Soldiers of the great war

Their Families, Friends And Forebears

This website is intended to honour the men of Cottingham and Middleton who served in the Great War, principally those who were killed while doing so. It also looks at the impact on their families and the local community.

I hope it will be useful to anyone who wants to research an individual soldier.

What can I learn about the soldiers?

The entry for each soldier covers (as far as possible) military career, family background, where he lived and worked, and his previous occupation. It also gives details of the foreign cemetery or memorial where he is commemorated.

Who is includeD?

Soldiers commemorated on the War Memorial

No strict national criteria were set for which soldiers should be included on a war memorial. They were selected by the local Memorial Committee for a variety of reasons, usually because they were born or resident in that community. Sometimes, however, it was because they had been employed there, or had family still living locally. It is quite common for soldiers to appear on more than one UK memorial. Some of the men named on the Cottingham and Middleton Memorial were born elsewhere, and three at least are also commemorated in their home parish.

Soldiers connected to Cottingham and Middleton but commemorated elsewhere

It has been possible to trace a few men who were born or lived in the village but who are not commemorated there.

Soldiers related to Cottingham and Middleton families

Several families lost close relatives who lived elsewhere. These soldiers have been included in order to show how badly the Great War affected individual families.

Soldiers who are known to have served

Military records of soldiers who survived the Great War have in many cases been lost or are very difficult to identify (see Researching Servicemen). Those names listed here are therefore very few.

COPYRIGHT

This website and its content is copyright of Christine Blenkarn (cottinghamsoldiers@gmail.com) – 2014. All rights reserved.

Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited other than the following: you may print or download extracts for your personal and non-commercial use only, as long as you acknowledge the website as the source of the material.

You may not, except with my express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system.

Latest News!
For recent additions, updates on progress and other discussion, follow the link below:
Cottingham Soldiers Blog
Site updated: 24/10/2018

War memorial inauguration ceremony

Cottingham War Memorial:
The Opening ceremony
Source:
Cottingham History Website

Can you help?
This is an ongoing project, and I would very much welcome new information, including photos, on any soldiers from the village who took part in the Great War.
As I live in the North East, almost all the research I’ve done so far has been internet-based. Unfortunately, wartime obituaries in the Evening Telegraph have not yet been digitised. It would help create a far fuller picture of the impact of the Great War on village life if someone living locally could spare a little time to research soldier obituaries.
Email: cottinghamsoldiers@gmail.com