Charles ELLIS

04 June 1915

ELLIS – Killed in the trenches, near Ypres, in France, on Whit-Monday, Private Ellis of the Yorkshire Hussars, second son of Mr. and Mrs. Lister Ellis, Craig Farm, Addingham Moorside, aged 29 years.

04 June 1915

PTE. ELLIS OF ADDINGHAM KILLED BY SHRAPNEL

Mr. and Mrs. Lister Ellis of Craig Farm, Addingham Moorside, have received official notification that their son, Charles Ellis, has been killed in action. Private Ellis, who was 29 years of age, joined the Yorkshire Hussars in September, and was in training at Scarborough at the time of the East Coast raid. In his last letter home, received on the 16th inst., he said that he was quite well and described some of the difficulties they had while acting as patrols.

Major G.R. Lane-Fox, ‘A’ Squadron, Yorkshire Hussars, in a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Ellis, says:– “I am sorry to have to send you very sad news, and I wish I knew how I could convey it to you less abruptly than by letter. Your son, Charles Ellis, who was doing so well and earning the high opinion of all who saw his work with the squadron, was, I am sorry to say, killed in the trenches near Ypres yesterday, Whit-Monday. He was killed instantaneously, shot through the head by a piece of shrapnel from a high percussion shell. We were under a very heavy bombardment from 3 a.m. till evening. I am very sorry to lose so good a young soldier from my squadron, and I can realise what a loss his death will mean to you.”

On Saturday last, a letter dated May 26th was received from Lieut. Charles S. Haslam, in which he says:– “You may heard that ‘A’ Squadron, Yorks. Hussars, was in action on May 22nd and 25th. It is with great sorrow I have to tell you of the death of your son. On Monday, May 24th, we were in the trenches, and subjected to a very heavy shellfire for over fifteen hours. About 4.30 a.m. on that day your son was within 4 feet of me in the trench. We received an order to move further down the line, and at that moment a shell burst over our heads. I picked up your son, who had just fallen, but he had already passed away. The end must have been instantaneous. Your son was in my troop, and has from the first been all that one could wish a soldier to be, quietly and thoroughly doing his work. He met his death like a brave man, and we are all proud of him. We buried your son before we were relieved.”

Mr. and Mrs. Ellis, who are well known and highly respected throughout the district, will have the sympathy of all who know them. Their son was one of those straightforward, honourable young men of whom any parent might well be proud.

04 June 1915

LETTERS FROM ADDINGHAM MEN

Private Harold Redshaw of the Yorkshire Hussars, writing to a friend, says:– Our squadron was in the trenches from Saturday to Tuesday, and had it very hot. You will see that there has been a big battle and we had five men killed and four and the Major wounded. Poor Charlie Ellis was one of the killed, but I am glad to say death was instantaneous. These things happen out here and we don’t know who will be the next. Lots of our chaps are laid up with gas. It is awful stuff and not fair play. It’s about time some of the chaps at home stirred themselves up. It is not fair to those out here. We have some fine artillery and it will take a lot of knocking out.”

24 December 1915

CRAVEN’S ROLL OF HONOUR – ADDINGHAM

Pte. Charles Ellis, Yorks. Hussars, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lister Ellis, Craig Farm, Addingham Moorside, killed in action in June. Twenty-nine years of age.

14 April 1916

TO THE MEMORY OF ADDINGHAM COMRADES

The following lines have been written by Corpl. Sylvester Selby, R.E., of the British Expeditionary Force, France.

“To the memory of our dear comrades from Addingham who fought so valiantly, and died so nobly in the sacred cause of freedom, justice, and liberty.”

We shall meet our loved ones gone some sweet day bye and bye.
Be ye not weary in well doing, for in due season ye shall reap, if ye faint not.
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more sorrow, neither death.”

LOVED ONES GONE

Have they gone for ever, from us,
Shall we never see them more,
Never catch the gleam of sunshine
As they did in days of yore?

Why have they been taken from us
In the fullness of their youth,
When all earth seemed full of gladness
To young hearts all full of life?

Dragged from home, and friends, and loved ones,
In far distant lands to fight
For the glory of old England,
And for honour, and for right!

On the burning plains of Egypt,
On the muddy fields of France,
On the watery bogs of Flanders,
British boys have done their part.

Done it nobly, never murmuring,
In the cause of freedom’s right,
Battles, of most bloody nature.
They have fought with gallant hearts.

Men of England! Men of Empire!
Rise in this our common cause!
Come, and smite this haughty tyrant,
That he may no more defile
Heaven’s good gifts and mankind’s God.

As we march along the country
And the devastation see,
Ruined churches, shattered houses,
Graves, with little crosses fixed.

Make us cry “O God, in Heaven,
Let us of Thy vengeance see;
Give us strength that we may carry
Justice right to victory.

Men of England! Men of Empire!
Come and help us in the strife;
Help to win a glorious victory
For the weak and for the right.

Onward, ever always onward,
Till the common task is done,
Till to those who have so suffered
In the cause of freedom’s right
Have been surely liberated
From the thraldom of his might,
Till for brothers, gone before us,
He has paid a fearful toll.

Shall we ever more behold them
In that told-of spirit land?
Where they say there is no sorrow,
Neither death shall be no more?

Let us each be all the stronger
In the hope of such great gain,
Let us carry on our labour,
Sure we’ll meet our friends again.

Corporal Sylvester Selby, R.E.
France, April 8th, 1916.

22 November 1918

Addingham Man’s Death from Wounds

The death of Pte. Wm. James Ellis, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lister Ellis, Cragg House Farm, Addingham Moorside, took place at the 19th Casualty Clearing Station, France, on Nov. 9th, as the result of wounds received in action on the previous day. His parents have received the following letter from Rev. W.A. Parrott, Wesleyan chaplain:– “I am exceedingly sorry to tell you that your dear boy was severely wounded in the recent fighting and has since died. Everything was done for him that medical skill could devise, but gangrene had already set in, and every effort to save your loved one was unavailable. I saw him last night and we had a nice long chat together. He was very bright and looked exceedingly bonny. It made my heart bleed to see the poor boy and to know there was no chance of his recovery. We talked of prayer, and looking up to God in our time of need, and he said he prayed every night. He assured me he was leaving himself in our Father’s hands, and was still hoping to get better and come home to see you. He sent his best love to you all at home, to his sweetheart, and to his uncle. He passed away peacefully an hour or two after I left him. I expect to bury him tomorrow in the Soldiers’ Cemetery at Candry-in-Cambraises. May I say how greatly I sympathise with you in your great sorrow; God be very near to you and comfort you. and may you be sustained by the wonderful hope of seeing your loved one in that grand resurrection morning when God’s people shall be gathered to Himself. It may console you to know that your dear boy did not appear to suffer very much.” Pte. Ellis was 22 years of age, and joined up on the 24th of May this year, going out to France on Sept. 12th. Another brother, Trooper Charles Ellis, was killed in action on the 24th of May, 1915.