William McGarrigle
Chester Chronicle 21 04 1916
CWGC Headstone
Michael Bell and Andrew McGarrigle have submitted the following:
William was born on a spring day in 1879 at Bates Cottages (1911 census), Holywell, Earsdon, He was the son of Miner John McGarrigle who was also born in Holywell and Ann Elizabeth - known as Hannah (nee Allen) who was born at Black Close, Newbiggin by the Sea. John and Hannah were married at the end of 1870, their marriage was registered at Tynemouth. John and Hannah went on to have seventeen children in all, of who only seven were still living in 1911.
In 1881 William was living at 19, North Row, East Holywell (Bates Cottages) with his parents and siblings John and Ann. Here is a description of North Row from 1873:"There are in all four rows here which may be said to be much of a muchness. Three of them are single rows, the other double. Of the single rows, the North Row is the longest, consisting of two wings or divisions. Each house has two rooms, a large kitchen on the ground level, and a cold dismal garret of the same size above, which is reached by the accustomed break-neck ladder. The pantries project from the rear of the cottages, but there are no back doors, and the only provision for through ventilation is the small latticed loop-hole in the pantry. Privies and ashpits there are none, and so behind the houses we have rather more than usual of those sights and smells so injurious alike to social morality and to public health. The same remarks will apply to both the Office Row and the Burn Row, but the Double Row is, as its name implies, built upon a somewhat larger scale than its neighbours, having two rooms on the ground floor, with the usual garret above. As to its sanitary arrangements, however, it is no better situated than the single rows. The long row faces north-west, and the others run at right angles from it, and in the angle thus formed we have the small Wesleyan Chapel, and an infant school, which used to be the village reading room - an institution now unhappily defunct in the place, to the great regret of the more intelligent among the men."
In 1891 William was living at 13, Double Row, Bates Cottages, Holywell with his parents and siblings.
In 1901 the family were still living at 13, Double Row, Bates Cottages, Holywell. William was working as a Putter down the pit.
Less than a year later, at the beginning of 1902, William married Sarah Wears. Their marriage was registered at Tynemouth. Sarah was born in the summer of 1881 at West Pelton and in 1901 was working as a Domestic Servant at North Farm in Holywell. Sarah was the daughter of Matthew Wears, a Miner (Hewer), from Pelton and Margaret Ellen Liddle who was born at Belmont, Durham.In 1911 William and Sarah were living at 33, Harrows Street, Shiremoor, near Backworth, which lies just west of Whitley Bay. After nine years of marriage they have had seven children of whom six were still living in 1911.
It would seem that William and Sarah moved to the Lumley area soon after the 1911 census. Their son John's birth was registered at Chester-le-Street at the beginning of 1912. They had a further two children, Joseph born in 1913 and Gladys L. born in 1915, both registered at Chester-le-Street. Sarah had another daughter, Margaret E., born in 1918, two years after William died in France, her birth was also registered at Chester-le-Street. Sarah re-married at the end of 1920 Henry Saunders and it is believed they lived in Lumley.
No army service records for William have been traced but he enlisted at Newcastle with the 20th Battalion, (1st Tyneside Scottish), Northumberland Fusiliers, very probably in 1914.
The 20th Battalion, (1st Tyneside Scottish), Northumberland Fusiliers was raised 14th October 1914, by the Lord Mayor and City of Newcastle, mainly from men of Scottish decent from the North East.
Initially training in Newcastle City centre the 1st Tyneside Scottish moved to Alnwick camp, in the grounds of Alnwick castle on the 29th of January 1915. They joined 102nd Brigade, 34th Division at Ripon in June 1915. In late August they moved to Salisbury Plain to begin final training. They proceeded to France in January 1916 and concentrated at La Crosse, east of St Omer.
The 102nd Brigade arrived in France about 15th January 1916. Prior to departure the battalions were granted home leave, two battalions at a time. The first pair of battalions were granted six days, the second pair only four days. By mutual agreement the men of the second pair of battalions agreed to take the six days of leave they felt was their due and all failed to return at the appointed time. This massed mutiny went largely unpunished.
William was killed in action on 9th March 1916, in the area of Armentieres, near the French - Belgium border, less than two months after arriving in France. It has been very difficult to find out exactly where the 1st Tyneside Scottish were on this date. I believe they were having a period of "trench hardening", with numbers of men being gradually introduced into the front line before the battalion as a whole would take over a section of the front. I believe William was killed in the front line area around Armentieres. The first major fighting the Tyneside Scottish saw was The Battle of the Somme on 1st July 1916, where they were slaughtered at La Boisselle, suffering the highest casualities of any units in action that day.
William is buried at X Farm Cemetery, La Chapelle-d'Armentieres, France (Grave Reference E.10)
X Farm Cemetery La Chapelle-d'ArmentieresLa Chapelle-d'Armentieres was in British hands from October 1914 until the fall of Armentieres on 10 April 1918, and it was retaken in the following October. During the British occupation it was very close to the front line, and the cemeteries which it contains are those made by fighting units and Field Ambulances in the earlier days of trench warfare.
X Farm Cemetery was begun in April 1915 and used until June 1916, and it was sometimes called "Wine Avenue". It was intended to take the place to Desplanque Farm Cemetery. There are now over 100, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site.
William McGarrigle is remembered on Great Lumley G50.01 and G50.02