Ypres Reservoir Cemetery: P. Priano
Ypres Reservoir Cemetery: Pauline Priano
Pauline Priano has submitted the following:-
Ralph Tennant, one of 8 children, of whom by 1911 only 6 had survived, was the youngest of 6 brothers and had a younger sister also 1 deceased sibling, gender unknown. His father John Tennant was born at Chilton, May 4th 1860, his mother Mary Ann Cook in 1863 at Sunderland, both in County Durham, they married in the district of Easington, County Durham in 1881. John Thomas, Paul, Eliza and Joseph were all born at Haswell in 1884, August 7th 1886, 1888 and 1890 respectively, in 1891 living at 1st Cross Street, John supported his family employed as a coal miner, tragically their son John Thomas died in 1898 aged 14 years. They later moved to Wheatley Hill where Elwyn was born September 10th 1895, Ralph during the 3rd quarter (Jul/Aug/Sep) 1897 and daughter Sarah February 29th 1904. Paul at the age of 16 while they were living at Wingate joined his father at the colliery working below ground as a pony driver. By 1911 they had moved into 5 rooms at 2, South Terrace, Hordon, Sunderland, only Joseph (21), a hewer, Elwyn (15), a pony driver, Ralph (13) a scholar and Sarah (7) were living with their parents.
War with Germany was declared August 4th 1914, Ralph was only 17 years of age still too young to enlist, however, he most certainly lied about his age as he enlisted in 1914 at Hartlepool assigned as Private 2485 joining the 7th Battalion Durham Light Infantry of the Territorial Force. The men were split into two groups those of the first line were designated for service overseas the second line for home service. Once mobilised Private Tennant was sent with his regiment to the coastal defences where the men were also trained for the draft. He departed with the 1st/7th Battalion as Private 204646 from Newcastle-upon-Tyne railway station April 17th 1915, unbeknown to the authorities still only 18 years old and below the legal age for overseas service. The battalion landed in France and within days had made its way to Belgium where without any nursery training the men entered the front line during the 2nd Battle of Ypres, suffering many casualties from shell and gas attacks. November 15th 1915 they joined the 151st Brigade, 50th Northumberland Division and began training as a Pioneer Battalion tasked with digging and repairing trenches and dugouts as well as moving supplies and burying the dead, when necessary they fought as infantrymen. Moved from Belgium to the battlefields of the Somme, they entered the fighting at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette September 15th-22nd, Morval September 25th-28th and Le Transloy October 1st-18th. In the spring of 1917 they were moved to the Arras sector participating during the Battle of Arras, April 9th-May 16th 1917 at the 1st Battle of the Scarpe, Wancourt Ridge and the 2nd Battle of the Scarpe before returning north to Belgium. In the trenches of the Ypres salient they fought during the 3rd Battle of Ypres, July 31st-November 10th 1917 then spending another winter battling in the mud until returning to the Somme in March 1918.
Private 204646 Ralph Tennant died on active service December 22nd 1917 and interred at Ypres Reservoir Cemetery, Ypres, Belgium, grave IV. B. 17. He had only just turned 20 years of age and was single.
He had nominated his mother Mary Ann as sole legitimate beneficiary, she received all monies due to him and his awards of the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal sent to her at 7, Durham Avenue, Horden, County Durham. She commissioned at a cost of 14 shillings 3 pence an additional inscription to be added to her son’s military headstone, it reads, “He Counted Not The Cost But As A Man He Died That We Might Live”.
All the Tennant brothers would have been eligible for war service, however, Paul, Joshua and Elwyn, with their respective wives, as well as their sister Eliza and her husband, emigrated to America during 1912, no war record has as yet been found for Joseph Tennant.
Mary Ann Tennant nee Cook died in 1927, widower John Tennant in 1939, listed as a retired colliery stone-worker was living with his daughter, now Mrs J. Wood, at 28, Sixth Street, Easington, County Durham, his son-in-law John, stone-worker, and granddaughter Iris. John Tennant died in 1944 aged 84 years, registered at Durham Eastern.
In God’s safe keeping. Rest In Peace.
Ralph Tennant is remembered at Horden on H130.05 H130.08 and H130.10 and at Dawdon on D41.06
He is also remembered in The DLI Book of Remembrance page 337
