Stone’s darkest ever Christmas will be remembered at the St Michael’s Church Christmas tree festival this weekend.
The Christmas Tree Festival is being held in the church from Friday 4th to Sunday 6th December. Lots of schools and community organisations from across the town decorate trees which fill the church and, at 4pm on the Sunday, it’s followed by a Christingle service with the pupils of St Michael’s First School.
Stone Historical and Civic Society’s tree this year is particularly poignant as it remembers the men from Stone who lost their lives in the First World War in 1915.
[box type=”shadow” ]Philip Leason, chairman of Stone Historical Society, said: “The theme of the society’s tree is Christmas 1915, the blackest Christmas in the history of Stone. During 1915, 31 men from the town had been killed, 18 of whom lost their lives between 2.10pm and 2.30pm on 13th October by German machine guns. Nearly every house in Stone was affected by the high number of deaths, either being relatives of those killed or having known them. It was certainly a dark time and our tree remembers this period.”[/box]
Among those to die in those horrible 20 minutes on 13th October 2015 were two brothers from Stone – Arthur Glover, 21, and his older brother Graham, who was 23. Both men lived in Old Road. Earlier in the year, a 16-year-old from Stone died. Peter Kelly, also from Old Road, had lied about his age when he signed up.
There’s more on Stone in the First World War in an article by Philip Leason on our site.
Those killed in 1915 were:
George Bourne, aged 32 from 39 Mill Street – 1st North Staffs – died 2nd March, 1915
Frederick William Bladon, aged 21 from 51 Oulton Cross – 1st North Staffs – died 2nd March, 1915
2nd Lieutenant Kenneth William Glennie Meakin. Aged 34 – Darlaston Hall – 1/5 North Staffs – died 16th May, 1915
Frederick Charles Lockley, aged 33 from 34 Church Street – Army Service Corps – died 28th May, 1915
Arthur Stockton, aged 28, from 67 Old Road – 1st Lancashire Fusiliers – died 4th June, 1915
Peter Kelly, aged 16 (lied about his age to join up) from 130 Old Road – 1st North Staffs – died 11th June 1915
Charles Henry Barker, aged 21, from 33 Oulton Road – 1/5 North Staffs – died 20th June, 1915
Sidney John Perkins Ward, aged 18, from 11 Mill Street – 1/5 North Staffs – died 5th August, 1915
George Edward Goodill, aged 26, from Darlaston Hall – Royal Fusiliers – died 9th August, 1915
William Bernard Devall, aged 18, from Oulton Cross – 1/5 North Staffs – died 16th September, 1915
John Croft, aged 19, from 5 Arthur Street – East Yorkshire Regiment – died 29th September 1915
All of these Stone men were killed between 2.10pm and 2.30pm on 13th October 1915
Captain Reginald Tavernor Johnson, aged 36, from the Upper House, Barlaston – 1/5 North Staffs
Captain Henry Ackroyd Ridgway, aged 29, from Ivy House, Aston – 1/5 North Staffs
Lieutenant Oswald Boddington, aged 26, from Oulton Grange – 1/5 North Staffs
2nd Lieutenant Nigel Fyfe Watson Bishop, aged 23, from Oulton House – 1/5 North Staffs
2nd Lieutenant Horace Neville Hartley, aged 26, from 65 High Street – 1/6 North Staffs
Algernon George Couzens, aged 24, from 23 Granville Terrace – 1/5 North Staffs
Frank Davenhill, aged 21, from Whitebridge Lane – 3rd North Staffs but serving with 1/5 North Staffs
James Smith, aged 21, from 63 Abbey Street – 1/5 North Staffs
William Nicholls, aged 39, from 7 High Street – 1/5 North Staffs
Louis Plimmer, aged 20, from 21 Alexandra Street – 1/5 North Staffs
Thomas Gilbert, aged 20, from 33 Old Road – 1/5 North Staffs
Brothers Arthur Glover, aged 21, from 65 Old Road – 1/5 North Staffs – and Graham Glover, aged 23, from 65 Old Road – 1/5 North Staffs
James Herbert Dawson, aged 19, from 4 Albert Street – 1/5 North Staffs
George Jones, aged 34, from 94 Old Road – 1/5 North Staffs
George Rowson, aged 23, from 19 Newcastle Street -2/6 North Staffs
William Blakeman, aged 27, from Brooms Cottage – 1/5 North 1/5 North Staffs
Philip Henry York Irwin, aged 21, from “Granville” Lichfield Road – 1/5 North Staffs
1915 continued…
2nd Lieutenant Herbert Taylor Gridley, aged 19, from “The Cedars,” Walton – Royal Engineers, died 19th October, 1915
Harry Farr, aged 25, from Gosdales Farm, 7th North Staffs – died 15th November, 1915
