Welcome to their stories…

This website is part of an ongoing research project into the stories of the men who gave their lives in service to their country; whose names are listed on the war memorials, or whose war graves lie, in the villages of Charlesworth and Chisworth.

UPDATE: The project has now expanded to include research into those men, no less brave, who were fortunate enough to make it home from the war in which they fought. An almost complete list of all the men of the Parishes of Charlesworth and Chisworth who fought in the 1st World War can be found by clicking here.

UPDATE: Thanks to the sterling work of Peter Cooper and Christine Neild we are happy to be able to show you “enhanced” photographs of twelve of the men whose names are listed on the War Memorials in our Village, their pictures can all be seen by clicking here.

UPDATE: Thanks to Peter Cooper we now have a number of easy to read articles on the men whose names on our war memorials. The articles are listed alphabetically in order of the surnames of the servicemen. Click here to download them.

The project was initiated by the combined efforts of Charlesworth and Chisworth Residents Association, Charlesworth Parish Council and Chisworth Parish Council as part of the ongoing commemorations of the 100 year anniversary of the “Great War”.

The project is led by Nigel Dunkerley (http://www.battlegroundtours.co.uk/), who possesses an MA in British First World War Studies from the University of Birmingham and owns and runs a company specialising in 1st and 2nd World War battlefield tours.

This website will present all the information currently collated as part of the research project; the final aim of which is to publish a small booklet entitled “Our Boys” to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of end of the 1st World War in November 2018.

This project is a collaborative one and as such if you have any information of any nature at all that you feel might contribute then we strongly encourage you to get in touch with us. In the first instance please contact us through the comments box at the bottom of this page.

Please use the menu at the side of this page to navigate this site. Further details on how to navigate the site are given below

We hope that you find the output of this research thought provoking as we piece together the stories of the brave men whose names are carved in stone in our villages.

HOW TO NAVIGATE THE SITE

  1. Click on the triple bar symbol  ≡, in the top right hand corner of this page to open the sidebar menu.
  2. Click on either “Charlesworth War Memorial”, “Chisworth War Memorial”, “Top Chapel War Memorial”, “War Graves” or “Remembered elsewhere” to go to a page dedicated to the men whose names are inscribed on that particular memorial.
  3. Scroll down the page to see the names of all the men who are remembered on that war memorial, and the information/pictures we currently have for them. Click on any highlighted words or phrases to take you to pages with additional information.
  4. To go to a page dedicated to a different war memorial please repeat steps 1, 2 and 3.

18 thoughts on “Welcome to their stories…”

  1. Judith Kinder says:

    Hi
    The Herbert Barnes on Charlesworth war memorial was my Great Uncle his sister Minnie was my Grandmother. Herbert is out of order on the memorial as at the time of his death he had married and was living in Hyde he is apparently on a memorial there as well. My Grandmother often told us that she was determined that her brother’s name should be on the village memorial where he had spent much of his life and his name was added later after she insisted that he should be added, hence the fact that he is at the bottom and out of alphabetical order.
    She had a book of the Memorial register for Tyne Cot Memorial at Passchendale where his name can be found. I went out some years ago with Ledger tours and the guide kindly helped me find the name.
    The following lines are from the memorial book:
    BARNES Pte Herbert, 32001. 11th Border Regt. 2nd Dec 1917. Age 30. Son of the late Robert Arnfield Barnes and Elizabeth Barnes; husband of Anne Barnes, of 111, Stoneclough Road, Stoneclough, Manchester.
    I also don’t think he was born in Mellor, the family lived at Fields Farm in Charlesworth where my Great Grandfather worked as a keeper. I think most of the children where either born there or at The Pistol Farm in Chisworth.
    Hope this helps, I still live in the village, Judith Kinder nee Swindells, 01457866477, 1 Coombes Lane Charlesworth.

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  2. Hi Judith Kinder

    Thank you so much for getting in touch! It’s great to learn that there are still some relatives living in the village of those whose names are on the War Memorials.

    We assumed that he was out of order because he had been added later, but it’s amazing to know the true story of just why he was added later. Your Grandmother sounds like a very determined lady and we are glad she succeeded! I will add this additional information about him the page on Herbert Barnes on the site. I will also add the “quote” from the memorial book as well as that is really powerful.

    We did find the fact his birth was registered as being in Mellor (from the census) as being very odd, we had got him down as living at Fields Farm and that his father was the keeper there so thank you very much for confirming that.

    This is absolutely very helpful and just the sort of response we were looking for. Would you mind me passing your contact details on to Peter Cooper (who is leading our little research team on this) as I think he may want to contact you to talk about this in more detail?

    Stephen Worrall

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  4. Peter Rowbottom says:

    For your information Edward Rowbottom, son of Oswald and Sophia Rowbottom, was born on 26 May 1897, and his brother Frank on 6 January 1894, according to monumental inscription at Charlesworth Independent Chapel.

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      1. Peter Rowbottom says:

        No, Edward and Frank Rowbottom are descendants of James Rowbottom (1777-1856) and Mary Hadfield (1785-1851) of Chew Wood, Chisworth, the cotton mill owners, whereas I am descended from Moses Rowbottom (1772-1858) and Hannah Jackson (c1781-1828) of Moorside Farm, Chisworth. I have been studying the two families for years, but still trying to find a common ancestor.

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  5. Peter Rowbottom says:

    Received a copy of the book Our Charlesworth Boys from a cousin living in the area, very thoughtfully and professionally put together. For your information, if there is a second edition, David Cuthbert was born on 13 December 1885, his wife Harriet on 11 June 1887. David’s father was born on 29 June 1862 and his mother Hannah on 15 September 1859, in Chunal, Glossop.

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  6. Peter Rowbottom says:

    Sorry, forgot to mention that David Cuthbert’s mother’s maiden name was Hannah Rowbottom, she was my first cousin three times removed.

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  7. Peter Heginbotham says:

    For your information, Curtis C Garside and David Cuthbert, next to each other on the Charlesworth Memorial, were first cousins. Curtis’ mother was born Jessie Cuthbert. Her brother and their uncle, also David Cuthbert (but in the army under the name Fred Russell!), and who was my wife’s grandfather, was a PoW from September 1914. He sent several postcards to Jessie from the camp. She was his link with his (presumably) previously estranged family and helped the family take in his two daughters when he and his wife both died in 1924.

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    1. Thank you for this additional information Peter and apologies I have not replied to you until now! We knew about Curtis C Garside and David Cuthbert being cousins but the rest of this information is totally new to us and is fascinating…I’ve added it to the main body of the website.

      I don’t suppose you or your family have any of the postcards? It would be amazing if we could reproduce such a piece of history on our website and in the book we have produced?

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      1. Peter Heginbotham says:

        Thanks Stephen. Yes we have about 5 postcards and I can send you scans if you give me an email address. Regards. Peter

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  8. Ena Clarke says:

    William Charles Porter was my father, he was not born in Chsrkesworth, but was a Mancunian, his father had a barbers shop on Grey Mare Lane Manchester.
    I was only 5. When he was shot down so I do not have a lot of information, but he was a rear gunner in the airforce and was shot down over Strasbourg.
    we understood that he came to Charlesworth with my mother and myself and three brothers to get away from the bombing in Manchester.
    He was a dyers chemist and worked in the mill at Holehouse Chisworth.

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  9. Ena thank you so much for getting in touch with us to tell us more about your father. We have also been contacted by your sister in law Denise Porter (who married your older brother Robert I believe?) who gave us some additional information which we have included here.

    William Charles Porter, as remembered by the daughter in law he sadly never met

    I am so sorry that you were so young when your lost your father and I can only thank you for the additional information you have given us which I have used to update our website and booklet.

    Thank you.

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