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John Geoffrey MIDGLEY

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Surname: MIDGLEY

Forename(s): John Geoffrey

Place of Birth: Bradford, Yorkshire

Service No: 106321

Rank: Corporal

Regiment / Corps / Service: Royal Engineers

Battalion / Unit: 3rd Provisional Coy

Division: ---

Age: 25

Date of Death: 1915-11-07

Awards: D.C.M.

CWGC Grave / Memorial Reference: III. C. 614.

CWGC Cemetery: BRADFORD (SCHOLEMOOR) CEMETERY

CWGC Memorial: ---

Non-CWGC Burial: ---

Local War Memorial(s): Not Listed (View Names Not Listed on a Local War Memorial)

Additional Information:

John Geoffrey Midgley (born 17 June 1890) was the son of Samuel and Henrietta Midgley, née Tomlinson. Samuel was born at Bierley and Henrietta at Baildon, Yorkshire.

1891 Bradford, Yorkshire Census: 12, Oak Avenue - John G. Midgley, aged 9 months, born Bradford, son of Samuel and Henrietta Midgley.

1901 Bradford, Yorkshire Census: 12, Oak Avenue - John G. Midgley, aged 10 years, born Bradford, son of Samuel and Henrietta Midgley.

1911 Bradford, Yorkshire Census: 12, Oak Avenue - John Geoffrey Midgley, aged 20 years, born Bradford, son of Samuel and Henrietta Midgley.

British Army WW1 Medal Rolls Index Cards: Cpl John G. Midgley, 250, W. York. R.; 106321, R.E. Theatre of War first served in: (1) France. Date of entry therein: 27.7.15. D. of W.

British Army WW1 Medal and Award Rolls: Cpl John G. Midgley D.C.M., 250, West Yorks Regt.; 106321, Royal Engineers.

Army Registers of Soldiers' Effects: Crpl John Geoffrey Midgley, 106321, 3rd Prov'l Co. R.E. Date and Place of Death: 7.11.15 Red X Hsp. Cirencester (of wounds). To whom Authorised/Amount Authorised: Father and Residuary Legatee - Samuel. £39 11s. 3d.

John won the D.C.M. whilst serving with the 189th Company; he would have been listed to the 3rd Provisional Company on his return to England.

John is commemorated in the 'City of Bradford Great War 1914-1918 Roll of Honour'.

Photograph: Courtesy of Bradford Grammar School and the Old Boys Association.

See also: https://www.bradfordgrammar.com/former-pupils/bradford-grammar-school-in-ww1/

Data Source: West Yorkshire Pioneer Article

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Entry in West Yorkshire Pioneer Illustrated War Record: ---

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Click the thumbnail below to view a larger image.

Corporal John Geoffrey MIDGLEY

Corporal John Geoffrey MIDGLEY

Regiment / Corps / Service Badge: Royal Engineers

Regiment / Corps / Service Badge: Royal Engineers

Data from Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914 - 1919 Records

Soldiers Died Data for Soldier Records

Surname: MIDGLEY

Forename(s): John Geoffrey

Born: Bradford, Yorks

Residence:

Enlisted: Bradford, Yorks

Number: 106321

Rank: Cpl

Regiment: Corps of Royal Engineers

Battalion:

Decorations: D.C.M.

Died Date: 07/11/15

Died How: Died of wounds

Theatre of War: Home

Notes: Formerly 16/250, W. Yorks Regt. (3rd Prov. Coy., R.E.)

Data from Commonwealth War Graves Commission Records

CWGC Data for Soldier Records

Surname: MIDGLEY

Forename(s): John Geoffrey

Country of Service: United Kingdom

Service Number: 106321

Rank: Corporal

Regiment: Royal Engineers

Unit: 3rd Provisional Coy.

Age: 25

Awards: D C M

Died Date: 07/11/1915

Additional Information: Son of S. and Henrietta Midgley, of 12, Oak Avenue, Bradford.

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Citations of the Distinguished Conduct Medal, 1914-1920

106321 Corporal J. G. Midgley, 189th Company, R. E. (LG 29 Nov. 1915).

For conspicuous gallantry on the 13th October, 1915. After a gas attack, while standing in the trench with Corporal Lee, Corporal Midgley, with great bravery, went over the parapet to bring in a wounded Highlander, but was hit in the thigh by a piece of shell. Corporal Lee, without hesitation and regardless of danger, immediately went out and brought the wounded man into safety. Both non-commissioned officers gave a fine example of devotion to duty.

113575 Corporal W. E. Lee, 189th Co., R. E. (LG 29 Nov. 1915).

For conspicuous gallantry on the 13th October, 1915. After a gas attack, while he was standing in the trench with Corporal Midgley, the latter, with great bravery, went over the parapet to bring in a wounded Highlander, but was hit in the thigh by a piece of shell. Corporal Lee, without hesitation and regardless of danger, immediately went out and brought the wounded man into safety. Both Non-commissioned Officers gave a fine example of devotion to duty.

DE RUVIGNY'S ROLL OF HONOUR 1914-1918 - Part Three

MIDGLEY, John Geoffrey, D.C.M., Corpl., No. 106321, 188th Coy. Royal Engineers, s. of Samuel Midgley, of 12, Oak Avenue, Bradford, by his wife, Henrietta, dau. of Thomas Tomlinson; b. Bradford, 17 June, 1890; educ. Grammar School and Technical College there; was Works Chemist for J.R. Denison & Co., Dyers, Bradford; a good botanist, and wrote for weekly newspapers, also delivered lectures; in 1913 he spent two months at Balers, Elberfeld; was originally in the 1st Bradford Pals Battn.; volunteered and enlisted in Oct. 1914; went to France 27 July, 1915; wounded in France 13 Oct. 1916 [sic], and died in the Red Cross Hospital, Cirencester, 7 Nov. following. Buried in Bradford. He was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal for attempting to save a wounded Highlander. Second Lieut. J.C. Hill, Commanding his Company, wrote: “At the battle of 13 Oct. 1915, No. 106321, Corpl. Midgley, J.C., carried out his duties with coolness and perfect success, despite an intense bombardment and many serious difficulties. Having completed his own work, his orders were to stand by and wait for me to lead the section out of the firing line as soon as this was practicable. While he was waiting, some of the infantry went over the parapet, were stopped by their own wire, and retired, leaving a wounded Private of the Black Watch in front of the bay where Corpl. Midgley was working. Immediately Corpl. Midgley climbed over the parapet to bring the Highlander into the trench, but was unfortunately hit in the thigh and had to retire. Thereupon Corpl Lee, inspired by the bravery of his comrade, went our and dragged the Highlander back to the trench. Corpl. Lee was unhurt, and the Highlander had three flesh wounds, which I dressed. But for Corpl. Midgley’s gallant example, I feel sure the Highlander would have lain out there till he was suffocated or killed. I deeply regret the loss of so gallant a soldier, but it would have been some consolation to his relatives and friends to hear him commended, as I did, by so many of the Black Watch, and to know, as we all know here, that he gave his life for his friend.” Unm.

England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966

1916

MIDGLEY John Geoffrey of 12 Oak-avenue Bradford corporal 3rd Provisional Company Royal Engineers died 7 November 1915 at Cirencester Gloucester Administration (with Will) London 14 January to Samuel Midgley teacher of music. Effects £472 17s. 3d.

Bradford Grammar School in WW1

JOHN GEOFFREY MIDGLEY

1890-1915 Aged 25

Corporal 106321 D.C.M., 188th Company Royal Engineers.

John Midgley was born in Bradford on 17th June 1890. He was the third of five children born to Samuel Midgley and Henrietta nee Tomlinson, and was their eldest surviving son. Samuel described himself as a Professor of Music, although his earliest recorded employment at the age of eleven was working underground as a ‘hurrier’ in a coal mine in Bierley, south Bradford. Henrietta was a vocalist and singing teacher, and together they ran a music school at a large house on Oak Avenue, Manningham for more than three decades. Their son John attended the Bradford Grammar School from 1900, when he was ten. He left no impression in the pages of the Bradfordian as a sportsman, but as a student in Form Fifth Classical (1905-6) he was second in Latin, Greek and English, third in Maths and fourth in Science. When he left in 1907 he changed direction by studying Chemistry at Bradford Technical College. Next he became Works Chemist for J.R. Denison & Sons, dyers of Bradford, and he was seconded for two months to the Baiers Company in Eberfeld, Germany. He was also a botanist who wrote for local weekly newspapers and delivered lectures. In the term after leaving B.G.S., Midgley presented to the school Photographic Society ‘an exceedingly interesting lecture on “Walks around Bradford” … demonstrated by lantern slides from his own photographs.’

When war broke out, John was quick to enlist in the Bradford Pals battalion (16th West Yorkshire), and his name was among the ‘First Thousand’ published by the Bradford Daily Telegraph on 6th November 1914. Following the first use of poisonous chlorine gas by the Germans in April 1915, the War Office decided to follow suit and circulated a letter appealing for men with experience in Chemistry to form special companies of the Royal Engineers. Midgley volunteered, becoming a ‘chemical corporal’ with pay of 3s. a day, and he went to France on 27th July 1915 to join 188th Company.

After a period of relative quiet on the Western Front, the French commander Joffre planned a joint Franco-British offensive in Champagne and Artois. The British 1st Army, commanded by General Sir Douglas Haig would deliver the British attack at Loos, an area of slagheaps and mining villages. As the B.E.F. was still desperately short of heavy artillery and shells of all calibres, chlorine gas was used to effect a breakthrough. Midgley’s Company was one of two responsible for installing five thousand cylinders in the front line and releasing the gas on 25th September. The results were mixed. Sir John French prolonged the attacks through October, and there was a second British gas attack on the 13th. For his actions that day Midgley would be awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. His company com-mander wrote ‘Corpl. Midgley, J.G., carried out his duties with coolness and perfect success, despite an intense bombardment and many serious difficulties … some of the infantry went over the parapet, were stopped by their own wire, and retired, leaving a wounded Private of the Black Watch in front of the bay where Corpl. Midgley was working. Immediately Corpl. Midgley climbed over the parapet to bring the Highlander into the trench, but was unfortunately hit in the thigh [by a shell splinter] and had to retire.’ A fellow engineer, inspired by this example, rescued the man who was saved from being gassed or left to bleed to death. Midgley was evacuated to Britain to the Red Cross Hospital at Cirencester, Gloucester-shire, where he died of his wound on 7th November. His officer wrote that ‘it would have been some consolation to his relatives and friends … to know … that he gave his life for his friend.’ His body was buried in Scholemoor Cemetery, attended by a guard of honour from the School O.T.C. He was unmarried.

Acknowledgements:

The photo is from the OBA Roll of Honour, with thanks. It is quite straightforward to reconstruct Midgley’s family and military career through the records available on Ancestry. De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour provides a detailed account of his life and death. CWGC and the Probate register give Midgley’s unit as 3rd Provisional Company R.E., the London Gazette as 189th Company, and De Ruvigny’s as 188th Company. Since four companies were formed, numbered 186-189th, I have plumped for 188th as the 3rd Company. Various sites provide information on the gas companies. For ‘chemical corporals’, see Jeremy Mitchell’s Shrapnel and Whizzbangs—A Tommy in the Trenches 1914-18 (2008, The Memoir Club), an account of his father’s service. Like Midgley, he studied at Bradford Technical College. See also my biography of John Robertshaw Hill, killed 6th May 1917.

Midgley’s body was interred in Scholemoor Cemetery at III. C. 614 according to CWGC. After much tramping through wet grass the grave was located. The cemetery diagram was of little assistance. The cemetery post code is BD7 2PS

Researched and composed by Nick Hooper November 2015 (revised May 2017)—for further information about Midgley or the commemoration of Old Bradfordians, contact by email
[email protected]
Twitter @NickHooper13.

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Additional Photo(s) For Soldier Records

Corporal John Geoffrey Midgley

Corporal John Geoffrey Midgley

Courtesy of Bradford Grammar School and the Old Boys Association

Bradford (Scholemoor) Cemetery

Bradford (Scholemoor) Cemetery

© Nicholas Hooper

Bradford Grammar School War Memorial

Bradford Grammar School War Memorial

© Nicholas Hooper (WMR-28454)

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View West Yorkshire Pioneer Articles

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West Yorkshire Pioneer Logo

03 December 1915

D.C.M. FOR THE LATE CORPORAL MIDGLEY

A Comrade’s Tribute to His Gallantry

Included in the list published on Tuesday of winners of the Distinguished Conduct Medals is the name of Corporal J.G. Midgley, 189th Company Royal Engineers, who was one of the Bradford ‘Pals’ stationed at Skipton, where he was well known as a musician. He was the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. S. Midgley, Oak Avenue, Bradford, and he died at the Cirencester Military Hospital following a shell wound received whilst in the act of performing the deed for which the medal had been awarded him. Striking tribute is paid to him in a letter received by his parents from a soldier at the Front with the Royal Engineers. The letter reads:– “We were working together that day and had chosen him as leader – so did we recognise his coolness and his ability. I remember him reading a paper with quiet unconcern just as the bombardment was fiercest. I had just been speaking to him when, glancing over the parapet, he noticed a wounded man lying right in front of our trench, and I saw him without a moment’s hesitation go over and reach him. Just as he had reached the wounded Highlander, and I was about to aid him, a shell burst a few yards from him, and I heard a dull thud, as part of it seemed to hit his side. I saw him drop a little and crawl quickly back to the trench, where we dragged him in and two Highlanders bound his wound while I tried to cheer him up and to ease his wounded leg. I stood by him and passed the word down for stretcher bearers, but they did not come. His face was very pale, and I could have cried, so touched was I at his bravery, his self-sacrifice and his unselfishness. I helped Sergeant Harland to rig up a stretcher of two poles, with his coat as a pillow. It was a trying time for him in his suffering to get him on the stretcher, but he bore it with fine patience. It was hard on him, getting through that long, narrow, winding trench, but by taking turns – and far more by his own splendid efforts than by ours – we managed it. At one time he would ease us a bit by limping, at another time he would lay himself on the stretcher again, where the trench was wide enough to carry him. He seemed to be thinking more of others than of himself – I think that was the finest thing of all. We left him in charge of the doctor at the dressing station, and I thought his wound was not serious and that in time he would get over it. We heard from him in England and I though he would be all right. But the news of his death came as a great blow to me, and I thought of the fine friend I had lost in him. He was so kind and considerate towards others that everyone respected him. The memory of his fine act shall ever live in my memory and of those with me. My wish is to be like him and to act as he would act. His action has made me strive to be noble, and I shall keep the example he has set for ever in my mind. . . He gave his life for his friend.”

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    One Response to John Geoffrey MIDGLEY

    1. Nick Hooper November 3, 2015 at 1:19 pm #

      John Midgley born Bradford 17-6-1890, lived 12 Oak Avenue where his father Samuel and mother Henrietta were music teachers. He attended the Bradford Grammar School 1900-07, then the Technical College where he studied Chemistry prior to becoming Works Chemist at JR Denison & Sons, dyers. He enlisted in 1st Bradford Pals October 1914, and transferred to the newly formed Royal Engineers gas companies in response to the War Office appeal for soldiers with experience in Chemistry. He participated in the gas attacks at Loos on 25-9 and 13-10-1915. It was during the latter that he received the wound in his thigh which would lead to his death in an attempt to rescue a wounded Highlander from no man’s land – this is fully described in De Ruvigny. He was evacuated to the Red Cross Hospital, Cirencester, where he died 7-11-1915. His body was taken to Bradford for burial. I have a photo which I will be happy to supply if you wish and have compiled a fuller biography.

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