Story from Harry Binks, via Val Slater of Coverdale. Harry was named after his father, whose story is outlined below.
My father, Harry Binks, was born at Highfield in Carlton on 11 September 1893, a short while before his twin brother Thomas. The 1901 Census recorded the family still at Highfield where my grandfather Thomas was farming, but shortly afterwards they moved to Lane House on the edge of the village. Harry went to Horsehouse school. In 1911 the family was living at Lilac Farm (House) – now Abbots Thorn – but Harry was not at home. He would have been working away as a farm labourer in Kettlewell; however he has not been found on the Census.
On 11 December 1915 Harry enlisted at Leyburn. His address was Lilac House, Carlton and next of kin his mother Elizabeth Binks – his father having died in 1912. Harry’s occupation was farm hand. He was assigned to the Yorkshire Regiment – “The Green Howards” – and posted to France in October 1916, fighting at the Western Front until April 1917.
Harry returned to France in September 1917 where the main focus was the Third Battle of Ypres, including the infamous Battle of Passchendaele. In December Harry was injured by gun shot wounds to his right thigh. After treatment he was deemed no longer physically fit for war service and discharged to the reserve in June 1918.
At the end of the war Harry was in the Slough area where a number of Leyland trucks were surplus to requirements. They were basic vehicles, prone to mechanical problems, but Harry managed to drive one back to Carlton. This was the start of his career in the road haulage business.
In those days there was no petrol pump in Carlton. At first Harry had to arrange for fuel to be brought from Leyburn in two gallon tins by horse and cart! He soon installed a pump in the village, also stocked paraffin, and delivered coal around the area. Harry married Ethel Calvert at Coverham church on 12 January 1924. They were both residents of Carlton, aged 30 and Harry’s occupation was “motor proprietor.” They had two sons – myself, Harry, and my younger brother Norman. An important weekly trip for Harry was on Fridays when he travelled to Leyburn. Having fixed a frame and canvas top over the back of the wagon he was loaded up with rabbits, hens and eggs for the market. He always parked near the Bolton Arms where buyers from towns such as Darlington were eager to purchase.
On Saturdays benches were installed as Harry took football teams to their fixtures. In the evening he drove the young folk of Coverdale to the pictures or local dances.
Much of Harry’s business developed around the transportation of animal feed. Lorries loaded the feed at factories near Hull and brought it back to the Dales and into Cumbria. The company moved to its present site at Harmby in 1963. Norman and myself both joined the business which is now managed by Norman’s son.
Binks Lorry Firm
In semi retirement Harry still enjoyed keeping in touch with his farming roots. He bought young bullocks at Leyburn mart, raising them in a field near his house until they were ready to sell on. On more than one occasion we had to round them up when they managed to escape!
Harry’s contribution in the war was important to him. He kept his discharge papers and character certificate which are treasured possessions in the family. He saw an opportunity at the end of the war, took his chance and through hard work built a successful and respected business.
My father Harry died on 20th September 1975 aged 82. Ethel, my mother, died on 14th February 1984 aged 90.
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Gertrude Bell
Fiona Hall, Communications and Retail Manager at the Green Howards Museum submitted this story about one of the most important women of the First World War (in fact of any) era. I’m intrigued by this local hero – a complex character. There’s not enough space here to describe the many achievements of Gertrude Bell, and that’s not the point of this entry. Although I do recommend you take some time to acquaint yourself with her if you are not already familiar with this fascinating woman – archaeologist, mountaineer, one of the first women to gain a degree at Oxford (a First in History) but an anti-suffrage campaigner, the first to work for British military intelligence, colleague of TE Lawrence, and also the first to write a government white paper. She was born in 1868 into the sixth richest family in England, the granddaughter of the industrialist Sir Isaac Lowthian Bell, and lived in Redcar. When war broke out her request for a government posting to the Middle East was denied. Instead she volunteered with the Red Cross, taking charge of the missing and wounded office in Boulogne. Meanwhile her brother, Maurice, a career soldier and Boer War veteran was commanding the 4th Bn The Yorkshire Regiment on the western front. Imagine working in the environment Gertrude was working in- with the very possible chance she may have to ‘process’ information about the fate of her own brother. Maurice was in fact invalided home in 1916 and died in 1944. In…
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Robert Codling
Robert Codling was the son of John and Elizabeth Codling of 13 Revesby Street, Tyne Dock, South Shields. At the outbreak of war he enlisted in the Yorkshire Regiment and was posted to the 8th Battalion. 19873 Private Codling arrived in France in September 1915 and was in and out of the lines in October, November and December. The 8th Battalion relieved the 10th West Riding Regiment in trenches at La Rolanderie on the 18th December. Robert was awarded the DCM for his actions on the 21st. His citation reads, “For conspicuous gallantry near Rue du Bois on 21st December 1915, when under heavy fire and in the face of rifle grenades, he returned to a wounded comrade and brought him in. Later in the day he joined a patrol and searched under heavy fire for his platoon officer who had failed to return”. On 13th October 1916, at the age of 21, he died of wounds. The battalion had been serving in the area of Contalmaison and had suffered a number of casualties. He is buried at Dernancourt Communal Cemetery Extension in the Somme.
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2nd Lt. Hadow
Gerald Francis Hadow was born in Scarborough in 1895, the son of Colonel A de S Hadow of the XIX Regiment of Foot (the Green Howards). He was commisioned as a Second Lieutenant on 15th August 1914 and promoted to Lieutenant in March 1915. His first actions were at the battles of neuve Chapelle and Festubert. His death at Givenchy on 15th June 1915 was recorded at the time: “He had reached the German barbed wire and finding he was practically alone, returned to his own trenches, which he reached untouched. Here he found his captain killed and all the other officers dead or wounded. His company went into action 180 strong and had 142 casualties. he returned to report to the C.O. and on the way, was struck on the head by a piece of shell. A captain under whom he served wrote; ‘I feel I have lost a young friend whom I had got to know and tested in perhaps the most severe time – war time – and he never failed. He was such a gallant little fellow and quite ready to die for the good cause.’”