Lumley Churchyard
Ever Remembered by his father and Mother brothers and Sisters
Son of Joseph and Mary Ann Hutchinson, of 20, Finchale Terrace, Fence Houses, Co. Durham.
In Christ Churchyard is a family headstone for Hutchinson which reads:
In loving memory of
Joseph
the beloved husband of
Mary Jane Hutchinson
who died December 15th 1937 aged 73 years.
Also the above Mary Jane
who died January 9th 1944 aged 73 years
Also their sons
Joseph died from wounds
November 2nd 1916 in Salonica aged 23 years.
Thomas killed in France
May 20th 1917 aged 26 years.
Their daughter Mildred Alice
beloved wife of A Thorogood died
22nd July 1953 aged 52 years.
Joseph, was born at Loves Row, Great Lumley in spring 1893. Loves Row lay behind the Warriors Arms.
His parents were Joseph, who was a Hewer at the pit and Mary Ann Hutchinson. I haven´t been able to verify Joseph and Mary Ann´s wedding so I don´t know her maiden name as yet. The family spent the first years of Joseph's life at Loves Row before they moved to 20, Finchale Terrace, Sixth Pit. Joseph had nine siblings, all of who were living at the time of the 1911 census.
According to the 1911 census Joseph was working underground at Sixth Pit as a Pony Putter. All of his siblings, except for his oldest sister Elizabeth, were still living with their parents at Finchale Terrace. Elizabeth had married Benjamin Brown in 1908 and in 1911 they were living at 35, Blue Row, Great Lumley with their children Robert and Jane.
The only war records I could find for Joseph were his burial details. From this record I can see he was a Private in the Northumberland Fusiliers (Service Number 7959) who were part of the 84th Brigade, 28th Division. I believe Joseph was with the 3rd Battalion (I believe he later transfered to the 2nd Battalion) and he was with them when they landed in France 23rd November 1914, moved to Egypt in October 1915 and then to Salonika where he died of wounds 2nd November 1916.
The Salonika Front is arguably one of the most forgotten in terms of where British and Commonwealth troops served in the Great War. British troops were sent to the region in 1915 to help the Serbians, who were already beaten by the time the first soldier landed. However, a complex relationship with neighbouring Greece lead to thousands of British troops, later joined by French, Italians and Russians, facing the Bulgarian Army, an ally of the Central Powers, on the Salonika front. Again it mirrored the Western Front with an extensive trench system and while there were big battles here, especially in the final phase of operations in 1918, the greatest threat was from disease, especially malaria. By the end of the campaign more than 10,600 British soldiers had died in Salonika, many of disease rather than from bullets or shells.
The troops of the British Salonika Force, as it was officially known, had many names for this theatre of war, some unpublishable, but the commonplace ‘Muckydonia’ summed up how many of them felt about being here and was a play on the region’s other name, Macedonia.
In 1916 the Allies staged a counter-attack starting on September 12. The terrain was rough and the Bulgarians were on the defensive but the Allied forces made steady gains. Slow advances by the Allies continued throughout October and on into November, even as the weather turned very cold and snow fell on the hills. The Germans sent two more divisions to help bolster the Bulgarian Army but by November 19 the French and Serbian Army captured Kaymakchalan, the highest peak of Nidže mountain. Losses in this campaign were c. 50,000 on the Allied side and c. 60,000 killed and captured Bulgarians and Germans, the front had advanced 25 miles.
Joseph died of wounds 2nd November and is buried at Lahana Military Cemetery, Grave Reference II. D. 11. The cemetery was begun in July 1916 for burials from the 27th Casualty Clearing Station, to which sick and wounded men were brought from the Struma front.
His brother Thomas Hutchinson also died in WW1.
Joseph Hutchinson is remembered at Great Lumley on G50.01, G50.02 and at Lumley 6th Pit W134.01
