Great Wyrley’s Fallen: Private Ernest Robinson

Mount Pleasant today; once home to Ernest Robinson and scene of the strange death of his father, Stephen in 1916. 2015.

For my next soldier story I decided to pick on someone that I had absolutely nothing on other than one line from the Cannock Advertiser. The soldier is on the Great Wyrley memorial gates as Robinson C, but I felt it was another error on the memorial gates as the Staffordshire Roll of Honour had a Robinson in the Great Wyrley entry, but it was an E Robinson and not a C Robinson. An E Robinson also appeared on the Cheslyn Hay list, which manifested itself on the memorial as Ernest Robinson. At the end of the day, it seemed to me that I needed to trace any ‘Robinsons’ in the locality prior to the War and then try to link them to the memorial and to Great Wyrley. While it wouldn’t be definitive, as it is still a few years before the War, a search of the 1911 census listed three Robinson families in the locale; one was to have a C Robinson and one was to have an E Robinson… click on link to read more… https://wyrleyblog.wordpress.com/wyrley-landywood/great-wyrleys-fallen-wwi/private-ernest-robinson-heres-to-you-mr-robinson/

Great Wyrley’s Fallen: Private Wilfred North

Wilfred North in uniform
(Cannock Library)

Wilfred’s early life is surrounded by a little mystery. We know from his casualty record that he was born at Albrighton: which is still in Staffordshire, but just the other side of Wolverhampton to Great Wyrley. He was born on Christmas Day, 1892. Although his birth record ties him to Albrighton, everything else ties him to Bridgtown, Cheslyn Hay and Great Wyrley. His first appearance on the census at the age of 8, in 1901, has him living not with his parents, but with his grandparents in Station St, Cheslyn Hay. They were to raise him, so it is that family we shall follow… click link to read more… https://wyrleyblog.wordpress.com/wyrley-landywood/great-wyrleys-fallen-wwi/private-wilfred-north-finding-family/