Medal Index Card
Photo: James Pasby
Photo: James Pasby
The headstone reads:-
In loving memory
of
Cuthbert Charles
youngest son of Ralph
and Isabella Jane Atkinson
who died of wounds received inaction
in France
June 28th 1916 aged 28 years
He answered the call
The above Isabella Jane Atkinson
who died at Whickham April 14th 1932 aged 82 years
Rest in Peace
Jane Isabella
beloved wife of
Harry Kirk
and daughter of
Isabella Jane Atkinson
who died June 19th 1939 aged 70 years
Jacky Cooper has provided the following:
Cuthbert was the youngest surviving son of Ralph Atkinson and Isabella Jane Errington who had married towards the end of 1874 in Newcastle. He was born in the spring of 1888. By the time of the 1891 census Ralph was working as a rate collector, his eldest son was working as an apprentice engine fitter, five children were at school, leaving just Cuthbert at home during the day time with Isabella.
It seems that things were not settled at home, and by the time the next census was taken in 1901 the family was separated: Cuthbert was living with his father and great aunt whilst Isabella lived with five of her children in Ivy Cottage, Whickham. This situation continued and in 1911 Ralph was boarding at a house called Pudding Poke in Whickham, whilst Isabella and Cuthbert still lived at Ivy Cottage. By this time Cuthbert was 22 and working as an engineer’s fitter.
With the outbreak of war in 1914 Cuthbert was quick to enlist. He attested at Gateshead on the 27th October 1914 and was posted to the 13th Battalion Durham Light Infantry on the 4th November. Prior to enlisting he had been working as a market gardener. Cuthbert gave his religion as Church of England, and address as Ivy Cottage, Whickham. When he had his medical examination he was described as having a fair complexion, hazel eyes and brown hair. He was 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 115 lbs.
After initial training in England, the battalion was at Bramshott, in August 1916 preparing to embark for France. On the 25th August the men went by train from Liphook to Folkestone, and sailed to Boulogne, from where they marched to a rest camp, arriving at 4am the following day. After several days training the battalion left Moule at 5.58am and marched 16 miles to Hazebroucke, and the front line trenches. The men would have soon got into the routine of being in the front line, in reserve and resting.
On the 16th October Cuthbert became ill, and was admitted to 69 Field Ambulance with scabies, returning to duty on the 13th November. On the evening of the 22nd December the battalion went into the front line at Rue de Lettree, and spent Christmas Day there in steady rain, under enemy shelling. The battalion was relieved on the 31st December, and both Christmas and New Year passed without comment in the war diary. January was spent in the same area, but by the 5th February Cuthbert was ill once more. He returned to 69 Field Ambulance with albuminuria, which is often a symptom of kidney disease. He was later admitted to number 6 British Red Cross Hospital at Etaples, diagnosed with influenza, and on the 14th March travelled on ‘SS Dieppe’ to England. After treatment Cuthbert was posted to 17th (reserve) Battalion on the 22nd April.
It wasn’t until he 1st June that Cuthbert and 74 other men rejoined 13th Battalion in the field at Lisbourg. Two days later the battalion marched to Delette, where they trained until the 24th June. By early July the men were in the front line near Albert. On 12th July Cuthbert was badly injured by a gunshot wound which damaged his spine. He was evacuated from the battlefield, to number 6 General Hospital in Rouen, and from there aboard ‘SS Panama’ back to the UK where he was admitted to Ward W1 of King George Hospital, London on the 20th July.
By this time he was in a poor condition - suffering from paralysis in his legs, the wound on his back discharging, and developing bedsores. A laminectomy was performed, and it was clear that he was dangerously ill. A telegram was sent to his father, at Rosemary Cottage, Whickham, who said that he wanted to visit, but couldn’t afford the expense. The army sent a warrant to cover half of the travel costs, but it isn’t clear from Cuthbert’s service notes whether or not his father made the trip to see him. On the 28th July Cuthbert gradually weakened until he collapsed around 4.30 pm, and died of his wounds about 8.20pm, aged 28.
Cuthbert’s £8 War Gratuity payment was made to his mother, Isabella at Ivy Cottage in July 1919. For his service to his country Cuthbert was eligible for the the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. These were also sent to his mother after the war ended.
Cuthbert’s brother Joseph, who had married in 1913, named his first son, born in 1919, Cuthbert Charles. The family emigrated to Canada in 1927 returning in 1936.
Cuthbert Charles Atkinson is remembered in Whickham on W86.01, W86.03 and W86.05 and in the D.L.I. Book of Remembrance page 196
