At Courcelette British Cemetery, Somme, France, is the Commonwealth War Grave of 147693 Private Duke Harrison, serving with the 78th Battalion Canadian Infantry who died 14/10/1916.
Jean Longstaff and Dorothy Hall has submitted the following:-
Duke was the third son of Marmaduke Tomlin Parkin and his wife Margaret Harrison nee Herron. His parents had married in Houghton le Spring in 1876. At the time of Duke’s birth, January 25th 1884, they were innkeepers at Cross House Inn, Gillas Lane, Houghton le Spring. The family consisted of Christopher (1878) Jane (1880) William (1882) and Alice (1886)
Duke was baptised and educated in Houghton le Spring. In 1901. Marmaduke was at Red Rose Farm, Chester le Street with his wife Margaret and children Jane, (Dressmaker) Duke (Milk Boy) and Alice. By 1902 when William left the Imperial Yeomanry, Marmaduke had moved to Upperhouses Farm, Lanchester.
Duke was just 11 years old when his mother died the year after his older brother William had left to start a new life in Canada. William returned to England in 1908 and on his return to Canada in May took Duke with him sailed from Liverpool to Quebec on the “Victorian.” They were both labourers.
In 1911 Marmaduke, a widower and Plate Layer, was living at Victoria Terrace, Lanchester with daughter Alice.
July 1915, Duke, who had served as a militia man in the 100th Winnipeg Grenadiers, enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in Winnipeg. He gave up his job as a motorman and joined the 78th Battalion (Winnipeg Grenadiers).
July 1915 saw Duke, who had served as a militia man in the 100th Winnipeg Grenadiers enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in Winnipeg, giving up his job as a motorman and becoming Private 14763 of the 78th Battalion (Winnipeg Grenadiers). He was 5 feet 9 and a half inches tall, had a ruddy complexion, grey eyes and dark brown hair. He gave his brother William as his next of kin.
The battalion embarked for England on board the SS Empress of Britain, leaving Halifax on 22nd May and arriving in Liverpool on 29th May 1916 with 37 officers and 1097 other ranks and the travelled by train by Bramshott Camp on the south coast, and it was whilst based there that Duke made out his military will in favour of his younger sister Alice living in Linthorpe, Middlesbrough.
Leaving Southampton on 12th August 1916 the battalion docked in Le Havre and after an overnight rest entrained for Poperinghe, Belgium to join the 12th Infantry Brigade. After some instruction from the 57th Battalion, by mid-September the men found themselves in the front-line trenches, which were in a bad state due to the rain. After a brief spell of rest in tents at Warloy the battalion received orders to move on 12th October, their destination to be Tara Hill. The war diary for 14th October reports that there had must have been some misunderstanding between the working parties as some got lost, which led to casualties, one of whom was Private 147693 Duke Harrison. Originally buried in Artillery Lane his body was exhumed and reburied at Courcelette postwar.
His brother William was killed eleven days later.
Duke’s medals were sent from Canada to his father living at 2 Westwood Row, Burnhope.
Marmaduke travelled to Canada in 1935 perhaps to see William’s widow and his grandchildren, returned and died at Riverdale House, 3 Front Street, Lanchester 6th April 1936 leaving assets of £1,099 13s 8d.
Duke Harrison is remembered at Lanchester on L62.01
In Canada he is remembered on their Virtual War Memorial and on the Next of Kin Memorial in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
