Fred GALLAGHER

23 July 1915

CRAVEN AND THE WAR – An Unfounded Rumour

It was persistently rumoured yesterday (Thursday) that Private Fred Gallagher, of the 6th West Ridings, a former Skipton and Ilkley footballer, was among the casualties. Inquiries made at his home in Sheep Street, Skipton, show that no intimation had been received to that effect up to Thursday noon. The last letter from Private Gallagher was received on Wednesday, and dated the 15th. In it he says: “It will be gala day at Skipton on Saturday. I long to be there, but not just to see the fireworks as we see some of the best displays anyone could wish for. We had a taste of German gas the other day. We were going into the trenches and they sent a gas shell over, but it did very little damage. It made our eyes smart and water as if we had been crying.”

31 December 1915

PRIVATE F. GALLAGHER

Unofficial news has been received in Skipton of the death from gas poisoning of Pte. Fred Gallagher, 1/6th Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, and son of Mrs. E. A. Gallagher, Sheep Street, Skipton.

Up to Tuesday last the relatives had received no communication either from the Company Officer or from the War Office authorities, but local men serving with the 1/6 Battalion, and who have been home on leave during the past few days, vouch for the unfortunate young fellow’s death, and others have made reference to it in their letters.

Pte. Gallagher was 24 years of age and a member of the Territorials prior to the war, but his time expired before August, 1914. On the outbreak of hostilities he rejoined and after training with the Battalion at various places went to the Front in April last.

He was well known in the Skipton and Ilkley districts as a football player. It will be four seasons since he first became connected with the Skipton Club, and showed promise of developing into a first-class forward. He was very fast and a useful emergency three-quarter. Subsequently he transferred his services to the Ilkley Club, where he was very popular and regarded as a possible candidate for County honours.
Pte. Gallagher’s death has since been confirmed by a letter from his Company Officer, in which the sympathy of the Officers, N.C O.’s and men is extended to the relatives in their bereavement. Death is stated to have taken place on December 19th, and the unfortunate young fellow is described as having been killed in action.

07 January 1916

GALLAGHER – December 19th 1915, somewhere in France from gas poisoning, Lance-Corpl. F. Gallagher, 1/6th Duke of Wellington’s Regiment. The eldest son beloved of Mrs. Gallagher, 20 Sheep Street, Skipton.

A devoted son, a faithful friend,
One of the best that God could lend;
He bravely answered duty's call,
His life he gave for one and all,
But the unknown grave is the bitterest blow
None but an aching heart can know.

Mother, Sisters and Brother

13 April 1917

“FELL DOING HIS DUTY NOBLY” – SKIPTON FOOTBALLER KILLED IN ACTION: GUNNER GEO. WILLIAM FLETCHER

It is with much regret that we have to record this week the death in action of Gunner George William Fletcher of the Siege Battery of the Royal Garrison Artillery, son of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Fletcher of 32 George Street, Skipton, and a well known Skipton footballer. News of the sad event, which apparently occurred about Wednesday of last week, was received last weekend in the following letter from deceased’s officer:– “I much regret to have to inform you that your son met a soldier’s end in action. He fell doing his duty nobly, as the excellent gunner he was, with the lanyard in his hand. His name will be the first to be inscribed on the Roll of Honour of the ----- Siege Battery, and none will, I am certain, be more sincerely lamented. He was struck by a piece of shell in the head and killed instantly, and his death must have been painless. Please accept the sympathy of both officers and men in your bereavement.”

Twenty-nine years of age, deceased was a warp-dresser in the employ of Mr. J. Wilkinson, Park Shed, prior to enlisting in February 1915, and he had been in France about nine months. Amongst the sporting public of the town and district he will be remembered as one of the best forwards for many seasons of the Skipton Rugby Football Club, and he was one of the clever fifteen which, in 1911-12, carried off the Yorkshire Challenge Cup. For a brief period he also assisted the Ilkley Rugby team.

His brother, Pte. Charles Smith Fletcher, has also been at the Front with the West Riding Regiment and was recently seriously wounded in the thigh. He is now in Liverpool hospital. He was also in the employ of Mr. Wilkinson as a dyer.

With the death of Gunner Fletcher, the Skipton Football Club’s Roll of Honour has been increased to six, the other five being Lieut. J.C. McIntyre, Lance-Corporal J. Willan and Privates S. Bishop, F. Thornton and Fred Gallagher.

14 December 1917

GALLAGHER – In loving memory of our dear son and brother, Lance-Corporal Fred Gallagher, of 20, Sheep Street, Skipton, killed in action December 19th, 1915.

He sleeps beside his comrades,
In an honoured grave unknown;
But his name is written in letters of love
On the hearts he left at home.

From his loving Mother, Sisters and Brother.

23 February 1923

ODDFELLOWS’ WAR MEMORIAL

UNVEILING CEREMONY AT A SKIPTON LODGE

OVER 200 WHO SERVED

There was a large attendance of local members of the Independent Order of Oddfellows at the Friendly Societies’ Hall, Skipton, on Saturday afternoon, on the occasion of the unveiling of a war memorial to the members of the Loyal Traveller’s Friend Lodge, I.O.O.F, M.U., who fell in the war.

The Memorial takes the form of a beautifully designed scroll within an oak frame with a glass front, the work of Mr. H. Spencer, junr., and it bears the inscription:–

LOYAL/TRAVELLER’S FRIEND LODGE,/SKIPTON DISTRICT ./I.O.O.F. ROLL OF HONOUR M.U./OF/THOSE MEMBERS OF THIS LODGE WHO FOUGHT FOR THEIR KING AND COUNTRY TO UPHOLD THE SACRED CAUSES OF BROTHERHOOD AND HUMANITY IN THE GREAT WAR, 1914–1918.

Below the inscription are the names of 173 members who served in the war, and of the 40 members who were killed. The names of the fallen occupy a central position on the scroll, and above them are the following words:–

IN MEMORIAM
OF THOSE WHO MADE THE
SUPREME SACRIFICE.
THEIR HEARTS ARE LIFTED UP
THEIR HEARTS
THAT HAVE FOREKNOWN
THE UTTER PRICE,
THEIR HEARTS BURN
UPWARD AS A FLAME
OF SPLENDOUR AND OF
SACRIFICE

The names of the fallen are as follows:– H. Armstrong, J.J. Brown, J. Barrett, Robt. Brown, W.W. Bell, A. Clayton, W.H. Coles, T.C. Chew, Tom Downes, T.M. Drummond, Jos. Emmott, Thos. Edmondson, J. Easterby, F. Gallagher, J.W. Garwood, G.E. Godwin, S.J. Hargreaves, M. Hargreaves, A. Hebden, J. Hebden, A. Hawkswell, T.E. Inman, M. Lund, R.C. [R.G.] Metcalfe, Hbt. Maudsley, Hy. Maudsley, A.J. Pimnock [Pinnock], H.Y. [Harry] Riley, T.W. Storey, J.H. Stewart, R. Spencer, J.W. Shuttleworth, Wm. Tempest, Hbt. Thompson, Fred Thornton, J.W. Varley, John Ward, J.A. Whittaker, J.W. Whittaker, and R.D. Whittaker.

The Unveiling Ceremony

The unveiling ceremony was presided over by Bro. Thos. Bellamy, and was performed by Bro. Amos Culpan, Prov. C.S., and a simple service included the singing of the hymns, ‘O God our help’ and Kipling’s Recessional, ‘God of our fathers,’ and the reading of a portion of Scripture, and the offering of a prayer by Bro. James Greenwood, of Bradford, and formerly of Skipton.

Bro. Bellamy observed that those members of the Lodge whom they were met to honour went into battle, suffered untold privations, and, in many cases, made the supreme sacrifice. They gave their lives in defence of their homes and their country. Further than that, they gave their lives for justice and freedom, and in order that we might live. It was the duty of Oddfellows, equally as much as other sections of the community, to do everything within their power to make the country better for that sacrifice. “In the time of our prosperity,” concluded Bro. Bellamy, “never let us forget those who served us in the time of our adversity.”

A Lesson of the War

Prior to unveiling the memorial, Bro. Culpan described the ceremony he had been asked to perform as one not unattended by sorrow. It was an occasion upon which one felt a desire to make their Order better for the sacrifice of its members, and to extend the true spirit of brotherhood. In nearly 4,000 of their Lodges they would find a roll of honour. Over 22,000 of their members made the supreme sacrifice, and thousands of others were ruined and shattered in health and without prospects for the future. Each and all of them ought to perform some daily service that would make the sacrifice of those men worth while. One result of the terrible ordeal of 1914 to 1918 was the creation of a better feeling between men, and a desire to break down the class barriers that formerly existed. That was one of the great lessons of the war.