A section of the Rushden Archives about WWI soldiers from Wymington caught my attention as it contained newspaper reports about my grandfather Reginald Coley and one of his elder brothers, Horace.
John and Ellen Coley and their four sons moved to New Estate, Wymington sometime in the early 1900's from Wilstead in Bedfordshire. At the outbreak of WWI, the eldest boys, Frederick and Sydney were employed as Police Constables and Horace, the next eldest, enlisted at Rushden on the 6th Jan 1914 as a member of the 3rd Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment, eventually rising to the rank of lance corporal. He served in France between 03 Dec 1914 to 01 Jan 1915 and received a gun shot wound above his heart at Neuve Chapelle on 23 Dec 1914. The article from the Rushden Echo dated 29th Jan 1915 “Bullet through the body and out at the back” describes his experiences at the front. He later returned to France and was shot in both legs, as well as suffering gas poisoning.
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Horace (left) and Reginald
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My grandfather, Reginald, was the youngest of the four brothers and at the outbreak of war he was too young to enlist.
However, like many teenagers of his time, Reginald did enlist under age with the 4th Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment on 30th June 1915. I wonder what made him enlist when his brother had made public the reality of war. Was it female peer pressure, over zealous recruiting, lack of work prospects in the rural community or pride to serve one's country? Sadly we'll never know the answer. On the first two occasions Reginald enlisted his mother got him released as being under age and on the third enlistment he joined The Kings Royal Rifle Corps. Little else is known of his military career until the report in Rushden Echo and Argus on 17th May 1918 reporting that he was a prisoner of war in Germany. That article confirms his appearance in the photograph below, taken at a POW camp by Ferdinand Esch of Ludwigslust, a noted photographer. The date and location unknown.
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F. Esch. Ludwigslust
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Pte. R. Coley
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Pte. C. E. Hutchison East Yorks
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Pte. T. Keene
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A.I.F.
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Pte. L. Martin
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Newfoundlands
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Pte. H. Hurst
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R.M.L.I.
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R.A.O. A Pryde
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R.N.D.
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Pte. W. Houston
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7th Northants
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Sgt. E. ---
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---
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Pte. D. Holmes
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R.M.L.I.
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Rfn. H. Jeffrey
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8th K.R.R.C.
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Pte. J. Kearney
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R.M.L.I.
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Rfn. E. Jones
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9th K.R.R.C.
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A.B. R. Piper
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R.N.D.
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Rfn. L. C. Bennet
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1st North Staffs
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Pte A. Ince
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2nd South Staffs
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Photo brought home by Reg Coley and inscribed with the names:
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Conflict must have remained in my grandfather's blood following the end of the war, since after 18 months in the Northamptonshire Constabulary at Kettering, he spent 6 months in Cork during the Irish troubles with the Royal Irish Constabulary.
He died in 1965 and was buried in Wymington Cemetery. The floral tribute on the coffin was in the shape of an Irish harp, but with broken strings, as a sad and poignant reminder of the things he had witnessed in Ireland.
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