Submitted by Marcia Howard, a resident of Richmond.
Albert William George Clifford was my maternal Grandfather born at Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire in 1886.
Prior to his medical discharge in 1916, he was serving in Malta with No.1 Coy, of the Royal Garrison Artillery as a Gunner.
He was subsequently presented with the Silver War Badge which in September 1916, King George V had authorised to honour all military personnel who had served at home or overseas since 4 August 1914, and who had been discharged because of wounds or illness.
Following his return home to his wife and 2 small children in Gloucestershire, he became Chauffeur to the local doctor, where he also contributed to the recruitment drive popularly known as ‘Your Country Needs You’.
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Thomas Tidyman
Information submitted by Lynne Pengelly. Thomas William Tidyman known as Bill (although this may have only been after he moved to Bradford) Born 1st November 1896 in Norton, Stockton on Tees the 2nd child, eldest son of John and Mary Tidyman The 1911 census shows him living and working on a farm in Agglethorpe (possibly Brecongill) with his parents and 6 siblings, his older sister is listed as a diarymaid. He enlisted on 24th May 1918 at the age of 23 into the 9th battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment and was wounded by a gunshot in his right forearm sometime in September 1918, he was transferred to the Bangour War hospital in Edinburgh and was discharged on 19th June 1919. Carl at the Green Howard’s museum was able to tell me that my grandad had been a marksman when he saw the badge on his uniform and also explained about the silver war badge given to injured men to wear after they had been discharged as unfit for further war service. After the war he returned to the farm his father died in 1920 and his mother died in 1927, at sometime he met my grandma who was visiting some friends who had relocated to Coverdale and they were married in Bradford on 7th December 1929. He was a tenant farmer at Harrop Edge Farm in Allerton Bradford until 1942 and then the family moved to Allerton village and he had a milk round. He worked for the War Ag…
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John B Lishman
John Benson Lishman was nearly 47 when he was called up to join the London Electrical Engineers in February 1918 as a Pioneer. While his War Service was relatively brief and uneventful it was the work he did before enlisting that proved to be his enduring legacy. On April 10th 1915, Lishman set up the first meeting of the 8th Darlington Scout Group with 12 members. It was his idea to provide activities for young people while their fathers were away fighting. The first thing the boys did was set up a Drum & Fife band and played concerts in aid of the Red Cross. Some of examples of the 8th’s packed programme include camping, hiking, badge work and collecting materials for the war effort, most of which they still do today. It was a sad day when the Troop learned that their Scout Master was leaving them, as this excerpt from their Log Book tells: “The lads had collected a small pocket wallet & the Secretary presented it as a small – a very small token of love & respect for the work & time spent on us by the S.M.” Lishman returned to the Group in 1919 and after a “solemn handshake” it was back to normal. Submitted by the grateful Leaders and Members of the 8th Darlington Scout Group.
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Tempest Carey Bullen
Submitted by Jennifer Bullen daughter in law of Lieutenant Bullen. Tempest Carey Bullen was born on the 28th of May 1898 in North Shields. He is listed in the 1901 census along with his father Tempest Carey, his mother Edith, brothers William and Harry and sisters Edith Anna and Kathleen. His father’s occupation is listed as “ship broker”. The family were living in the Percy ward of Tynemouth and must have been comfortably off because they had a servant called Ada George and a nursery maid called Elizabeth Knox. By 1911 the family had moved to Woodbine Avenue in Gosforth. In the census Tempest’s mother Edith is listed as head of the family so it is likely that Tempest senior was deceased. His elder brother (aged 15) is now an apprentice Fitter. They have a boarder, Hugh Robson (an apprentice Ironmonger) and a servant called Mary Jane Malpas. Jennifer recounts that Tempest was under age when he first tried to enlist and was promptly sent home! He persisted and subsequently joined up and went on to be awarded the Military Cross in 1918 aged about 20. He survived the war and his death is recorded in 1976 in South Shields.