Main CPGW Record
Surname: KIRKBRIDE
Forename(s): Bernard
Place of Birth: Burton-in-Lonsdale, Yorkshire
Service No: 167703
Rank: Sapper
Regiment / Corps / Service: Royal Engineers
Battalion / Unit: 204th (Empire) Field Coy
Division: 35th Division
Age: 31
Date of Death: 1918-04-10
Awards: ---
CWGC Grave / Memorial Reference: G. 29.
CWGC Cemetery: HEDAUVILLE COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION
CWGC Memorial: ---
Non-CWGC Burial: ---
Local War Memorial: BURTON-IN-LONSDALE, YORKSHIRE
Additional Information:
Bernard Kirkbride was the son of John and Elizabeth Ann Kirkbride, née Nelson. John was born at Burton-in-Lonsdale, Yorkshire and Elizabeth at Arkholme, Lancashire. Bernard was the cousin of Private William Nelson (5343) (q.v.).
1891 Burton-in-Lonsdale, Yorkshire Census: Low Street - Bernard Kirkbride, aged 3 years, born Burton-in-Lonsdale. [Bernard was living with his grandparents, John and Elizabeth Nelson. Bernard's parents, John and Elizabeth, were also living in Low Street, with John's mother, Esther Kirkbride, widow.]
1901 Burton-in-Lonsdale, Yorkshire Census: Low Street - Bernard Kirkbride, aged 13 years, born Burton-in-Lonsdale. [Bernard and his widowed mother were living with her mother, Elizabeth Nelson, widow.]
1911 Burton-in-Lonsdale, Yorkshire Census: Low Street - Bernard Kirkbride, aged 23 years, born Burton, son of Elizabeth Ann Kirkbride, widow.
Bernard was married to Helen Crockett in 1916.
The British Army Service Record for Bernard Kirkbride exists but may be incomplete.
British Army WW1 Medal Rolls Index Cards: Spr Bernard Kirkbridge [sic], 167703, Royal Engineers.
Data Source: Craven’s Part in the Great War - original CPGW book entry
View Entry in CPGW BookEntry in West Yorkshire Pioneer Illustrated War Record: ---
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Sapper Bernard KIRKBRIDE
Regiment / Corps / Service Badge: Royal Engineers
Divisional Sign / Service Insignia: 35th Division
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View Craven Herald Articles
View Craven Herald Articles
22 September 1916
BURTON-IN-LONSDALE – Khaki Wedding
An interesting wedding took place on Saturday between Sapper Bernard Kirkbride, Royal Engineers, eldest son of the late Mr. John and Mrs. Kirkbride, Low Street, Burton-in-Lonsdale, and Miss Helen (Nellie), daughter of the late Mr. Frank and Mrs. Crockett of Inver, Dunkeld, Perthshire. Both bride and bridegroom are well known in the district, the bride having been resident at Lowfields for some time and the bridegroom is a member of an old and highly respected Burton family. The ceremony, which was carried out in typical Scotch fashion, took place at the home of the bride’s mother, the officiating clergyman being the Rev. Thos. R. Rutherford, of Dunkeld Cathedral. The bride was attired in white silk blouse and costume of navy blue gabardine with collar of silk plaid, and was given away by her uncle, Mr. John Anderson, of Clume, Blairgowrie. Miss Mary Crockett (sister), dressed in pale blue silk, attended as bridesmaid, and Sapper John N. Kirkbride, Royal Engineers (brother of bridegroom), acted as ‘best man’. The couple were the recipients of a number of handsome and usefu1 presents, and on Monday the bridegroom returned to camp at Llandudno.
28 September 1917
BURTON-IN-LONSDALE – On Leave
The local soldiers on leave include… Sapper Bernard Kirkbride, R.E., from France…
19 April 1918
BURTON-IN-LONSDALE – Killed In Action
Lieut. Bennett, R.E., has forwarded the sad intimation that Sapper Bernard Kirkbride, R.E., eldest son of Mrs. John Kirkbride, Rose Cottage, was killed in action on April 10th in France. The writer states that Sapper Kirkbride was killed instantaneously by a shell and laments the loss of one of the most willing, reliable and expert men. He was an ‘old boy’ of Thornton’s School and served his apprenticeship as joiner and wheelwright with his uncle, the late Wm. Kirkbride, in the village. He was 30 years of age and married.
03 May 1918
BURTON-IN-LONSDALE – Memorial Service
On Sunday afternoon a memorial service was held at All Saint’s Church in memory of Sapper Bernard Kirkbride, R.E., who was killed in France in March. A very large congregation included the local V.T.C. and the special constables. The service was most impressive. The Vicar referred to the high esteem in which Sapper Kirkbride was held as an efficient and conscientious workman and as a soldier, and expressed thankfulness for the immunity from fatalities of the Burton soldiers at the Front – twenty months having passed since the last memorial service in the village. A collection for the local War Memorial fund realised £2 10s.
26 March 1920
Burton Hero’s Grave
The Imperial War Graves Commission have communicated with Mrs. Kirkbride (widow of Sapper Bernard Kirkbride), of Burton-in-Lonsdale, that in accordance with the agreement with the French and Belgium Governments to remove all scattered graves and small cemeteries (the latter containing less than 40 graves) it has been necessary to exhume the bodies buried in certain areas. In the process of exhumation the grave of Sapper Kirkbride was located at a point near Senlis, north west of Albert, and his remains have been re-interred in Hedauville Communal Cemetery, which also lies north west of Albert. The new grave bears all particulars. The re-burial was carefully and reverently carried out, special arrangements being made for an appropriate religious service. That the Graves Commission are executing their task methodically and working under a perfect system of classification is evidenced by the fact that Sapper Kirkbride’s grave is numbered: Plot 1, row G, grave 26.
11 February 1921
BURTON-IN-LONSDALE – Death of Mrs. Bernard Kirkbride
The death took place on Monday at the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, of Mrs. Helen Kirkbride, widow of the late Sapper Bernard Kirkbride, and daughter-in-law of Mrs. John Kirkbride, Rose Cottage, Burton-in-Lonsdale. The deceased lady who was in her 33rd year, was a native of Inver, Dunkeld, Perthshire, and for some years before her marriage in September, 1916, resided at Lowfields. Her husband was killed in action in France in April, 1918. The interment took place at Dunkeld yesterday (Thursday).
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