Richard Henry OLDFIELD

12 November 1915

SKIPTON R.A.M.C. MAN DIES OF WOUNDS

Mr. and Mrs. Oldfield, of Castle View Terrace, Skipton, have received official intimation that their son, Pte. John Oldfield, of the R.A.M.C., has been seriously wounded in France. Pte. Oldfield, who is only 17 years of age, enlisted on June 7th last and went to France in August. He was formerly employed by Messrs. W.A. and J. Simpson, of Skipton, and was connected with the Catholic Troop of Boy Scouts.

It was only on Tuesday last that Mrs. Oldfield received a cheery letter from her son, in which he stated that he was in an advanced dressing station about six or eight miles from his brother Richard, who is with the 6th West Ridings. He went on to say, “You need never worry about me. I am all right here and quite well. It is not often that I go into the firing line; when I do it is only to bring out a case.” Pte. Oldfield also sent his mother a string of Rosary beads, to which he referred in the letter, and expressed the hope that he would be home for Christmas, leave having been started in the Division to which he was attached.

Following close upon this letter came a communication from Chaplain John E.Macrae as follows:–

Dear Madam,–
I am sorry to say that your son came into hospital badly wounded, and may not make recovery as his strength is very low. He has been visited by a Roman Catholic priest here, and he has received the last Unction of the Church. You will hear, however, in a day or two, but must not expect particulars until you hear from the War Office.

On Thursday morning came a further letter from a French Roman Catholic priest who says:–

Dear Madam,
I am attached as interpreter to the 11th casualty clearing station. As much as possible I attend to the Catholics who pass through our hospital. Last night your son came in wounded in the stomach. He was operated on this morning, and I must tell you that his condition is very severe. I gave him Absolution and Extreme Unction before the operation. He was quite conscious. Now he is under chloroform. I shall write you again, and I hope God will leave your son to his mother.

Pte. Oldfield has two brothers serving with the Colours–Richard with the 6th West Ridings in France, and Jim with the R.A.M.C. in the Dardanelles.

Yesterday Mrs. Oldfield received a further letter from the French Chaplain informing her that her son had passed away. The wound was a severe one, and he did not long survive the operation.

19 November 1915

SKIPTON SOLDIER’S DEATH – A CURIOUS BLUNDER

Some one in France seems to have made a very unfortunate and disconcerting blunder regarding the identity of a Skipton soldier who was reported last weekend to have died of wounds.

Mr. J. Oldfield, of Castle View Terrace, Skipton, has two sons In France – Private John Oldfield of the R.A.M.C., and Private Rd. Hy. Oldfield, of the 6th Battalion, Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment. Towards the latter part of last week news was received, first that Private John Oldfield had been severely wounded in the stomach, and subsequently that he had died in hospital following an operation: had received Absolution and Supreme Unction, and had been buried according to the rites of his Church. The communication containing this latter information was sent to the parents by the French priest at the Clearing Station where death took place, and was, of course, accepted as authentic.

On Sunday last a memorial service was held St. Stephen’s Roman Catholic Church, with which the family are connected, and Mr. and Mrs. Oldfield received many expressions of sympathy. On Monday came a letter from a sergeant in ‘B’ Company of the 6th Duke Wellington’s Regiment, stating that Private Richard Henry Oldfield had been wounded in the stomach on November 7th, and had been sent into hospital. The writer added that he did not think the wound was serious.

On the face of it this appeared like a double misfortune, but on Tuesday morning Mr. and Mrs. Oldfield received, much to their astonishment, a letter from Private John Oldfield, written, apparently, the day following that on which he was supposed to have been buried. “I am still safe,” though he added that Germans had given them a shock by dropping shells round their billets. He also expressed, once again, the hope that he would soon be getting leave to return to England.

In view of this letter it seemed pretty clear that if any one had been buried in France at all it was Richard Henry, of the 6th West Ridings This presumption was strengthened by the receipt of the following letter from the Rev. John MacRae, chaplain at the hospital to which the wounded soldier was taken:– “DEAR MADAM, – Your son J. Oldfield, 6th West Riding Regiment, who was badly wounded, did not recover his strength in spite of the utmost care we could give him, and he passed away. He was buried by our R. C. chaplain with the rites of the Church and military honours in our soldiers’ cemetery. His grave is marked with a cross.”

There was still, it will be noticed, a mistake in the initial, but there was a definite announcement that the Regiment to which the dead soldier was attached was the 6th West Ridings. John Oldfield’s unit was the R.A.M.C. A further letter received from Lieut. D. F. Peacock, of the 6th West Ridings, might almost be taken as conclusive. It describes how ‘ Dick Oldfield,’ as Private Richard Henry Oldfield was familiarly known in the Regiment, received his wound. Lieut. Peacock writes:– “Your son was badly wounded on Sunday morning by a bullet in the abdomen. He had taken advantage of an early morning mist to take a short cut from the trenches to store, and in returning the mist cleared and he was sniped. Everything was done for him, and he really was quite cheerful when we got him off to hospital.”

26 November 1915

THE LATE PRIVATE R. H. OLDFIELD – COMRADES’ TRIBUTE

The parents of Pte. Richard Henry Oldfield, 6th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, whose death was reported in our last issue, have received the following letter from Sergt. F. Stork of the Machine Gun Section, to which the deceased was attached:–

“Dear Mrs. Oldfield, – “This letter is from the Machine Gun Section to which Dick was attached. We write to try and express our deepest sympathy with you because of the loss of Dick.

“Knowing well the splendid character of your son, we can in some measure understand how great his loss must be felt at home. Dick was a pattern of an Englishman, and an example of what a man doing his share for his country should be.

“He was always cheerful under any circumstances, and ready to do more than his share of work. Whilst among us he lived his life in a clear and manly way, full of spirit and void of fear, and he leaves us with a feeling of pride in having known him and had him for a comrade. I will close by expressing the deepest sympathy of the section on whose behalf I write.”

07 January 1916

THE LATE PRIVATE OLDFIELD – AN OFFICER’S TRIBUTE

Mr. and Mrs. H. Oldfield, of Castle View Terrace, Skipton, whose son Private W. [sic] H. Oldfield of the 1/6th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, was killed in action some time ago, have received the following letter from Lieut. Ralph M. Robinson:–

“I hoped to have been able to come to see you before this, but I have been laid up with influenza and have been prevented from coming to Skipton, so I feel I must write and tell you how very much I sympathise with you in your son’s death, and how sorry I am to lose such a good comrade. He did well right through, he was quite fearless under fire and was always ready and willing. He seemed to be able to turn his hand to anything – whether attending to a machine gun, building a dug-out or mending a friend’s watch with his jack knife – and his jokes and high spirits were invaluable when times were hard. We had a rough time in July. The Machine Gun Section went back to the trenches before the rest of the Battalion to assist the Third Brigade in stopping an attack. We had twenty two days in the trenches under continual shell fire, and then were allowed to move a few miles back for three nights’ rest, but that night the section only got to camp at midnight; the second they had to stand to arms most of the night, because the Germans were attacking a neighbouring section, and the third night they had orders to take up the machine gun to the front line of trenches.

“Your son was one of the four who volunteered to go. We were working so late that I got special leave from the Brigadier to leave those four man behind for a good night’s rest when we went back to the trenches the next day, but next afternoon your son signed on to go back with us. He explained that one of his friends was feeling ill, so he changed placed with him and so he gave up the first chance he had had of a good night’s rest for a month. Men like that are hard to spare.”