Walter SNOWDEN

09 November 1917

COWLING – FUNERAL OF SAPPER SNOWDEN

The remains of Sapper Walter Snowden, of the Royal Engineers, were interred on Saturday at the Cowling Parish Church. Sapper Snowdon died of double pneumonia on October 30th at the Burdon Hotel Hospital, Weymouth. He enrolled under the Derby scheme, and was called to the Colours on home service on lst September 1916. Previous to joining up he was in business on his own account as a plumber and glazier. Beautiful floral tributes were sent by his Commanding Officer; by Lieut. F. W. Bissett, his company Commander; and from the members of his company, the I.W. and D., Royal Engineers.

Mrs. Snowden, his wife, of Garden Terrace, Cowling, has received the following letter from the officer under whom he was serving:– “Dear Mrs. Snowden, – I do most sincerely sympathise with you in your great loss. As probably you know your husband was acting as my orderly room clerk, and he was always so happy and cheerful, and so careful about his work too. I could not wish for a better man; everybody he came in contact with liked him, and we all miss his cheery presence very much. I feel that I almost know you, as he so often talked about you and his children, and his happy home life. He had a bad cold for more than a fortnight, but the day before he went to hospital he seemed better, and he was joking and laughing most of the day. He went to ‘sing song’ in the evening with Sergeant Neil. The next day, however, when he came down to the office in the morning he complained of pains when breathing, so he went back to bed and the doctor said he had pleurisy. We moved him to hospital at mid-day, and the day following pneumonia set in. He gave his life for his country just as truly as a soldier in the front firing line. Yours faithfully, FRANCIS W. BISSETT, Lieut.”

09 November 1917

COWLING – The Late Lieut. Hall-Watt

On Sunday morning at the Parish Church, the Vicar conducted a memorial service to the memory of the late Second Lieutenant R. Hall-Watt of the Grenadier Guards. The choir sang the anthem ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace’. The deceased officer was the eldest son and heir of the late Mr. E. B. B. Hall-Watt, of Bishop Burton, Beverley, and of Carr Head, Cowling. He was killed in action on October 13th in Flanders, and was 19 years of age. Educated at Eton and Sandhurst, the deceased was posted to the Grenadier Guards in the early part of this year, and went out to France in August last. His decease is greatly lamented in the district, as it was hoped when he came of age he would have taken a personal interest in the Carr Head Estate.

The ‘Last Post’ was sounded by the buglers from the Church Lads’ Brigade, Colne. Col. Eyre and Mrs. Eyre (of Bishop Burton Hall, Beverley, the mother of the deceased officer), and also Mr. A. Hall-Watt, the deceased’s only brother, were represented by Mr. T. Washington Chambers, of Brighouse, the agent for the Carr Head and Morton Estates of the trustees of the late E.B.B. Hall-Watt, of Bishop Burton, the father of the deceased. A similar memorial service has been held at Bishop Burton Church on the 1st inst. The service at Cowling was also in memory of Gunner Coulson Fryer, Privates William Garner, Walter Snowden, and George Thorpe, all of Cowling, who have recently laid down their lives for King and Country. The Vicar alluded in feeling terms to the great loss which the relatives of the deceased officer and men had sustained.

15 March 1918

COWLING – In Memoriam

At the Ickornshaw Wesleyan Church on Sunday a memorial service was conducted by the Rev. Thos. Dargue to the memories of the late Privates James Shuttleworth, Walter Snowden and John W. Smith. Mrs. Robt. Watson sang the solo ‘God shall wipe away all tears.’

10 June 1927

COWLING – SOLDIERS’ LAST RESTING PLACE

Government tombstones have been sent to the Cowling Parish Churchyard to mark the last resting place of four men who made the supreme sacrifice during the Great War. The stones are neatly shaped and of good material, and bear suitable inscriptions, and the relatives of the deceased are highly pleased with the good taste shown by the authorities in their selection. The following are the deceased servicemen thus represented:–

SAPPER WALTER SNOWDEN, who died at Weymouth on October 30th 1917, in his 34th year; as a result of an attack of pneumonia, was attached to the Royal Engineers, and before joining the Army was in business in Cowling as a plumber and glazier. He belonged to a well-known Cowling family who have resided in the locality for several generations. He was the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. John William Snowden, now of Sutton-in-Craven, but formerly of Lower Leys Farm, near Cowling. He left a widow, one son and one daughter, who live in Cowling at the present time.

PRIVATE JOSEPH REDMAN, of the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry died at Salop on May 18th, 1916, at the age of 29. He was a native of Cowling, the fourth son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Elias Redman, who were well-known for their interest and activity in connection with the Ickornshaw Wesleyan Church. Before joining up he was employed as an insurance agent in Manchester, and left a widow and one son in that city. Private Redman was brought up in Cowling, and was at one time eminently connected with the Dramatic Society, whilst he was also associated with the Ickornshaw Wesleyan Church and Sunday School.

PRIVATE ARTHUR EDMONDSON, of the Machine Gun Corps, passed away in hospital on November17th, 1918, in his 28th year. He went through some severe fighting in France and Belgium, during two years of active service, and was badly gassed, which injury caused his death. He was a native of Burnley, being the second son of Mr. and the late Mrs. Henry Edmondson, of Burnley, and left a wife and two children who now reside in Cowling.

PRIVATE J.H. MASLIN, of the East Lancashire Regiment, died in hospital at Edmonton on January 3rd, 1920, at the age of 41. He was three years on active service in France, and saw a good deal of fighting. He was a native of Brierfield, near Nelson, and was the son of Mrs. C. Broughton, now of 5 Bird Street, Brierfield. He formerly lived in Nelson, bur removed to Cowling, where his widow, one son and one daughter, now reside.