At some point in 1916, George Dodsworth discovered that his wife had been unfaithful to him while he was away in the army and that she was expecting another man’s child. The child was a girl born on the 7th January 1917 and so, unless born prematurely would have been conceived in April 1916 [[1]]. The baby was born at 10 Chestnut Avenue, Harrogate, the home of Lucy and Charles Henry Hartley. Lucy Hartley (nee Fowler) was Rebecca’s younger sister. Rebecca registered her daughter’s birth and named her Cissie Beatrice [[2]]. She did not name the child’s father and, therefore, Cissie’s surname on the birth certificate was Dodsworth. George and Rebecca had been married 11 years.
Whether George received the unhappy news of his wife’s pregnancy by letter or on a visit home while on leave from the army is not known. As will later become apparent, George cared greatly for the welfare of his children and it seems that their plight weighed very heavily on his mind.
On Monday the 16th October 1916, presumably on leave from the army, George took his three children away from Rebecca to be cared for by his elder sister Isabel Galway (nee Dodsworth). Sidney was aged 9, Eileen aged 6 and Viola aged 4. They were to spend the next year with Isabel. When they were returned to Rebecca after that year is not known, but it is certain that they did return to her.
On Tuesday the 16th October 1917 George received a letter. Exactly a year to the day had passed since George had taken his three children away from his wife to be cared for by his sister Isabel. Whom this letter was from or what were its contents will probably always remain a mystery, but it proved extremely distressing to George.
Harry Baggley was a soldier serving with No. 409 Agricultural Corps. He was billeted with George and they had been working together on Mr. Slator’s farm for eight weeks. On the night of Tuesday the 16th October 1917, Harry returned to Midville from a weekend leave. He arrived at Midville railway station at about 8 o’clock in the evening and went straight to the Duke of Wellington Inn in Midville, a short walk from the station. At the inn he met George who seemed a bit depressed and Harry tried to cheer him up by joking about a cracked glass. George said that there would be serious trouble, and that before long. They remained at the inn for about an hour and had two pints of beer each. Harry told George that it was time to leave the pub and go home. George seemed reluctant to leave the inn, but Harry told him that it was time to go and he followed Harry outside into the night.
Darkness had fallen at 5:40pm. There was no street lighting in Midville and there was no moonlight that night [[3]]. It would have been very dark outside the inn. There had been a very light shower of rain in the early evening, but despite having been dull all day with only a few minutes sunshine the night was dry [[4]].
Harry stood by the side of the road opposite the inn close to the wide grass bank of Hobhole drain opposite Bell Water Bridge. He thought George was standing near him, but then he heard a splash in the water. Despite the darkness, Harry saw that George was in the water and he went into the water after him. He got hold of George and brought him to the edge, but George got hold of his legs and Harry tried to get away from him. He told George to hold on to the rushes while he went for help. He saw that George had hold of the rushes and appeared to be safe. Harry ran back into the inn to raise the alarm and summon help, but when he returned to the drain he could not see George.
William Webb, who lived in Boston, was also in the inn that evening. He remembered George and Harry leaving the inn together and also that they were both quite sober. A couple of minutes after they left the inn he heard Harry call out for help. William went outside and Harry told him that George was in the drain, but William could see or hear nothing. William got into a boat but could not find George. He stayed at the inn all night.
Police Constable Poole who was stationed at New Leake, three miles from Midville, was summoned to the Duke of Wellington Inn. He arrived at the scene to find men dragging Hobhole Drain for a body. The water was very black, and in the darkness he could see nothing.
Next morning it was light at 6:30am. William got into a boat at about 8.20am to try and find George’s body. It was found in midstream nearly opposite the inn and William got the body out of the water. P.C. Poole searched the body and found £2.1s.10d., a quantity of family letters and a watch that had stopped at half past eight.
An inquest was convened by Dr. Walker [[5]], coroner for the Spilsby District of Lincolnshire.
George’s body was recovered from Hobhole Drain on the Wednesday morning. His next of kin would have been informed. It seems likely that George had changed his next of kin to be his sister Isabel Galway rather than his wife Rebecca. Early on Wednesday the police must have informed Isabel that her brother had died. She must have travelled later that morning by the only train from Harrogate which would get her to Midville that day in order to attend the inquest on the Thursday [[6]].
The inquest took place on Thursday the 18th October at the Duke of Wellington Inn in the afternoon. Presumably this was the only building in Midville suitable to hold the coroner’s court.[[7]]
Isabel gave formal identification that the body she had just viewed was that of her brother, George Dodsworth. She had last seen him in July but he had written to her, the last letter being three weeks ago. Isabel said that he was married and had three children. As far as she was aware, he was content before he joined the army. She added that she had cared for his three children since 16th October 1916, as his wife was leading an immoral life and he had brought his children to her to be looked after. His wife had given birth to a baby some weeks after the children had been given into her care.
Harry Baggley [[8]] gave evidence at the inquest and identified the body as that of Private Dodsworth. He said that George was always talking about his children, that he was parted from his wife and that his sister was taking care of his children. After he had received a letter from home, George said he was ‘about tired -- and it would make him do things he ought not do’.
William Webb [[9]] and P.C. Poole [[10]] also testified at the inquest.
The inquest jury consisted of seven local men [[11]]. Having heard the evidence of the four witnesses, the coroner and jury pronounced their verdict .....
‘That the said George Dodsworth being at the time of his death a male person of the age of 37 and a private in 409 Agricultural Company his number being 239234 died at Midville on the 16th day of October 1917. That the cause of his death was suffocation by drowning in Hobhole Drain and that he did commit suicide while suffering temporary insanity’. [[12]]
On Friday following the inquest on Thursday afternoon into George’s death, the registrar of births marriages and deaths for the Spilsby District issued a death certificate showing the cause of death as defined by the coroner’s verdict. These formalities completed, burial of the body could take place.
The Rev. Hodge [[13]] officiated at the funeral service which took place at St. Peter’s Church, Midville on Saturday 20th October, a dull day but dry with short bright intervals. Following the service, George’s body was interred in consecrated ground on the south side of the churchyard [[14]]. The grave is marked by a headstone and the surrounding area is covered in a carpet of ivy. It is a quiet and peaceful place.
George’s grave is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Although he committed suicide, he was accorded a military headstone. He must surely have seen action in the war and for whatever reason he had been transferred to 409 Agricultural Corps, he had played his part in the service of his country. This must mean that the authorities were sympathetic to his tragic death and remembered him accordingly.
The headstone is of the standard form seen in British Military Cemeteries throughout the world. The emblem of the West Yorkshire Regiment, the White Horse of Hanover on a ground inscribed ‘West Yorkshire’ is carved on the top of the stone. This is followed by the inscription ‘3354 Private G. DODSWORTH : West Yorkshire Regiment : 17th October 1917 : Age 33’. There then follows a Cross and the words ‘God is Love’ [[15]] and ‘Peace Perfect Peace’ [[16]].
George’s death was reported in The Boston Guardian of 27th October 1917. It was also briefly reported in The Knaresborough Post and Boroughbridge Herald of 3rd November, with a fuller report detailing the inquest on 11th November.
There is a carved wooden war memorial on the north wall of Aldborough Parish Church to the dead of the First World War. Unfortunately, George’s name has been omitted. There are no other Dodsworths listed on the memorial.
However, there is an inscribed list on the end of a pew listing those inhabitants of the parish who served in the First World War. The names include Henry, Tom and Wilfred Dodsworth but not George.
The Imperial War Museum holds the National Inventory of War Memorials. This is not yet complete but holds the details of some 40,000 memorials throughout the UK. The museum was unable to provide any specific information relative to George Dodsworth, but suggested investigating memorials in the towns surrounding where he had lived. No trace of George’s name was found on the war memorials at Boroughbridge, Harrogate or Killinghall.
Once probate has been granted, wills are filed at regional Probate Registries. The Principal Probate Registry in London holds copies of all wills filed in these registries. During the war many people who would not normally have done so made wills, particularly soldiers fighting at the front. A search was made at the Principal Probate Registry for the Will of George Dodsworth. No such Will was found, and therefore George died intestate. Whereas it seems possible that George changed his next of kin from his wife to his sister Isabel, the rules of intestacy dictate that his wife would still have been his chief beneficiary. His worldly goods were probably few, but note from the Effects Register entry that two payments were made to his widow in 1919.
[1] In April 1916 the 5th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment were ‘Resting’ having fought at the Battle of Loos, and before fighting in the Battle of Albert and Battle of Thiepval.
[2] Rebecca was known as Cissie. Her death certificate gives her forenames as Cissie Rebecca.
[3] According to the archived records of the Royal Observatory, there had been a new moon on Tuesday 16th October 1917 at 2:41am. The moon was up during the day but not up at all during the night, so that it would have been moonless all night.
[4] The National Meteorological Archive provided the Meteorological Register for Skegness during the month of October 1917. This was the town nearest to Midville for which they had any records. ‘As the crow flies’, Skegness is ca.12 miles from Midville.
[5] Dr. Francis John Walker (1859 – 1940) was coroner for the Spilsby District 1900 – 1937.
He appears on the 1901 Census as aged 41 years : Born Spilsby : Occupation = Physician & Surgeon MD.
[6] There were no restrictions on travel during the war apart from to ask whether the journey was really necessary. It is doubtful that Isabel was used to travel and the journey from Harrogate to Midville was not an easy one. Whether she was accompanied by an official from the courts or the police is not known. The journey from Harrogate would require her to change trains at Doncaster and Lincoln. There was only one train per day from Harrogate for Doncaster at 11:20am and this would mean that she would arrive at Midville at 7:10pm (in the dark).
Similarly for Isabel’s return journey to Harrogate, she would need to leave Midville at 9:20am to arrive in Harrogate at 6:30pm. Whether she returned home on Friday the day following the inquest, or remained for her brother’s funeral on the Saturday is not known. However, if she stayed for the funeral she would have been too late to return that day.
[7] The coroner’s verdict and the statements of witnesses at the inquest still exist and are filed in the Lincolnshire Archives from where copies were obtained. Although the coroner’s verdict and the first page of some of the witness statements are on official stationery, the remainder is written on plain paper of differing sizes. The old fashioned handwriting is difficult to read as it was presumably written in haste by the coroner’s secretary as the inquest progressed and then signed by the witness after giving evidence. A verbatim transcription of these inquest papers is included in the appendix. Any notes made separately by coroners are only required to be kept for 15 years, after which they may be destroyed. Although sometimes such notes have been filed in the archives of county record offices, none of Dr. Walker’s notes are known to exist.
[8] Harry Baggley appears on the 1901 Census resident Nottingham, a lace dyer’s labourer. By 1917 aged 38 years.
[9] William Webb was not located on the 1901 Census.
[10] George W. Poole appears on the 1901 Census resident Denton, a policeman. By 1917 aged 53 years.
[11] Some of the jurors at the inquest appear on the 1901 Census :-
Edwin Clapham resident New Leake, an agricultural labourer. By 1917 aged 45 years.
Thomas Grocock resident Midville, a farm foreman. By 1917 aged 47 years.
Benjamin Thorold resident Spalding, a labourer. By 1917 aged 29 years.
Henry Butterworth resident Deeping St. Nicholas, a farm foreman. By 1917 aged 51 years.
Fredrick Johnson – no entry found.
Thomas Metcalf resident Partney, an agricultural labourer. By 1917 aged 57 years.
George Henry Bonnett – no entry found.
[12] George Dodsworth was born on the 10th February 1883 and died on the 16th October 1917 aged 34.
There are discrepancies in the date of his death and his age quoted :-
Death Certificate : died 16th October 1917 aged 37
Inquest Report : died 16th October 1917 aged 37
Burial Register : aged 36
CWGC Records : died 17th October 1917 aged 33 : also Minskip is mistyped as Minskin
Headstone : died 17th October 1917 aged 33
[13] Rev. Christopher George Hodge (1876 – 1934) was Vicar of Eastville with Midville from 1911.
[14] Often suicides were interred in unconsecrated ground, or if burial was allowed in consecrated ground then on the north side of the churchyard.
[15] The Holy Bible : The First Epistle General of John : Chapter 4 Verse 8
‘He that loveth not knoweth not God ; for God is love.’
[16] Taken from ‘Songs in the House of Pilgrimage’ (1875) by Rev. E. H. Bickersteth (1825 – 1906)
‘Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin ? The Blood of Jesus whispers peace within.’
