The point has been made many times that the Memorial Hall is just that — an enduring war memorial to the ten Moorsholm men who were lost in the two World Wars. It’s therefore well worth us reminding ourselves of who these men were, and to show that we still care about them, and the sacrifice they made.
[Where their names are underlined, you can click the name to learn more about them.]
1914-1918 War
| Frank Gillard | Thomas Glover | Arthur Brown |
| Francis G.Marsay | William Wren | John W.Shaw |
| Thomas J.Hall | Henry Atkinson | Harry Boocock* |
1939-1945 War
| George Earl | Reginald Shaw |
*Harry Boocock's name doesn't appear on the memorial stone — for the reason why, see his page.]
The original text for this page was written on the day of the funeral of Harry Patch, Britain’s last surviving First World War veteran, who died aged 111. So it’s hardly surprising that, despite our determination to ‘Remember Them’, memories of some of the ten men mentioned on the Hall’s memorial stone are getting dim. But it is perhaps sad that full details of Frank Gillard, Thomas Glover, Arthur Brown, William Wren, Thomas J.Hall, Henry Atkinson and George Earl haven’t been easy to track down.
From the snippets that have surfaced, it’s understood that George Earl “married one of the Taylor girls”. His son Alan (?) still lives in Loftus. From Rob Harding came the information that Frank Gillard was the son of Charlie, Head Woodsman for Skelton Castle, based at Kilton. The family lived on Guisborough Road — probably No.61. William Wren’s family suffered tragically — not only did they lose William, but 3 others died of Spanish Flu immediately after the War.
In theory it should, of course, be very easy to find details of the others, because of the wonderful Commonwealth War Graves Commission Website , which lists the details of all the Allied troops who died in the two World Wars. But the sad thing is that (particularly with the First War) there were so many of them. The site allows you to search by surname and initial (not full forename), and here’s where the problem starts. There are 728 records for ‘A.Brown’ — where do you start looking for Arthur? There are 84 ‘H.Atkinsons’ — look closely through the list and you find 12 ‘Henrys’. There are 13 ‘Thomas Glovers’. Without knowing the regiment, or date and place of death, it’s difficult to be sure that the right one has been identified.
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This may be the CWGC certificate for Thomas J Hall — it was the correct combination of initials, and a Yorkshire Regiment — but what were his Moorsholm connections? |
The Hall Committee will always be pleased to receive further information about these men. Please contact the Webmaster.