Mark Hindmarsh (1888-1918)
From South Moor. Died of pneumonia seven days before the Armistice.
Born in South Moor in 1888, Mark Hindmarsh was working as a miner, when he enlisted at Stanley in the 1/8th Battalion DLI. In April 1915, he went with the battalion to France and fought in the Second Battle of Ypres.
In June 1918, after the 1/8th Battalion had suffered so many casualties in the German spring attacks, the battalion was reduced to a training unit and most of the surviving soldiers were sent to other battalions. Mark Hindmarsh was sent to join the 18th Battalion DLI.
On 4 November 1918 – just seven days before the Armistice – 300048 Lance Corporal Hindmarsh died of pneumonia at No. 35 General Hospital at Calais and was buried in the nearby cemetery at Sangatte.
In 1918, a flu pandemic – ‘Spanish flu’ – swept the world, killing an estimated 100 million people world-wide. In Britain, some 250,000 died, with almost 3,000 deaths in County Durham. The pneumonia that killed Mark was almost certainly the result of this flu.
For further information:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission: https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/85969/hindmarsh,-/
North East War Memorials Project: http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=8629#listlink
For further information about Spanish Flu, see the Imperial War Museum’s blog: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/spanish-flu-the-unseen-enemy
Civil Parish: South Moor
Birth date: 1888
Death date: 4-Nov-1918
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: 1911 Census: 21 Lime Street, South Moor, Stanley, County Durham.
Employment: 1911 Census: Putter/hewer.
Family: Father: Edward Hindmarsh.
1911 married Margaret.
Military service:
Originally enlisted as 1144 Private, 1/8th Battalion DLI. To France with 8 DLI 19 April 1915.
On reduction of 8 DLI to a training battalion, transferred to 18th Battalion DLI. Served as 300048 Lance Corporal.
Medal(s): 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal.
Memorial(s): Buried: Les Baraques Military Cemetery, Sangatte, France.
Memorial Park, South Moor.
Gender: Male
Contributed by Durham County Record Office
