CLS Chronicle 11/05/1917
Photo: Dorothy Hall
Photo: Dorothy Hall
In St. John's Churchyard Birtley is a family headstone which reads:
In
loving memory of
Barbara
the beloved wife of
Thomas Birkett
died April 25th 1920
aged 62 years
Also Joseph
son of the above
who died of wounds
in France Sept. 3rd 1918
aged 25 years
John Taylor and Ann Norman have submitted the following:
Joseph Birkett was born in Pelton Fell, County Durham on 17th June 1893, the eldest of three children of Thomas and Barbara Birkett. In 1911, the family were living at 62 Queens Street, Birtley. Joseph was employed as a colliery shaft boy while his father was also a miner.
Joseph served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve with the Hood Battalion Royal Naval Division, a shore based infantry unit. His service number was Tyneside Z/4784 and his rank was Able Seaman. His cause of death is recorded as “killed or died as a direct result of enemy action” on 3rd September 1918. His mother Barbara was recorded as his next of kin and was living at Glee Villa, Eighton Banks. He is buried in plot: III. F. 15 at the Bac-du-Sud British Cemetery, Bailleuval, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France.
Joseph Birkett is remembered in Eighton Banks on E50.01 and E50.02
