Person

Robert Ledger was born in Quebec, County Durham, on 11 April 1889, the son of coal miner Matthew Ledger and his wife Isabella. Details of his early life cannot be verified with certainty until he appears in the 1911 census. At this time he was a boarder with the Biggs family at 18 Whitehouse Terrace, Burnhope and was working as a hewer at Burnhope Colliery. In 1912, he married Ada Biggs (born 1892), one of the family’s daughters.

Robert enlisted in Kitchener’s New Army in early September 1914 but transferred to the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) at Crystal Palace, London on 10 September 1914. In November 1914, Ordinary Seaman Robert Ledger joined the Anson Battalion of the Royal Naval Division (RND).

On 30 April 1915, the Royal Naval Division went ashore at Gallipoli and just a week later Robert Ledger was shot in the left knee and severely wounded. He was evacuated to No 17 General Hospital, Alexandria, Egypt for treatment and remained there until 3 November 1915 when he returned to his battalion at Gallipoli. Thirteen days later, on 16 November 1915, Able Seaman Robert Ledger was shot dead.

Robert has a special memorial in the Redoubt Cemetery, Helles, Gallipoli, Turkey. This indicates he is known or presumed to be buried there even though his grave is not individually identified with certainty. He is remembered on three local memorials in Burnhope and on the Roll of Honour 1914-18, Ritson Burnhope and Pontop Collieries.

Robert Ledger was awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and Victory Medal for his service in the First World War.

For more information:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/601036/ledger,-/

North East War Memorials Project
http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=6480

Civil Parish: Lanchester

Birth date: 11-Apr-1889

Death date: 16-Nov-1915

Armed force/civilian: Navy

Residence: 18 Whitehouse Terrace, Burnhope, County Durham (1911 census)

Employment: Coal miner – hewer (1911 census)

Family: Parents: Matthew and Isabella Ledger.
Spouse: Ada Ledger, nee Biggs (born 1892)

Military service:

KP/675 Able Seaman Robert Ledger, Anson Battalion, Royal Naval Division, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.

Medal(s): 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal

Memorial(s): Redoubt Cemetery, Cape Helles, Gallipoli, Turkey
Garden 1914-18, Burnhope Village
Book of Remembrance 1914-18, St John’s Church, Burnhope
Plaque 1914-18, St John’s Church, Burnhope
Roll of Honour 1914-18, Ritson Burnhope and Pontop Collieries

Gender: Male

Contributed by David D, Stanley, Co Durham | With additional research by Burnhope War Memorial Research Group & Durham County Record Office.