Main CPGW Record
Surname: HOLMES
Forename(s): Matthew
Place of Birth: Greenfield (near Buckden), Yorkshire
Service No: 26923
Rank: Private
Regiment / Corps / Service: Grenadier Guards
Battalion / Unit: 1st Battalion
Division: Guards Division
Age: ---
Date of Death: 1917-07-31
Awards: ---
CWGC Grave / Memorial Reference: Panel 9 and 11.
CWGC Cemetery: ---
CWGC Memorial: YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL
Non-CWGC Burial: ---
Local War Memorial: HUBBERHOLME, YORKSHIRE
Additional Information:
Matthew Holmes was the son of Jeffrey and Isabella Holmes, née Sunter. When Jeffrey married Isabella his surname was given as Calvert; his mother, Mary Calvert, was married to Stuartson Holmes in 1859. Jeffrey was born at Hawes and Isabella at High Abbotside, Yorkshire.
1891 Beckermonds, Yorkshire Census: Far Greenfield - Matthew Holmes, aged 1 years, born Greenfield, Buckden, Yorkshire, son of Jeffrey and Isabella Holmes.
1901 Beckermonds, Yorkshire Census: Far Greenfield - Matthew Holmes, aged 11 years, born Arncliffe, Yorkshire, son of Jeffrey and Isabella Holmes.
Matthew was married to Edith Drinkwater in 1909.
1911 Beckermonds, Yorkshire Census: Far Greenfield - Matthew Holmes, aged 21 years, born Buckden, Yorkshire, husband of Edith Holmes.
British Army WW1 Medal Rolls Index Cards: Pte Matthew Holmes, 26923, Grenadier Guards.
Matthew was killed in action during the Battles of Ypres, 1917, 31 July-10 November, at the Battle of Pilckem, 31 July-2 August.
A short biography of Matthew is included in: ‘Swaledale & Wharfedale Remembered – Aspects of Dales’ life through peace and war’ by Keith Taylor (2006).
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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Click the thumbnail below to view a larger image.
Private Matthew HOLMES
Regiment / Corps / Service Badge: Grenadier Guards
Divisional Sign / Service Insignia: Guards Division
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View Craven Herald Articles
View Craven Herald Articles
14 December 1917
BUCKDEN – MORE SAD NEWS
We regret to hear the news of the death in action of Private Matthew Holmes, of the Coldstream [Grenadier] Guards, formerly of High Greenfield, Buckden. The Vicar is holding a memorial service at Hubberholme Church on Sunday afternoon at 3 o’clock. We hope to give more details next week.
21 December 1917
HUBBERHOLME
No one was more highly esteemed and loved in Upper Wharfedale and the parish of Hubberholme than Pte. Matthew Holmes, of the Grenadier Guards, whose portrait is given above. Before the war, he was the head gamekeeper for Mr. Garnett-Orme at High Greenfield. He was killed in the great battle of July 31st, and fell on the battlefield during the advance, when nearing the final objective. The deepest sympathy is felt for his widow and his two young children.
“May the grace of Christ our Saviour,
And the Father’s boundless love,
With the Holy Spirit’s favour,
Rest upon them from above.”
A memorial service was held in the Hubberholme Church on Sunday last. The Vicar said the old church had stood 800 years, and looked fit to stand another 800 years to tell in some grand memorial on its walls of the glorious service of the Dalesmen who, in the Great War, had laid down their very lives to save the Dale and their native land.
“It is the lot of all men,” he said, “to die, but Matthew in his death has earned undying fame. His little children will shed tears for him, but when they can understand, how proud and thankful they will be to be the children of such a noble father.”
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