Alfred Cockerill

[franka]

On Commondale Moor there is a war memorial with two names only on it. These were two young men who tended sheep on the moor. In 1914 they both went to London together and joined the Grenadier Guards.
Robert Leggott lied about his age, he was only 17. He was killed in 1916 on the Somme aged 19 an his bodied never found His name is on the Thiepval Memorial in Flanders.
 
The other was an olderman and it is he who presents a problem. He was wounded in the head at the Battle of Ypres on 9th July 1916 . He was sent back to England and discharged with a small pension  6th Dec 1916. By 1920 he was dead and the Commondale Stone states died of wounds. The Common War Graves Commission do not have him registered. I am trying to correct this error. I have searched for the death cert of Alfred Cockerill who live with his Step father John Wheldon and his mother Mary Wheldon at Ganiston House Commondale N.Yorks. The only Alf Cockerill aged 31 was registered at Amersham Bucks 1920 3a 710 Q3. Was this our Yorkshireman? With a head shot wound he could have been in a Home in Bucks. His body could have been sent back to Commondale.
This is a life long mystery and I would like to put the matter straight.
My connection with these two young men is that I served in WW2 in the Grenadiers.
Any help will be very welcome.
Franka

[Ecneps]

Hello Franka

Welcome to Rootschat 

There is a possible birth registration for Alfred Cockerill
Sep 1888  Guisbro    9d   514

This district covered Commondale, so ties in with your details.  If the death you found in Amersham was for a man aged 31 that fits.  You could contact the register office in Amersham to ask them to check any known details eg parents' names etc before buying the certificate.

I think the register office for Amersham is now at
The Register Office, Easton Street, High Wycombe, HP11 1NH.
Tel: 01494 475205.
E-mail: chilternhillsregistrars [at] buckscc.gov.uk (substitute @ for [at] )

The certificate should give you cause of death and hopefully details that will enable you to 'set the matter straight'.

Kind regards,
Barbara
    

[franka]

Hi Barbara,

Thank you for your reply and most useful guidance.
I hope I can clear up another tragic event of that terrible
war.
Kindest Regards
Franka.

[Ecneps]

Hi Franka,

If the register office can't do the checking, you can ask for a check at the GRO
 
Here's the link to the online GRO site for certificate ordering:
 www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/

That should tell you all you need to know.  There is a part of the form where you can ask them to check references including parent's names, spouse names etc.  They say that if you are unsure if it is the entry you require, they offer reference checking online. The charge is £7 for action on the first entry, which includes the cost of the certificate, and £3 for checking against the information you have provided.  You must give one piece of information that you are sure will appear on the certificate, e.g. the exact date of the event.  A certificate will only be issued if the entry matches the checking points you give them.

Good luck,
Barbara

[franka]

Barbara Thank you again. Once the final piece of the jig saw is in place I will contact the Commonwealth War Grave Commission. I will publish the results here. Thanks again
Franka.

[franka]

Thank you for your help. The following extract is the result of research

In July 1916 the 4th Battalion Grenadier Guards were holding trenches near Ypres. They were attacks on both sides of their position resulting in close quarter fighting and shelling. There was also sniper activity. In these actions Alfred Cockerill was wounded in the head. Alf was sent home.  Back in UK, he was declare unfit for any futher duty.


And what of poor Alf Cockrill who had joined the Regiment a healthy young man? His head wound had serious damaged him. He now had epilepsy and  would never  return to the moors. He was one of the many head injuries and shellshock cases  places in mental hospitals.
I traced Alf to Buckinghamshire where he died and applied for his death certificate. It revealed that he had been examined by doctors from the National Hospital for the Paralysed and Epileptic in London. He had been sent to the Chalfont Colony opened 1894  by The National Society for the Employment of Epileptics, Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire. He spent four years there, dying  at the  Epilepsia Colony on 11th August 1920 of Epilepsy and Meningitis . He had clearly died of war wounds as the Commondale stone stated.
Franka

[Ecneps]

Hi Franka

Many thanks for the update to this sad story.  Did the death certificate definitely identify Alf as the man from Commondale?  If so, have you been able to convince the CWGC to include Alf in their register?

Kind regards,
Barbara

[franka]

Yes, Alf was my man. He came from Commondale and his mothe's name was on the certificate. I would think that the body was taken back to Commondale as it was not unusual
to carry coffins in the guardsvan on trains. There is not a central register of burials so I don't know where his grave is.

The CWGC do take a time to answer and sometimes never.
I will see if the Grenadier Guards will take up the case if I am not successful.
Thank You again for your help.
frank (a)

[franka]

The search for the grave of Alfred Cockerill still continues.The only place not searched for this WWI casualty is Commondale Church Yard. The records for this church are not held in any County Archives.I have the name of the Vicar  but not an address to write too. Does anyone live near Commondale who would be willing to see if this poor man was buried there or give me an address to write to. My email is .
I am doing this work on behalf of the CWGC.
Franka.

Moderator Comment: email address removed to prevent spam and other abuses. Please use secure PM (personal message) system to share email addresses and other personal information. Thank you.