Doncaster Times Issue 2 - November 2016

When I tried to find a service record for John,
I was stopped in my tracks when I found one for
Frederick George Oates, giving his address as
102 East Laith Gate – another brother! Frederick
George had been born in South Kirby in 1891.
Many of the First World War service records do
not exist as they were a victim of the Blitz during
the Second World War and so I wasn’t too surprised
not to be able to find John’s service record.
In Memory of
Rifleman
J W Oates
R/11863, 7th Bn., King's Royal Rifle Corps who died on 09 October 1915 Age 20
Son of Frederick and Clara Oates, of 102, East Laith Gate, Doncaster.
Remembered with Honour
Ypres Reservoir Cemetery
Frederick George enlisted in December 1915 and
survived the war, although he was wounded in
1917 and sent back to blighty on the hospital
ship Jan Breydel. He did not return to the front
but transferred to the Royal Defence Corps
and was demobbed in September 1919.
I thought at this point that I had all the information
I would be able to find. But I was wrong as during
this year (2016), while volunteering with the
Doncaster 1914-18 project and with the help of
Wyn’s Military Index to Doncaster Newspapers
1914-1919 (known by the short form of Wyn’s
Index) I discovered John Willie’s service record,
a newspaper article with photograph, and an ‘In
Memoriam’ article. It was a very moving experience
and I felt very close to my ancestor John.
John, who was born in 1895 in Askern, had been a
tailor’s assistant at Messrs. Wrights and Shires in
St Sepulchre Gate before he joined the Kings Royal
Rifles in April 1915. He was posted in July and was
killed in action in Ypres on 9th October 1915, aged
20. John is buried in the Ypres Reservoir Cemetery.
His few possessions were returned to his father:
a metal mirror in a case, cigarette case, prayer
book, a case containing a comb, a wallet,
correspondence and a fountain pen.
John’s service record included a statement of
names and address of next of kin. This information
led me further into the Oates story. Arthur was listed
as living in Station Road, Askern, and it referred to
five sisters, two of whose married names I had not
known. Annie had married George Henry Evison
in July 1915 at Christ Church. George had also
served with the Kings Royal Rifles, dying of shrapnel
wounds in March 1917 and being buried at Faubourg
d’Amiens Cemetery, Arras. They had no children.
Checking the 1939 Register on Find My Past,
I located Arthur, a miner, living with his wife Annie
and son Geoffrey in Hilton Street, Askern. Frederick
George was recorded as a caretaker living in
Dockin Hill Road with his wife Ethel (née Price)
and their two children Dennis, born in 1921,
and Ethel, born in 1922.
And finally…
I found family members buried in local cemeteries:
Hyde Park Cemetery:
Fredrick, who died in 1929, and Clara, who died in 1917
Lillian May Hesslewood, the daughter of Frederick
and Clara, who died in childbirth or soon after in 1926.
Also mentioned on the grave are John William and
George Henry Evison.
Askern Cemetery:
Arthur who died in 1958 and Annie in 1952
Jean Walker
Doncaster 1914-18 Project volunteer
I would like to thank Doncaster 1914-18 Project Team,
Doncaster Family History Society and the Friends of
Hyde Park Cemetery.
Doncaster Library Service have free access to
Find My Past and Ancestry available in all libraries
including Doncaster Local Studies Library, Waterdale,
Doncaster, DN1 3JE for more information please
contact the Local Studies staff on 01302 734307
or email: central.localhistory@doncaster.gov.uk
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