901 Margaret was a widow and listed with her children as visitors in the home of Patrick and Ann Flynn. At the age of 16 Henry had left home and was living as a boarder in the home of widow Mary Ann Brogan at Attwood Terrace, Tudhoe Colliery, Spennymoor, employed as a coal miner, his sister Elizabeth Ann (18) was employed as a postal clerk by sub-postmistress Mary Elizabeth Kay, wife of the brickwork’s manager George Kay, living at their home also at Attwood Terrace. Unfortunately, their mother died in 1912, Margaret Coleman nee Price was 49 years of age.
On the outbreak of war Henry enlisted at Ferryhill, September 7th 1914, assigned as Private 17793 Durham Light Infantry. He departed as one of over 2,000 recruits from Newcastle railway station to Buckinghamshire. At Aylesbury half, including Private Coleman were posted, September 11th, to the 14th Battalion, the remainder formed the 15th Battalion, both attached to the 64th Brigade, 21st Division. Training was slow without uniforms, using dummy rifles and too few officers, with the onset of winter the bad weather forced them to move into billets at High Wycombe. In early December they received their khaki uniforms and rifles and training began in earnest for their deployment overseas. Early April the 14th and 15th Battalions marched back to their newly built wooden huts at Halton Park until finally moving to Witley Camp and Aldershot before their departure for the Western Front.
September 11th they landed at Boulogne, France, with the 21st Division and within two weeks were fighting at the Battle of Loos in the first major British offensive on the Western Front. After a long march, cold, tired and hungry they faced the enemy pushing forward across the old British line reaching the German front line at 2 a.m, September 26th 1915. Their attack was repelled by machine gun fire and they were driven back, the 14th lost almost 300 men killed or wounded, the 15th over 450. November 10th 1915 he was taken to the 50th Dressing Station, cause unspecified, returning to duty 2 days later. At the end of November 1917 the 14th D.L.I. was transferred to the 6th Division and after spending the winter in the trenches of the Ypres salient in Belgium, late August 1916, they were ordered south to the battlefields of the Somme. They participated briefly at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette September 15th-22nd and the Battle of Morval September 26th-28th before spending a second winter in the trenches attacking at Lens, April 1917 as part of the Battle of Arras April 9th-May 15th 1917, where they captured Nash Alley before being forced to retreat.
April 21st 1917 Private 17793 Henry Aloysius Coleman Durham Light Infantry was wounded by shell fire and evacuated back through the lines to the 18th Field Ambulance for treatment. He died of wounds sustained that same day and was interred at Philosophe British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France, which lies on the road between Bethune and Lens. He is at rest grave I. O. 48.
Private Coleman was aged 22 years and single, as his sole legitimate beneficiary his sister Elizabeth Ann of Post Office, Tudhoe Colliery, County Durham received all monies due to him, a pension and his awards of the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal also personal items consisting of letters, photos and a religious book. She commissioned at a cost of 6 shillings 1 pence an additional inscription to be added to his military headstone, it reads, “Jesus Have Mercy On Us.”
Elizabeth Ann Coleman after 1921 left Tudhoe Colliery and moved to 1, Chesterton Road, Kensington, London W.10, she did not marry and died during the 3rd quarter 1985 registered at Enfield Greater London, in her 93rd year.
In God’s safe keeping. Rest In Peace.
Henry Aloysius Coleman is not remembered on a local War Memorial
He is remembered in The DLI Book of Remembrance
