Robert George METCALFE

01 December 1916

CRAVEN AND THE WAR

Mrs. Metcalfe, 1, Watkinson Street, Skipton, has received an intimation from the Records Office at Dover, that her husband, Gunner R.G. Metcalfe, R.G.A., has been admitted to hospital at Etaples suffering from dysentery. He enlisted in May last and went out to France six weeks ago.

14 September 1917

METCALFE – September 4th 1917, killed in action on the Western Front, Gunner R. G. Metcalfe, R.G.A., son of the late Mr. Thos. Metcalfe, formerly farm bailiff at Tarn House, Skipton.

14 September 1917

SKIPTON'S ROLL OF HONOUR – GUNNER R. G. METCALFE, R.G.A.

We regret to say that Mrs. Metcalfe, 1, Watkinson Street, Broughton Road, Skipton, received information on Sunday of the death in action of her husband, Gunner R. G. Metcalfe, R.G.A., on Tuesday of last week. For many years deceased was traveller and assistant to Mr. M. W. Emsley, grocer, High Street, Skipton, but for two years prior to enlisting on May 20th 1916, he worked for Mr. John Gill, grocer, Skipton. He went to France in October 1916, and was invalided home suffering from dysentery in November, and spent five months in hospital at Nottingham. He returned to the Front in May last. Deceased was the son of the late Mr. Thomas Metcalfe, for many years farm bailiff to Mrs. Garnett-Orme, Tarn House, Thorlby, and leaves a widow and one child.

Mrs. Metcalfe has received the following letter from the Rev. John Todd, Army Chaplain:– “I am very, very sorry indeed to inform you that your husband was killed in action last night (September 4th). He was on duty by his gun about 10-30 p.m. when a bomb fell close to him, exploded, and his death was instantaneous. I buried him this morning in a little cemetery. All the men spoke well of him, for he was very popular amongst his comrades. His officer, too, spoke of him this morning as a kindly and courteous man. You will feel the blow very much, and I pray that you may receive strength through our Lord Himself to bear it.”

Battery Sergeant-Major Arthur Thomas Brown has also written Mrs. Metcalfe as follows:– “It is with extreme sorrow that I have to send you very sad news, to inform you that your husband has passed away. I am writing this quite unofficially, not only because I appreciated the kindly and courteous disposition of your late husband, but because I too have a dear wife in the Homeland, who like so many thousands of others, are anxiously at this time hoping for the best. The particulars of your husband’s death are as follows:– He was on guard at the time; in fact, actually on ‘sentry go’ over his gun, when at 10 p.m. he shouted to the lads in their dugouts to put all lights out as enemy planes were approaching. A few moments elapsed and then three bombs dropped in quick succession, one of which was only ten to fifteen yards from him. A splinter from this, quite a small one, struck him in the mouth, and entering his brain killed him almost instantaneously. He only uttered the word “Oh!” three times and fell asleep in the arms of a comrade who had immediately rushed out to him. These are the facts as I have heard them, and of course as the Battery Sergeant Major of his Battery I made full enquiries. He was buried today at about 11-30 a.m. in the British Cemetery at -----. Facts are hard, cold things to write about, but Mrs. Metcalfe, do let me assure you that much sympathy is felt for you at this time, and the lads of this sub-section especially impressed upon me that I must add their sincere regret and condolence. I had taken a special liking to him, for he was always kindly, courteous and cheerful. Please accept my deep sympathy and may God comfort you in your sorrow.”

28 September 1917

THE LATE GUNNER METCALFE, OF SKIPTON

Mrs. Metcalfe, 1, Watkinson Street, Broughton Road, Skipton, has now received official information from the Records Office, York, of the death in action of her husband, Gunner R. G. Metcalfe, Royal Garrison Artillery, as reported in the ‘Craven Herald’ on September 14th.

06 September 1918

METCALFE – In unfading memory of our dear brother, Gunner Robert G. Metcalfe, R.G.A., killed while on sentry duty in France, September 4th, 1917.

How little we thought as we said good-bye,
We had parted for ever and you were to die;
For the grief that we feel words cannot tell,
For we could not be with you to bid farewell.

Missed by his Brothers and Sisters.

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.