Person

Henry Stobbs (known as Harry) was born at Heathery Cleugh, Cowshill in 1891. He was the eldest son of William and Margaret Stobbs. William Stobbs was a school master at Lane Head and then the headmaster at St John’s Chapel. Henry attended Wolsingham Grammar School and then attended Sunderland training college to train as a teacher.

In 1914, when he enlisted with the Durham Light Infantry (DLI), he was a teacher at Fencehouses near Houghton-le-Spring. Henry fought on the Western Front with the DLI for 18 months, first as a private, then as a lance corporal, a sergeant and, in 1917, as a temporary second lieutenant. He returned to England in early 1917, perhaps after being injured, and then completed his officer training with the Northumberland Fusiliers. Harry received his commission as a second lieutenant in August 1917 and returned to the Western Front with the 1st/4th Northumberland Fusiliers. He was reported missing on 26 October 1917 at the Battle of Houthulst Forest (2nd Battle of Pascchendaele). He is buried at Poelcapelle Military Cemetry in Belgium.

When Harry enlisted he had a sweetheart called Edith (Edie) Martha Kirk. We believe Harry may have met Edie at Sunderland training college, as on the 1911 census, she was a domestic science student and later moved to Durham City. She also appears on the 1939 register as a domestic science teacher. Edie never married and died in 1968. Uncle Harry is remembered on the war memorial at St John’s Chapel, with an oak tree in the grounds of Wolsingham School (planted in 1918) and on a plaque in County Hall, Durham.

Durham County Record Office website, page on plaque at County Hall:
http://www.durhamrecordoffice.org.uk/article/10635/Durham-County-Council-War-Memorial

North East War Memorials Project page for Henry Stobbs:
http://www.newmp.org.uk/article.php?categoryid=99&articleid=1219

Heatherycleugh Parish First World War centenary commemoration, slide show mounted on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfrSnWjqjYU

Civil Parish: Houghton le Spring

Birth date: 1891

Death date: 26-Oct-1917

Armed force/civilian: Army

Residence: Gate, Heathery Cleugh, Cowshill (1901 census)
10 Gilpin Street, Houghton le Spring (1911 census)
Saint John’s Chapel, Westgate-on-Weardale (Medal index card and CWGC, father’s address)

Education: Wolsingham Grammar School

Employment: School teacher

Family: Parents: William Stobbs, Margaret Stobbs
Siblings: Nellie Stobbs, Dorah Stobbs, Eric Thompson Stobbs, Arnold Stobbs (1901 census)

Military service:

Enlisted with Durham Light Infantry
Service number: 10618, 2636
Disembarked France: 19 April 1915
Promoted to lance corporal and sergeant
Commissioned to 4th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers: 31 July 1917
Second lieutenant

Memorial(s): Village Green, Saint John’s Chapel, statue
Town Hall, Saint John’s Chapel, roll of honour of the fallen
Wolsingham Grammar School, plaque (now Community College)
Wolsingham Grammar School, photograph display (now Community College)
Wolsingham Grammar School, playing field, memorial oak tree (now Community College)
Durham County Hall, memorial plaque

Gender: Male

Contributed by S Elliott Durham, Durham