Tyne Cot Cemetery
Pauline Priano has submitted the following:-
Henry Mather was born on April 21st 1886 in Workington, Cumberland, the eldest of 2 sons born to Samuel Mather 1860 of Dronfield, Derbyshire and his wife Sarah Ann Creswick also born 1860 in Ecklington, Derbyshire. Samuel and Sarah Ann were married in Dronfield, September 22nd 1879 but had migrated north to Cumberland by the time their son Frederick was born in 1885. Samuel was working as a general labourer, the family were living at 5 Pearson Street, Workington in 1891, moving to the north east of England by 1901 to Quarry Row, Tantobe, Tanfield, County Durham. He was now employed as a hewer below ground as were Frederick (16 years) and Henry (14 years).
Henry Mather met and married, June 1908, in the district of Lanchester, Elizabeth Jane Loggon of Birtley, County Durham, born 1890. Two years later Elizabeth gave birth to a son, Ernest, during the first quarter of 1910 in Craghead, County Durham. In 1911 they were living at 8 Boundary Row, Grange Villa, his parents along with his widowed brother and son at 34 Railway Street, Craghead, all three men were employed as hewers.
Several months after the outbreak of war Henry enlisted, January 8th 1915 stating his address as 46 Kimberley Terrace, Craghead and was assigned as Private 3283 to Deal Battalion, Royal Marines Medical Unit, Royal Naval Division. As part of the medical unit Henry would have been every bit as much in the thick of it as the units were never more than 600 yards behind the front line. Deal Battalion was part of the 63rd Royal Naval Division, first seeing action in April 1915 during the Gallipoli landings. After the evacuation of Gallipoli, the Division moved to France where it participated in the final phase of the Battle of the Somme and then moved to Belgium just before the Second Battle of Passchendaele October 26th-November 10th 1917.
Private 3283 Henry Mather R.M. Medical Unit R.N.D. was killed or died as a direct result of enemy action October 26th 1917. His body was buried on the battlefield and marked with a cross bearing his name and service details. His body was exhumed after Armistice, identified by means of the cross and a disc and brought in from the battlefield for reburial with military honours at Tynecot Cemetery, Zonnebeke, Passchendaele, near Ypres in Belgium, grave III. J. 22. His widow commissioned an additional inscription, at the cost of 8 shillings and 9 pence, to be added to his headstone, it reads, “God Be With You Till We Meet Again. R. I. P.”.
His widow Elizabeth Jane received all his personal possessions, monies due to him, a pension for herself and their child, also his awards of 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.
She remarried taking the name of Elizabeth Jane Reay living at 18, Ladysmith Terrace, Craghead. Their son Ernest died in approximately 1944.
In God’s safe keeping. Rest In Peace.
Henry Mather is remembered at Craghead on C120.01 and C120.04 and in Gateshead on G39.030
