John Thomas Gulliver, the great-uncle of Anthony Barrett, was recruited for the Northamptonshire Regiment. The family has no further information on the locations of the regiment in the War. During his service John Gulliver was awarded three medals. He died on 16th May 1916, and his family have the commemorative death plaque or death penny from his death. || There are 4 items During his service John Gulliver was awarded three medals: a Star medal, a 1914-1918 medal; and an Angel on the Front medal, with 1914-1919 engraved on the reverse. The fourth item is a death plaque or death penny marking John Gulliver's death on 16th May 1916. || || Medal || Three medals || Three medals awarded to John Thomas Gulliver Star medal, 1914-1918 medal and Angel on the Front medal, with 1914-1918 engraved on the reverse. || || Death of John Thomas Gulliver || Death Plaque for John Thomas Gulliver, who died 16th May 1916 || Memorabilia || Death Plaque for John Thomas Gulliver || Front

Article with annotations. || On 25 January 1915 the 29 year old Thomas Whitham enlisted at Burnley, Lancashire into the British Army becoming a Private in the 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards. He embarked for France on the 26 October 1915 and joined the 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards who had been serving in France and Flanders since their arrival on the 13 August 1914. The battalion that Private Whittam joined would have borne no resemblance to the original unit which had by now, suffered unimaginable casualties. Two years later, on the 31 July 1917 at Pilckem near Passchendaele, the opening day of the Battle of Pilckem Ridge (31st July - 2nd August 1917) the 1st Coldsteam Guards formed part of the 2nd Brigade of the Guards Division. At 3.50 a.m. - zero hour, the brigade attacked the German forces at the so called 'Blue Line'. Initially the advance met little resistance,arriving at this position after only 15 minutes of fighting. At 5 a.m. the Brigade continued its advance to its second objective, the 'Black Line', which it captured by 6 a.m. The third objective, the 'Green Line', was attacked at 7.15 a.m.; but now came under heavy machine gun fire from the blockhouses/positions on the old Ypres - Staden railway line, which also began to affect the advance of the 38th Division on their right flank. A particular enemy machine gun was seen to be, by enfilade, holding up a considerable part of the attack and causing many casualties. Private Whitham, on his own initiative, immediately worked his way towards this position, from shell-hole to shell-hole, and through a British artillery barrage, until he reached the machine gun and although under very heavy fire captured it together with an officer and two other ranks. This very brave action was of great assistance to the battalion and undoubtedly saved many lives. After the war he became a bricklayer, but times were hard, and he was rejected for other jobs by the Burnley Council even though he had served his King and Country and had won the VC. Consequently Thomas was forced to sell not only the medal but also a gold watch that had been presented by the same council (that now refused to employ him)in recognition of his bravery. Subsequently, both ended up in a pawn shop, but were retrieved by the same Authority. They now remain on display in the Towneley Hall Art Gallery & Museums in Burnley. Shamefully, Thomas died in poverty aged only 36 The attached account of his actions was written by James Price Lloyd of the Welsh Regiment, who served with Military Intelligence. After the war, the government to destroyed all the archives relating to this propaganda (section MI 7b (1)). They were regarded as being too sensitive to risk being made public. Remarkably these documents have survived in the personal records of Captain Lloyd. Many of these papers are officially stamped, and one can trace the development of many individual articles from the notes based on an idea, to the pencil draft which is then followed by the hand-written submission and the typescript. The archive Tales of the VC comprises 94 individual accounts of the heroism that earned the highest award for valour, the Victoria Cross. These are recounted deferentially and economically, yet they still manage to move the reader. Date stamp: 31 May 1918.

My uncle Thomas Byrne, the son of John Byrne and Sarah Lacy of John Street, Wexford, Ireland, was born on 5 November 1894. When he was sixteen he was a moulder at a local foundry. After a lockout of the workers at the foundry, he enlisted in the 6th Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment, service number 1900. He was sent to Fermoy, Co. Cork until September 1915. From there he moved to Aldershot in Hampshire and eventually he was deployed to France. On 23 July 1917, he moved up to the front and on to Brandhoek in Belgium on 30 July 1917. From there he moved into an area known as ‘Square Farm’. He was killed in action on 5 August 1917. He has no known grave but his name is commemorated in the Menin Gate in Ypres Ieper, Belgium. We have his Death Plaque still in its box, and two of his medals, the 1914-15 Star and the British War Medal. || Private Thomas Byrne; 1914-15 Star, obverse and reverse; British War Medal, obverse and reverse; Death Plaque with cover/box; Death Plaque; Sarah Lacy (1866-1902), Tom's mother; Margaret Byrne, Tom's sister and the contributor's (Thomas Cleary) mother. || || Pte Thomas Byrne, John Street, Wexford || Photograph || || Tom Byrne's 1914-1915 Star Medal || Medal || || Back of Tom Byrne's 1914-1915 Star Medal || Medal || || Medal || Tom Byrne's British War Medal || || Back of Tom Byrne's British War Medal || Medal || Tom Byrne's British War Medal, reverse || || Tom Byrne's Death Plaque with cover/box || Medal || || Thomas Byrne's Death Plaque || Medal || || Photograph || Sarah Lacy (1866-1902) Tom's mother || || Photograph || Margaret Byrne, Tom's sister || Margaret Byrne, Tom's sister and contributor's (Thomas Cleary) mother