Jesse Dalton (1887-1914)
Bandsman from Stanhope served with Northumberland Fusiliers killed in fighting along the Mons Canal
Jesse was born in 1887, the son of Joseph and Jane Dalton, then living at Burnt Hills. His mother died in 1890, leaving his father, a lead miner and farmer, with five children, of whom Jesse, aged three, was the fourth. In the 1901 Census he was aged 14, and a pupil at the Abbott Memorial Industrial School at Gateshead. By 1911, he was a regular soldier with the 2nd Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers at Hillsborough Barracks, Sheffield and was recorded as a bandsman in the census of that year. The following year he married Louise Emerson.
The 2nd Battalion was serving in India in 1914, and did not return to Europe until December 1914. Some of the bandsmen, including Jesse, were left at the depot in England, and so Jesse went to France as part of the 1st Battalion, with the original British Expeditionary Force. The Bandsmen were often employed as stretcher bearers on active service and Jesse may well have served in this role too.
The 1st Battalion in France was part of 2nd Corps, 3rd Division and 9th Brigade. These troops were heavily involved in the fighting along the Mons Canal where the German advance was briefly halted, and in the rearguard action at Le Cateau during the long retreat which followed.
Jesse Dalton was killed on 20 October 1914, almost certainly in the fighting to the east of Ypres in Belgium.
He has no known grave, but is recorded on the Le Touret Memorial, Pas de Calais, France. His name is also recorded on the memorial at St. Johns Chapel, County Durham
Civil Parish: Stanhope
Birth date: 1887
Death date: 20-Oct-1914
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: Burnt Hills, Stanhope
Hillsborough Barracks, Sheffield
Education: Abbott Memorial Industrial School, Gateshead
Employment: Regular soldier, 2nd Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers, serving as a bandsman at Hillsborough barracks, Sheffield
Family: Father: Joseph, lead miner and farmer
Mother: Jane (died in 1890)
Siblings: Thomas William Dalton, Jacob Joseph Dalton, John Graham Dalton
Jesse Dalton, Hannah Dalton
Military service:
2nd Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers, Mons and Ypres.
Medal(s): British Medal
Victory Medal
Memorial(s): Le Touret Memorial, Pas de Calais, France
Saint John’s Chapel, village green, war memorial
Saint John’s Chapel, town hall, roll of honour
Gender: Male
Contributed by John B | Mel Brown
