Photo : Catherine Drayson
Shields Daily News Saturday 02/11/1918
Will
Family Headstone
Gazette Entry
Shallett Hewson Raggett was born at 15 Fenwick Terrace, Preston, North Shields on the 25th December 1892, baptised on the 29th December 1892 at St Faiths Mission Church, Hudson Street, North Shields, the second eldest son of five children to the Reverend Robert Raggett, M.A., born 15th July 1857, Kent and his wife Elizabeth Hewson, [nee Crawford], born 1 Northumberland Place, Tynemouth, 8th December 1859, [daughter of Thomas Crawford, a solicitor, and Ann Isabella nee Hewson, Crawford, {she was the daughter of Shellat Hewson, a well known shipowner}, married at Christ Church 9th June 1857]. She died 7th September 1919.
Robert and Elizabeth were married on the 18th October 1887, at Christ Church North Shields. [Robert was residing at Albion Road, North Shields, and Elizabeth was residing at 1 Northumberland Place, Robert's father was a Railway District Inspector].
The other children were Bertram Robert Raggett, born 5th August 1890, Annie Luciania, born 1896, John Lawrence, born 14th August 1903, died 1996, [in 1939 was residing at 51 Loose Road, Maidstone, Kent with his wife, Sadie, born 1st August 1907] and Gilbert Edward born 8th January 1906, [in 1939 was residing at 141 Second Avenue, Dagenham, with his wife Emily D. born 15th March 1905].
Shallett's older brother Bertram Robert Raggett, also served in the Army, but was killed in 1918.
In 1891 Robert and his family were still residing at 15 Fenwick Terrace, North Shields, his father was educated at Maidstone Grammar School, then went to Oxford , where he studied to be a priest. He took his B.A. in 1884 and his M.A. two years later. Robert was ordained a deacon in 1884 then a priest in 1885, he became curate of Tynemouth in 1884 to 1890, then curate in charge at St Faiths Mission Church 1891 to 1892 at North Shields, then vicar of St Lukes from 1892, [due to the partitioning of the old St Andrews parish in Newcastle-upon-Tyne], in Spital Tongues, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He died 17th January 1912.
Shallett was educated at the Royal Grammar School from 1909 to 1912. He left in July 1912. He was residing at 6 Claremont Terrace, with the rest of his family.
He was having Private tuition with a view to take Holy Orders.
Shallett was a keen cricketer, in July 1914, S.H. Raggett XI played against the Corinthians at the College of Medicine ground at Heaton. With the Corinthians winning by 158 runs, Shallett took 4 wickets and scored 5 runs not out, his brother Bertram played as well scoring only 1 run before being caught out.
Shallett Hewson Raggett enlisted in the 22nd (Service) Kensington (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers service nu GS1221 in October 1914. The battalion was raised by the Mayor, [Alderman William H, Davison], and Borough of Kensington as a Service (Kitchener) battalion of the Royal Fusiliers (RF) on the 11th September 1914 at the White City. 'A' and 'B' Company were raised at the King Edward's Horse, who joined 'C' and 'D' Companies at (Shepherd's Bush), White City in September 1914. They trained at Roffey, (2 miles from Horsham), where a camp approved by the War Office had been erected, and Tidworth.
On the 27th October 1914 the battalion was entrained in two long special trains at Addison Road Station. On the 1st July 1915 the War Office took over the responsibility of the Battalion.
At the end of June 1915, the Battalion was moved to Clipstone. From August to November the battalion was at Tidworth. On November the 16th the Battalion left Tidworth station, one half left for Southampton to Havre, the other half from Folkestone to Boulogne.
In June 1915 it became part of 99th Brigade 33rd Division, along with 17th, 23rd and 24th Battalions Royal Fusiliers. The battalion went to France on the 16th November 1915 with 33rd Division, but almost immediately on arrival the brigade was transferred to the 2nd Division, a regular division, where the battalion remained till it was disbanded in Febuary 1918 when the BEF reduced the number of brigades in a battalion from four to three.
Shallett went to France with the 22nd Battalion on the 16th November 1915 until the 31st July 1916. The rest camp was at Ostrohove Camp, K Camp, from there the battalion ended up at Steenbecque.
On the 25th November the Battalion was transferred to the 2nd Infantry Division, previously they were with the 33rd Division as part of the 99th Infantry Brigade. The march south to Bethune then to a village called Fouquereuil. On the 17th December the Battalion are in the trenches for the first time.
Shallett was wounded on the 26th December 1915, near Bethune, the battalion were moving out of the trenches to Billets at Annequin South, one soldier wounded is mentioned in the War Diary.
Shallett was wounded a second time at Delville Wood with a Gun Shot Wound to the eye on the 27th July 1916, and was taken to the 56th Casualty Clearing Station at 12 pm then based at Vecquemont. He was here till 9.00 pm before being taken to Hospital. On the 27th July 1916, the battalion was with the 2nd Division, part of XIII Corps. At 6.10 am a severe barrage was laid on Delville Wood. At 7.10 am the 1st K.R.R.C. and the 23rd Royal Fusiliers, (99th Brigade), 'A' and 'B' Companies advanced,and captured the Princes Street line after some little opposition, following the lift in the barrge. By 9 am that had reached their objective and held a line about 50 yards inside the Wood. The 1st Royal Berks mopped up but did not push out to the eastern edge. The Germans began to shell Princes Street, the new supporting position.
A strong counterattack by the Germans on the flank was held by all units of the Battalion. The 22nd Battalion who had the less stimulating task of beating of the continued attacks of the enemy and the suffering their shell fire. The casualties were 1 officer Killed [a Captain Grant], 4 other officers wounded and 189 ranks killed wounded or missing. One of the wounded was Shallett. On the 31st July 1916, Shallett is taken off the strength of the 22nd Battalion.
After recovering from his wounds, he is returned the Royal Fusiliers depot and is transferred into the 1st Battalion Royal Fusiliers with a new service number GS/50588. He is in France from the 7th December 1916.
On the 2nd March 1917 Shallett is no longer in the 1st Battalion. He leaves France for the UK and applies for a commission as a Cadet in the 10th Officer Cadet Battalion at Gailes. Shallett was commissioned on the 28th February 1918 as a 2nd Lieutenant in to 'D' Company of the 4th Battalion (Territorial), King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment). Shallett was awarded the Military Cross whilst attached to the 1st Battalion.
Shallett married Theresa Cameron, born Paisley, 13th April 1900, daughter of David and Elizabeth Cameron, in 1926. They resided at the Old Mill Farm at Middleton in 1924.
Shallett and Theresa eventually resided at 153 Tunbury Avenue, Waldersalde, Chatham.
After the War Shallett was with the Chinese Labour Corps as a Lieutenant from the 27th August 1919.
The Chinese Labour Corps (CLC; French: Corps de Travailleurs Chinois; Chinese: 中国劳工旅; pinyin: Zhōngguó láogōng lǚ) was a force of workers recruited by the British government in World War I to free troops for front line duty by performing support work and manual labour. The French government also recruited a significant number of Chinese labourers, and although those labourers working for the French were recruited separately and not part of the CLC, they are often considered to be so. In all, some 140,000 men served for both British and French forces before the war ended and most of the men were repatriated to China between 1918 and 1920.
He died on the 6th October 1940 at Botleys Park War Hospital, Chertsey, after being moved from St Thomas Hospital from wounds received on Sunday 15th September 1940 outside the White Horse when he was caught in the bomb blast during the Blitz on London.
Botleys Park War Hospital’ consisted of 20 huts, grouped around a central ramped corridor, with outlying buildings used for nurse’s homes and stores, and Botleys Park Mansion was used to accommodated doctors and nursing staff. It was staffed by nurses from St. Thomas’ Hospital, London and many of the patients from evacuated London hospitals were sent there, as were victims of the London Blitz, and the wounded from Dunkirk and the D-Day landings. At this time there were 1,400 war hospital beds and 1,050 beds for other patients. On the 28th May 1940 Her Majesty the Queen (later the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) visited the War Hospital to see the wounded soldiers evacuated from Dunkirk.
Shallett Hewson Raggett M.C., of Woodlands Tunbury Avenue, Waldersalde, near Chatham left a will to his wife Theresa Raggett £827 9s 9d.
Theresa Raggett died on the 13th April 1988, leaving a will £97,115 at Brighton.
Shallett Hewson Raggett is remembered in the Civilian War Dead Roll of Honour, located near St. George's Chapel in Westminster Abbey, London Civilian War Dead at Westminster Abbey.
He is not remembered in the North East.
