Remembering James 100 years on

In loving memory of James RENSHAW, Private 350658 (3033), 18th (4th Glasgow Yeomanry) Bn., Highland Light Infantry, also Queens Own Royal Glasgow Yeomanry (95730), who was killed in action on the Somme 100 years ago today, on the 25th March 1918, aged 23 years. 

James RENSHAW  1895 - 1918

James has no known grave and is remembered on panel 72 of the Pozieres Memorial at the Pozieres British Cemetery, near the town of Albert in France. 

The Pozieres British Cemetery, France. The memorial
panels can be seen on the walls surrounding the cemetery.

James RENSHAW's name on panel 72 of the Pozieres Memorial.

Before the war James was a coalminer from Bothwellhaugh, Lanarkshire, Scotland and was born in the village on the 28th February 1895. He was the second son of Mary (nee McMULLEN) and David RENSHAW, and the brother of William, David, Robert and Edith. 

My paternal great-grandfather Herbert RENSHAW was a first cousin of James but after the death of Herbert's own parents when he was very young he was raised in this family like another son, hence James was like a younger brother to Herbert and he was known as "Uncle James" by my grandmother Lizzie RENSHAW. 

These photos of James (along with some others I have) all came from my grandmothers photo collection. Other than the official photo on the memorial card, they all show a very happy, smiley, handsome young man who was loved by everyone who knew him or ever met him. James was only 23 years young when he died and had never had the chance to be married or have any children. His youngest brother Robert died as a baby, and his sister Edith died when she was only 19, and so far I have had no luck finding any descendants of his other two brothers. With that in mind I feel it is my duty to remember him and keep his memory alive because there may be no one else who can. 

May James never be forgotten and forever rest in peace.

Brick Wall: Herbert Renshaw ..... war hero (Pt 2)

Continued from Pt 1

My paternal great grandfather, Herbert RENSHAW, is one of the many brick walls in my family history research.

Herbert survived almost five years in the trenches of France and Belgium during the Great War and thankfully returned home safely to his family in Bothwellhaugh, Scotland in late February 1919. Over 9,000,000 British soldiers served overseas during the first world war, of which over 1,000,000 were killed and remain forever in foreign lands. Another 4,000,000 were badly wounded or crippled and came home to a new life and a new world much changed from that they had left.

After the war Herbert, along with millions of other British soldiers, received medals for their efforts in the war. These three medals immediately below were amongst six that Herbert received, with most soldiers receiving these three WW1 campaign medals, commonly and affectionately known as “Pip, Squeak and Wilfred”.

Herbert’s 1914 - 1915 Star , also known in the military world as “Pip”. It was issued in 1918 to any soldier who served in Germany between 5th Aug 1914 and 31st Dec 1915. It was not issued alone though, and the recipient had to have received the British War Medal and the Victory Medal also. An estimated 2.4 million of these medals were issued.

Herbert’s British War Medal, also known in the military world as “Squeak”. This medal was awarded to officers and men of the British and Imperial Forces who served overseas between 5th Aug 1915 and 11th Nov 1918. Approximately 6.4 million of these medals were issued, each with the recipient’s service number, rank, name and unit engraved on the rim.

Herbert’s Allied Victory Medal, also known in the military world as “Wilfred”. Approximately 5.7 million Victory Medals were issued. Interestingly, eligibility for this medal was more restrictive and not everyone who received the British War Medal (Squeak) also received the Victory Medal (Wilfred). However, in general, all recipients of “Wilfred” also received “Squeak'”and all recipients of “Pip” also received both “Squeak” and “Wilfred”. 



Herbert also received three other medals that are very special to our family. They are the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Medaille Militaire.

Herbert’s Territorial Force Efficiency Medal. It was a medal of the United Kingdom, awarded for long service in the Territorial Forces. The criteria was a minimum of 12 years service, with war service counting as double. Herbert’s service was calculated at 16 years; six years prior to the outbreak of war, and then five years in active service overseas (being counted as double).

Herbert’s Meritorious Service Medal, which was awarded to recognise meritorious service in the field by non-commissioned officers. Recipients were also granted an annuity, the amount being based on rank. Herbert was awarded this medal in June 1918.

Below is Herbert’s most special award, the Medaille Militaire. This is a French medal, an award for extreme valour and France’s second highest medal (ranking immediately after the prestigious Legion of Honor). It is awarded for distinguished acts of bravery in action against enemy forces and was awarded to Herbert by the French government after the war, for putting his life on the line and saving the Fabre family (that I mentioned previously). Exactly what Herbert did I have never been able to find out. My grandmother told me that Herbert (her father), like many soldiers who lived through the great war, would never talk about what had happened to him during this time. They came home from the war and just wanted to try to forget the horrendous conditions they had lived through and the horrors they had seen. 

According to my grandmother, the French government offered Herbert the opportunity to go and live in France after the war and offered to educate his children in the best French schools. But Herbert didn’t want to head back to France ever again, it held too many bad memories for him and he wanted to settle down to a quiet life again in Scotland.

The Medaille Militaire is a very high ranking medal, is reasonably rare and not readily found in many British or Commonwealth groups of medals. I am very, very proud of Herbert for receiving this award; I only wish I could find out more about what he did to earn it.

A very precious document from my family archives; Herbert’s 1919 demobilization papers.

As a child I was always fascinated by Herbert’s war medals and loved to take them out and hold them and look at them. They were left to my older brother by my grandmother when she died in 2000, so unfortunately I never get to see them now. But they will always be very special to me, even more so now that I have finally been able to find out a bit more about what Herbert did during the war and what he lived through.

Right from when Herbert received his medals, he always kept them in this special tin, where they still live to this day. This is a 1914 Christmas tin, sent to the troops fighting at the front line in France for Christmas 1914. The idea was the initiative of Princess Mary, the 17 year old daughter of King George V. Each tin contained a gift for the soldiers and included such things as tobacco or cigarettes, shaving brushes and combs, pencils and notepaper, sweets or chocolates, and a small christmas card.

Another interesting piece of information I very recently learned about Herbert was that his unit was one of many that took part in the now-famous “Christmas Truce” of 1914, where the war stopped for one day and both german and allied soldiers spent the day “fraternizing with the enemy”; singing carols, having a drink together, exchanging small gifts with each other and even playing football. 

Herbert with his wife Bessie (Elizabeth Speirs nee LINDSAY) and family, not long after his return home from war.  The small girl is my grandmother, Elizabeth (Lizzie) Speirs RENSHAW (later ENGLISH), with her older brother Davy. Herbert and Bessie later had another two sons, Herbert (Bert), born in Dec 1920 and Bryan, born and died in Nov 1934.

By early 1926 the Scottish mining industry was in turmoil. The war had seriously depleted many coal seams and exports were falling drastically. Mine owners tried to compensate for lost income by lowering wages of miner workers and increasing hours. In March it was suggested that mine workers should receive a 13.5% decrease in pay to try to improve the industry as a whole. Mine owners threatened to lock out the workers if they did not accept these new terms by May 1st. Workers rejected these new terms and true to their word, mine owners locked out over one million mine workers. Because of this the National Trade Unions called for a general strike to begin on May 3rd in support of the miners. The magnitude of the strike astounded both the union and the government, with more then three million industrial workers going out in support of the mine workers. However, after ten days when things began to turn violent the trade union decided to call off the general strike. Miners remained stoic for a few more months before being forced by their own economic needs to accept the new conditions and return to the mines.

Herbert and Bessie would have been a part of this turmoil and this must have influenced their decision to try to find a better life for themselves. Their eldest son Davy had just turned 15 years old at this time and Herbert had always maintained that “no son of mine will ever  go down the mines”.

Below is the reference that Herbert received from the Bent Colliery Company in late May 1926. This was just after the general strike had finished but the miners had still not returned to work. After 25 years in the mine Herbert had spent many years underground but had now progressed to a more senior role and was a safety inspector and fireman with the mine. I am only guessing but this may have meant he was still working and was not a part of the strike. This is a fine reference, which I very much doubt would have been given to someone still on strike.

"S.S. Ruapehu"  **

In mid August 1926 Herbert and Bessie and their three children packed up all of their belongings and left Scotland behind in search of a new and better life. They made their way to Southampton and on Aug 26th they boarded the New Zealand Shipping Company steam ship “Ruapehu” for a journey that would take them to the other side of the world, to a land very, very different to that from which they had come.

To the right is part of the passenger manuscript for their ship, “S.S.Ruapehu”, that sailed for New Zealand carrying 230 adults and 61 children as passengers. Their names are shown two-thirds of the way down the page. Herbert is listed as a miner but interestingly, Davy is listed as farming, not something he had done yet but obviously what his intentions were when he got to New Zealand.

The decision to leave Scotland and make a voyage to the unknown on the other side of the world must have been a very difficult decision to make. Herbert left behind his aunt and uncle who had raised him but poor Bessie left behind so much more. She had to say goodbye, knowing it was probably forever, to her father, her grandfather, her three brothers and their wives, nieces and nephews, and numerous other close relations who all lived nearby.

Herbert, Bessie and Davy would never see their beloved Scotland again and it was almost fifty years later before Lizzie and Bert made their way back there again for a visit.

Their voyage to New Zealand was quite rough at times and I can remember my grandmother telling me that many of their precious possessions they brought with them were broken on the journey, possibly when being loaded or unloaded by rough deckhands and ships crew. Things such as special items of crockery that had belonged to Bessie’s family, although well packed, were all smashed. When they were finally able to unpack in their new home town of Mataura, Bessie just sat and cried and cried when she discovered what had happened. 

The family settled well into life in New Zealand. Herbert gained employment in the paper mill, one of two large factories in their new hometown of Mataura. He worked there for many years, right up until he reached retirement age. Although Herbert and Bessie eventually came to love their new country, my grandmother told me it was always her mothers greatest wish “to go back home”, ... back to Scotland. But sadly she never, ever got the chance.

Below is one of the last photos ever taken of Herbert RENSHAW, taken with his family in the mid 1950’s. Herbert is sitting on the step on the left with his wife Bessie standing directly behind him. Standing on the other side is their daughter Lizzie (my grandmother), with her husband Bob ENGLISH also sitting on the step. Lizzie and Bob’s two sons Evan and Ron are also there. I believe this photo was taken on a family holiday they had together at Riverton.

Herbert died suddenly of a heart attack at his home in Bristol Street, Mataura on 15th December 1957, aged 72. The photo below shows Herbert’s wife Bessie and daughter Lizzie sitting by his graveside at the Mataura Cemetery. 

The grave of Herbert RENSHAW, and also his wife
Bessie and their two sons Davy and Bryan. This
grave is located in the Mataura Cemetery and is
one of the many graves of my ancestors that
I maintain and visit regularly. 

My great grandfather Herbert RENSHAW is a man that I would love to have known. Although he looks so serious in the few photos that I have of him, from what I gathered from my grandmother, he was a very quiet, gentle, kind and loving man. I would love to have been able to sit and have a chat with him to really get to know him, but sadly he died 14 years before I was born. His life was obviously not easy and I am very proud of him for overcoming all the obstacles he faced.

I would love to know what happened to his parents in Ireland and also his family in Bothwellhaugh. I am also very keen to know what happened to him during the war and find out more about the Fabre family. So with those goals in mind I will keep searching and searching in the hope that someday I will have the answers that I seek.

Thank you Herbert for your bravery and for your service to your country. Thank you also for bringing your family from the other side of the world to settle in New Zealand. I am very, very proud that you are my great grandfather.

__________________________

(Please note; the photo marked ** is not mine and was found online during my research)

Brick Wall: Herbert Renshaw ..... war hero (Pt 1)

My paternal great grandfather, Herbert RENSHAW, is one of the many brick walls in my family history research.

According to Herbert’s World War 1 records, he was born in Portadown, Armagh, Ireland (now Northern Ireland) in May 1885. He was the son of Mark RENSHAW (a joiner) and Mary Jane (nee RENSHAW). Despite a lot of searching I have not yet been able to locate this mystery couple; the only reason I know that these were their names is that they appear on Herbert’s marriage certificate.

My grandmother Elizabeth ENGLISH nee RENSHAW (Herbert’s daughter) told me that his parent’s died when he was just a young boy. He then went to live with his aunt and uncle David and Mary (nee McMullan) RENSHAW, who lived in Bothwellhaugh, Scotland. I believe the uncle David RENSHAW to be the brother of Herbert’s mother Mary Jane but this is yet to be confirmed.

Herbert had one sister, Bella, and after their parent’s died Herbert never saw her again. I do not know whether she was older or younger than Herbert, but my grandmother told me that Bella died young when she was still just a teenager and still living in Ireland. Who she was living with is another mystery yet to be solved.

I am not sure when or how Herbert moved to Scotland but the first real proof I have found of him being there is the 1901 Census which shows him at age 15 living at 43 Clyde Place, Bothwellhaugh with his aunt and uncle, David and Mary RENSHAW, and their children William (age 8), James (age 6) and David (age 3). Herbert is listed as a miner, working in the Hamilton Palace Colliery. 

1901 Scottish Census showing Herbert living with his aunt and uncle in Bothwellhaugh

Below are the four cousins that Herbert grew up with in Scotland and that he considered to be his brothers and sister. Herbert's daughter (my grandmother) grew up knowing these four siblings as her aunt and uncles.

William RENSHAW was born on 26 Nov 1892, James on 28 Feb 1895, David on 19 May 1897 and Edith in 1904. There was also another brother, Robert who died age 8 months of age in Feb 1900. His cause of death is listed as infantile convulsions and acute bronchitis.

I have not found too much information yet on William and David, other than a few facts told to me by my grandmother. According to her, William married Agnes HUNTER and had a daughter named Chrissie. William and David both served in France during World War 1.

James RENSHAW served during WW1 with the 18th Btn. Highland Light Infantry (Queen’s Own Glasgow Yeomanry) which arrived in France in May 1915. He spent almost three years fighting in France and was killed on 25 March 1918 (age 23 years) during the First Battle of Bapaume (part of the Second Battle of the Somme). His body was never found and he is commemorated on the Pozieres British Memorial, situated approx 6km from the small town of Albert in France. 

According to my grandmother, Edith RENSHAW was very intelligent young woman and was in training to become a teacher when she became very ill and died on 25 Aug 1923, age 19 years. Her cause of death is listed as toxemia and exhaustion of acute confusional insanity, and hypostatic pneumonia (13 days duration).

Below is the marriage registration of Herbert RENSHAW and his wife Elizabeth Speirs (nee LINDSAY). They were married at the Parish Church in Bothwell, Lanarkshire Scotland on 9 Sept 1910. Although the registration lists their ages as 22 for Herbert and 17 for Elizabeth (known as Bessie), Herbert was actually 25 when he was married.

Below is the 1911 Census (taken on 2 April 1911) showing Herbert and Bessie living together at 23 Avon Place Bothwellhaugh. Herbert is listed as being 26 years old, Bessie as 18 years old. This census was taken only two months before the birth of their first child, David (known as Davy) on 16 June 1911.

The tiny mining village of Bothwellhaugh in Lanarkshire, Scotland was the place that Herbert and his family called home. He worked for at least 25 years at the Hamilton Palace Colliery which had built the entire town to house it’s workers. The town was abandoned in the early 1960’s after the mine closed in 1959. The village was subsequently drowned when the Strathclyde Loch was created in the early 1970’s as part of the development of the Strathclyde Regional Park. 

The west end of Bothwellhaugh, date unknown  **

Hamilton Palace Colliery, Bothwellhaugh  **

In May 1908 Herbert enlisted as a volunteer with the territorial force and began life as a part-time soldier, still working in the mines but receiving military training during days off.  When war broke out in 1914 the territorial forces were amongst the first volunteers to be set to France, arriving there in Nov 1914 as part of Kitcheners Army, reinforcements for the British Expeditionary Forces. The British Expeditionary Forces were the full-time soldiers who were the first to head to France in August 1914 and who suffered massive losses in the first couple of months of the war. Herbert was part of the 5th / 6th Btn. Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) which during the course of the war lost over 37,400 men from their division.

I have no idea when the photo below was taken but I tend to think it was before the war when Herbert’s unit was still part of the territorial forces. Herbert is in the back row on the very right.

I have no idea when or where this photo was taken either, all I know is that my grandmother thought it was taken at the end of the war. Herbert is in the middle of the front row in his dress uniform of tartan trousers and button up tunic.

My grandmother told me that the lady in the back row third from the right was Herbert’s aunt who brought him up (Mary nee McMullen RENSHAW) and the rest of the people were “relations from Canada”. I have never found any information on any branches of the family that went to Canada so it is something that I am yet to spend more time on and hopefully discover more about.

During Herbert’s time in the Scottish Rifles his unit was involved in many of the famous battles of the first world war including:

* The Battle of Albert and the attacks on High and Deville Woods (all were phases of the Battle of the Somme in 1916)

* The First and Second Battles of the Scarpe and the Battle of Menin Ridge (phases of the Arras Offensive of 1917)

* The Battle of Polygon Wood (a phase of the Third Battles of Ypres 1917) which saw them encounter mustard gas for the first time, Herbert’s unit suffering 2,905 casualties in one day. This also included heavy fighting around Passchendaele in Nov of 1917.

Herbert’s unit and division were still in Flanders when the Germans launched their spring offensive of 1918. His unit spent much of 1918 on the front line and was heavily engaged in the Battles at Epehy, St Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir Line and Cambrai (phases of the Battles of the Hindenburg Line). They were part of the Advance to Victory and their final action was the Battle of Selle in late October. After the Armistice in November of 1918 the division stayed in France and was finally de-mobilized in Feb 1919.

In early November 1917 Herbert was “Mentioned in Despatches”. This is not the award of a medal but is a commendation of an act of extreme gallantry by an individual (though a medal of some kind may also be issued for the same act). A “Despatch” is an official report written by the senior commander of an army in the field recognising these individuals. All “Despatches” were published in the London Gazette in full or in part after the event. In 1919 it was decided that all those “Mentioned in Despatches” would receive a certificate honoring their achievement, all individually signed by Winston Churchill. 

This is Herbert’s certificate, now almost 100 years old and showing the
effects of time (and having gone through the Mataura flood in 1978).

Below is the London Gazette published on 18 December 1917 showing Herbert’s name “Mentioned in Despatches”. At this time his unit was fighting near Passchendaele in Belguim. Six months later in June 1918 Herbert was awarded the “Meritorious Service Medal” which is awarded for “meritorious service in the field by non-commissioned officers”. Whether this medal relates to this same time period in late 1917 or something completely separate I have not yet been able to find out.  Medals were often not awarded until many months later so hopefully one day I will be able to find this out and also find out exactly what he did to receive these recognitions.

During the later stages of the war Herbert was involved with saving a French family, the Fabres, from being captured and killed by the Germans. So far I have been unable to find out any further details about this family or the events surrounding them, but I do have in my possession this photo of their family that they sent to Herbert after the war.

After the Armistice in November 1918 while Herbert was still in France he was able to go back to the area where the Fabre's lived and go to visit them. Sadly, when he arrived there they were not there and he never got the chance to see them again. Not long after this he received this letter from them. It is a bit hard to read so I have written a transcript of it below. Herbert sent it home to his wife Bessie in Scotland and wrote the piece on it in pencil. Almost one hundred years later and I have this letter in my possession and it is a very treasured part of my family archives.

"My dear friend,

I am very content that you are good health and I was very sad the last day

when I knew that you came to see me and I was not there.

If you come again be kind enough send me a postcard so I shall stay

at home and wait for you.

My mother sends you her best regards.

Both of us reminds you every night in our prayers, so that

God keep you in good health and take you safely back to your family.

I would be very pleased to give my best respects to your wife and

your children whom I hope are enjoying good health.

I remain your grateful and faithful friend,

Gabrielle Fabre

Rue du Paradis, (?) "

________

"Perhaps you can't make out her name very well it is

Gabrielle Fabre. 

Show it to my aunt and uncle."

________

To be continued in Pt 2

______________________________

(Please note; the two photos marked ** are not mine and were found online during
the course of my research into Bothwellhaugh and the Hamilton Palace Colliery)