36 Evening Post Special Supplement, Saturday, November 8, 2008 lep.co.uk lep.co.
lep.co.uk lep.co.uk
Journey to
find a hero
A CHANCE discovery buried
away in a cupboard led to a
poignant journey to the battle-
fields of the First World War.
Young soldier Vincent Poul-
ton, 25, died fighting on the
front line during the Battle of
the Somme.
His great nephew Chris Poul-
ton, of Penwortham, has spent
years researching his relative’s
story after finding a glass
plaque among his grandmoth-
er’s belongings
which praised the
soldier for dying with
“freedom and hon-
our”.
He explains: “When
I found it, I started
to look into it and
spoke to a bloke at
work who insisted we
went to France.
“I did some research
and found out he INSCRIPTION:
was on the Thiepval The Thiepval
Monument for those memorial
who went missing
during the Battle of the
Somme.
“When I saw it, it was all a bit
humbling really.”
The 49-year-old’s research led
him to find out that Vincent,
one of 10 brothers and sisters,
was the son of Royal Mail mes- even the Chorley Pals, so there
senger Joseph and lived at 1,
Dove Street, Preston.
He became an apprentice
milliner and joined the 7th
Battalion of the Loyal North
Lancashire Regiment –
PNE players who
gave their lives
THE footballers of yester-
year also did their bit in
battle during the Great
War.
William “Sunny Jim” Kirby
played for Preston North
End.
Born in Preston, he was
the team’s star striker and
was top goal scorer with
14 goals in the 1911/12
season.
He went on to play for Ex-
eter in 1913 but came
back to sign up as a pri-
vate for the Loyal North
Lancashire Regiment dur-
ing the war.
Like so many, he met his
fate on August 2, 1917,
and died in battle aged 35.
His grave was never found
but his name is engraved
on the walls of the famous
Menin Gate.
Peter Holmes, of the Na-
tional Football Museum,
said: “He spent a lot of his
time in the Southern
League but while he was
Tell us why YOU are proud of Preston...
● e-mail us on lep.newsdesk@lep.co.uk
● e-mail picture desk on lep.picturedesk@lep.co.uk
● Send us some video at leponline@googlemail.com
thought to be the Preston Pals.
It is believed he was soon pro-
moted and transferred to the
1st Battalion where he found
himself on the Somme battle-
field.
Chris thinks his ancestor took
part in a botched bombard-
ment on August 18, 1916,
when his battalion was due to
attack the German enemy
close to High Wood, a small
forest near Bazentin-le-Petit.
But, as they rose
from the trenches at
2.45pm, they were
seen to advance into
their own fire, which
was not timed to
start until later.
There were no sur-
vivors.
Chris says: “He won
a medal but we don’t
have it. We have a
copy of his medal
card which shows he
fought in France
from July 1915.”
Now Chris has joined calls for
the Preston Pals to have a
monument in the city dedicat-
ed to them.
He says: “Preston is a town
with a proud history. We all
know of the Accrington and
should be a memorial.
“I don’t know whether
Preston North End could do
something or a plaque could
be appropriate in time for the
Guild.”
here played extremely well
in his first season.”
Other Preston North End
players who went to war in-
cluded:
● John Barbour, who was
born in Preston and joined
PNE in 1914. He played in
12 Second Division games
in one season before the
outbreak of the First World
War. Barbour served with
the Royal Engineers on the
Western Front until his
death on April 6, 1916.
● John Ford was born in
1891 and signed from
Scottish Junior Football to
Preston for one season in
1914/15. He appeared 25
times. He scored two goals
and helped Preston rise to
Division One. He died dur-
ing the war in July, 1917.
● Other PNE players who
fought and died included
Michael Swarbrick, William
Gerrish, Benjamin Green
and Tom Pemberton Saul.
● Send us a comment on your mobile phone, text LEP-
SHOUT (space) and the text up to a maximum of 160
characters, and send to 84070 Our postal address is:
Lancashire Evening Post Oliver's Place Preston PR2 9ZA
MARCHING AS TO WAR: Troops march through Fleet Street, Preston, near the Public Hall on their way to the railway station and the front in the First World War
T
HE Coupe family has a
long military tradition
fighting for two nations.
Three generations, born
in the United States, have
fought in the Far East, Europe,
Vietnam and Iraq. Luckily, all
survived the conflicts and had
brave stories of courage to tell.
But if it wasn’t for a young Pre-
ston-born engineer none of
them would have gone to war in
the first place.
Lance Corporal Richard Coupe
joined the 1st/4th Loyal North
Lancashire Regiment at the age
of 20 during the First World
War in 1915.
He went on to make the ulti-
mate sacrifice giving his life dur-
ing the gruelling Battle of the
Somme.
His great nephew Will Coupe
says: “We are very proud that
Richard chose to serve his coun-
Evening Post Special Supplement, Saturday, November 8, 2008
legacy
One soldier’s lasting
try and that he gave his all in the
effort.
“We honour his memory by con-
tinuing his legacy of national
service. There have been two
sons in the family given the
name of Richard in his honour –
both of whom have served in the
US military.”
lep.co.uk
Richard was one of seven broth-
ers and sisters who was born and
grew up at 7 Beech Street. He
lived with his mother Jane and
father William, a foreman and
trade unionist at Dick Kerr’s
Machine Works.
After joining up for service, he
volunteered to go to the front
37
See a super video wall online lep.co.uk
Regiment and was based in a
trench near Maricourt, France.
The regiment fought during the
first two days but was soon re-
quired to reinforce the 2nd Wilt-
shire regiment at Trones
Woods.
There, they bravely fought
over four days but the Ger-
mans occupied high ground
near a rail track and had three
machine gun positions.
L.Cpl Coupe’s role appears
to have been in preparation
for this battle. He was try-
ing to identify the German
line and found himself position on this hill on a
caught up in the Battle journey to “no man’s land”
of the Somme from but was shot.
July 1, 1916. His family like to think it was
It is thought be- not in vain as his regiment went
fore his death he on to successfully attack the po-
changed units to sition, but at a great cost.
the 19th Man- Will says: “We have no idea
chester where in this fight L.Cpl Coupe
was killed but we like to think he
died trying to map out the loca-
tions of those three German po-
sitions in preparation for the
successful assault on 14 July
1916.”
There is no grave for the fighter,
though his name is honoured on
the Preston Roll of Honour and
on the Arras Memorial in
France.
Will’s father Lieutenant
Commander Richard H Coupe,
named after the Lance
Corporal, carried out lengthy
research to find out how his
uncle died.
He himself fought in Europe
during the Second World War
and later in Vietnam.
He died in 2003 and was buried
at Arlington National Cemetery
– just one week before his
grandson, a marine, returned
from the invasion of Iraq.
Entertainer’s son was
among the dead ‘Pals’
POPULAR Preston show-
man Will Onda hid a per-
sonal tragedy as he filmed
the opening of the town’s
cenotaph and Harris Muse-
um Roll of Honour in 1926.
The well-known entertainer
and film maker, who owned
a chain of theatres and cine-
mas including Preston’s
Prince’s Theatre, carried
the pain and anguish of
knowing his son Hugh
Carnegie Rain was killed in
the First World War.
Hugh Carnegie was named
after his father whose real
name was Hugh Rain. He is
remembered on the Harris
Museum Roll of Honour but
IN MEMORIUM: Mayor of Preston Coun John
Swindells with Rev Dr Richard Cook below the plaque
to the servicemen’s buffet at Preston Railway Station
Pals took a train
ride to their deaths
IN 1914 a band of men known
as the Preston Pals rushed to
sign up at the Town Hall to
fight for King and country in
the Great War.
It was the brainchild of Cyril
Cartmell, the son of mayor
Killed in Harry Cartmell, and led to
more than 200 brave young
action
men departing from Preston
railway station to go to war in
France.
aged 17 Few returned. The Pals’ regi-
ment – the D company of the
7th Battalion in the Loyal
RESEARCH shows many North Lancashire Regiment –
boys signed up for war by were obliterated. It is thought
lying about their age. 90 were killed in one day alone
One could have been during a battle at Bazentine-le-
Charles Wilcock, of Petit on The Somme on July
Lower Bank Road, Ful- 23, 1916.
wood, who was killed a Today, current mayor Coun
week after his 17th bir- John Swindells stands close to
day on October 14, 1915 the platform where the Pals,
after five months in the along with at least 750,000
firing line. other soldiers and sailors,
The private, who would have passed through on
served with the 1st/8th their way to fight.
Battalion of the King’s Like Harry Cartmell, Coun
Liverpool Regiment, Swindells has his own poignant
had been a scale and connections to the First World
weighing machine War.
maker at W Wilcock Two of his grandfather’s broth-
and Sons on Lancaster ers, Private Peter Towers and
Road. Private Thomas Towers, died
It is thought he perished during the conflict.
at Albert, France, and is He says: “They both died late
buried at the St Pierre on and had been in the war
Cemetery, Amiens. since the beginning when most
inscribers got his name
wrong and he is listed today
as “Pain” instead of Rain.
The ex-Preston Grammar
School boy died of wounds
on the front line in France.
His dad rushed to visit him
from England but was too
late. He is buried today at
the Abbeville Communal
Cemetery after dying on
September 27, 1915.
He served as a drummer
with the seventh battalion of
the Loyal North Lancashire
Regiment – known as the
Preston Pals. More than 700
Preston men listed on the
roll in the Harris Museum
served with the pals.
of the volunteers signed up.
They were both cotton mill
workers.
“They were killed around the
same time as part of a late Ger-
man push to retake land.”
Though Peter was in the King’s
Liverpool Regiment and
Thomas in the Royal Field Ar-
tillery, the pair died within five
weeks of each other in the
Arras area.
Coun Swindells says: “They
were young men who left Pre-
ston never to return. It was not
the same family afterwards.”
The Labour councillor says he
will be paying his own personal
respects as well as leading trib-
utes to Preston’s forgotten war
heroes at a special service on
November 11.
It is to take place at 10.55am at
Preston Station.
The Reverend Dr Richard
Cook, who will be leading the
service, says: “It will take place
in the waiting room between
platforms three and four, as
during the end duration of the
war, the buffet stayed open 24
hours a day.
“We are going to commemo-
rate the end of hostilities for
the First World War. Preston
and Manchester Victoria sta-
tions are the main places where
soldiers passed through includ-
ing the Accrington Pals.”