Matthew Reay
Hooge Crater Cemetery
Hooge Crater Cemetery
Hooge Crater Cemetery
Pauline Priano has submitted the following:-
The only son, along with 2 daughters, of John Reay and his wife Clarissa Howson, both natives of Heworth, near Gateshead, County Durham born 1868, Matthew Reay was born at Heworth in 1898. His parents were married in the district of Gateshead in 1894 moving to 16, Cromwell Road Heworth, his father is described as a butchery shopkeeper for his own account and was obviously doing well as they had a servant, 16-year-old Maggie Lumsden. In those days, it was also perfectly normal that people ran a butchery business from their home. At the age of 12 Matthew was still a scholar.
As soon as he turned 18 he enlisted at Gateshead joining the Royal Scots Edinburgh Rifles, October 21st 1916 and was assigned as Private 5936 to the 5th Battalion and remained in England undergoing training until the battalion embarked as part of the British Expeditionary Force, leaving Folkestone and disembarking at Boulogne, August 4th-5th 1916. Once ashore they were sent to the Depot at Etaples for trench training where Private Reay was transferred on August 23rd to the 11th Battalion Royal Scotts (Lothian Regiment), 27th Brigade, 9th (Scottish) Division and assigned the new number 270543. The Division was fighting on the battlefields of the Somme during 1916 and he joined them during the Battle of Delville Wood which lasted until September 3rd 1916, followed by the Battle of Transloy during October. In 1917 they fought in the the First and Second Battles of the Scarpe during the Arras Offensive and the First Battle of Passchendaele on the salient near Ypres in Belgium.
Private 270543 Matthew Reay Royal Scotts was killed in action on the Ypres salient October 17th 1917, his body initially buried on the battlefield by his comrades. His mother nominated as his sole beneficiary received all monies due to him, a pension and his awards of the British War Medal and Victory Medial in 1918, also April 1st 1918 his personal belonging were returned to her at Bill Quay House, Bill Quay-on-Tyne consisting of; discs, letter, photo, diary, religious books, wallet, purse, pince-nez spectacles, cigarette case, keys.
It was not until after Armistice that she received a letter informing her that the body of her son had been found, exhumed and brought into Hooge Crater Cemetery, West Vlaanderen, 2 miles east of Ypres. Private Reay was reburied there with all reverence and honours, grave I. I. 14., at the time of his demise he was 19 years old and single. His father commissioned an inscription to be added to his military headstone at a cost of 8 shillings 9 pence which reads, “Duty Fulfilled Is The Noblest Glory”.
John Reay died at Bill Quay October 24th 1938 aged 70, his wife Clarissa aged 91 passed away in 1960 at Nunthorpe, near Middlesborough, Yorkshire.
In God’s safe keeping. Rest In Peace.
Matthew Reay is remembered at Heworth on H92.03 and at Bill Quay on B119.01
