Peter Wise and Brenda McMahon have submitted the following:-
Ralph was born at Ettersgill in 1891. At the age of only 4 months he is living with his widowed grandma, a farmer, at Low Beck Head. The others in the household include daughter, Mary Ann and, Leonard William (his father although he is listed as single).
Towards the end of 1891 Leonard married Elizabeth Tarn.
The 1901 shows Ralph still living with grandma, Elizabeth Bell. Ralph now has a brother, Ernest William who was born in 1897.
1911 now living with aunt and uncle, Michael and Sarah Bewsher and two other relatives. All the men are miners, Ralph being a putter at Tindale Crescent.
In 1912 he married Sarah Annie Labron at St Helen’s, Auckland. Together the couple had three daughters, Violet, Jane (known as Jenny) died aged 23 and Mary died aged 2 years.
Ralph was sent to France on April 19th 1915. About the 8th of May 1915 he was wounded. He was hit by a shell and crept two miles to the nearest hospital. In a letter to his mother Ralph describes his wounds as “sore and painful” but states he is looking forward to them healing a little so he can visit home. He tells her to ”keep a good smile. We are not downhearted yet”.
Ralph was killed in action on November 5th 1916 and is buried at Warlencourt British Cemetery.
Ralph William Hebdon is remembered at Barnard Castle on B135.02, B135.23 and B135.25
He is also remembered in The DLI Book of Remembrance page 306
