Military
There have been five significant periods in the military history of Pulford and Poulton: Roman from the first until the beginning of the fourth century; Norman from 1066; the English Civil War, 1642-1646; World War I, 1914-1918; and finally, World War II, 1939-1945.
RAF Poulton
This article first appeared in Essentials Mag in November 2017
by Michael Nethercott
Poulton served an important role in the Second World War in pilot training as a satellite airfield to RAF Hawarden. Occupying the Duke of Westminster’s land close to Eaton Hall, the airfield of three runways, taxiways and dispersals was completed by George Wimpy & Co. in March 1943 to become the base for No.41 Operational Training Unit (OTU), amongst other units. It provided pilot training on a variety of military aircraft including Harvards, Oxfords, Hurricanes, Mustangs and Spitfires. More specialised Beam Approach Training (BAT) flights took place with the Airspeed Oxfords, an automatic radar flight landing system.
A detachment of Bristol Blenheims was based at Poulton for a short time in early 1944.
Although RAF Poulton was short lived, it closed operationally in June 1945, it provided the essential pilot training for RAF, Royal Canadian Airforce and ‘Free French’ pilots, and some other nationalities, before their posting to Operational Units. At the height of its operations, there were over 1,000 personnel at RAF Poulton. Within the vicinity of Yew Tree Farm and Chapelhouse Farm were the main accommodation units, namely officers mess, sergeants’ mess, ‘airmen’s institute’ and WAAF quarters. Only remnants of the runways now remain at Poulton, all buildings including the Control Tower having been demolished many years ago.
Eaton Hall itself served as a military hospital during part of the war, before becoming the temporary home of the Royal Naval College after the college buildings at Dartmouth were bombed.
The peaceful nature of this small farming community would have been totally transformed with the hive of activity on the airfield and the neighbouring roads during those two years, to say nothing of the impact of wartime air raids in the area.
Pulford War Memorial
Summary details of the fourteen individuals named on the Pulford War Memorial who died in the First World War are given here, together with one from the Second World War. The memorial stands in front of the Village Hall. There is a second memorial in the grounds of St. Mary's Parish Church, commemorating all who served in the First World War.
The Roll of Honour at the 'Welcome Home Dinner' given at the Grosvenor Arms, Pulford, in December 1919, lists 61 survivors and 11 fallen (although the Memorial gives 14 names) out of a population of about 600.
Fuller details of family history and military service are contained in the digital archive. It has not been possible to find the records of everyone and in some cases assumptions have been made based on the best information available (e.g. the actions their unit was involved in at the time of death).
1914-1918
Charles Broadhurst
Born Pulford, 2nd June 1897
Private, 1st Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment)
Posted missing at the Battle of the Aisne, 27th May 1918
Name listed on the Soissons Memorial, Aisne, Pas de Calais, France
Richard Broadhurst
Born Pulford, 31st July 1893
Private, 3rd Company, 13th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment
Died of wounds on Vimy Ridge, 4th May 1916
Buried in Aubigny Communal Cemetery Extension, Pas de Calais, France
George Alfred Davies
Born Bow, London, about 1892
Private, 2nd Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers
Died of wounds at the 2nd Western General Hospital, Manchester, 19th November 1918
Buried in St Mary's Churchyard, Pulford
Joseph Davies
Born Malpas, Chester, 1876
Driver, Army Service Corps
Died of wounds in a military hospital in this country, 8th January 1918
Buried at Aldford
James Davies
Born Poulton, about 1893
Sergeant, "A" Battery, 296th. Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
Killed in action in Battle of the Somme, 12th April 1918
Buried in Bienvillers Military Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France
Thomas Davies
Born Rossett, about 1877
Private, 1st. Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers
Killed at Battle of Loos, 25th September 1915
Commemorated at Loos Memorial, Pas de Calais, France
Edward Thomas Edwards
Born Tattenhall, 1892
Private, Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment) and 1st. Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment
Injured in Battle of the Somme, 1916
Died of wounds in hospital in Rouen, 29th September 1916
Buried in St. Sever Cemetery, Rouen, France
Harry Gibson
Born Pulford, about 1897
Gunner, "D" Battery, 186th. Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
Killed in action at the Battle of Passchendaele (Third Battle of Ypres), 20th September 1917
Buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Flanders, Belgium
Cecil Griffiths
Born Pulford, 10th December 1899
Private, 1/4th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment
Killed in action, 3rd October 1918 (action uncertain)
Buried in Glageon Communal Cemetery Extension, Glageon, France
Bertie Jones
Born Saighton, Cheshire, about 1897
Private, 1st/15th Battalion, London Regiment - Prince of Wales' Own Civil Service Rifles
Killed in action at First Battle of Bapaume (the Somme), 25th March 1918
Commemorated at Arras Memorial, Pas de Calais, France
Ernest Edward Leech MM
Born Rossett, 1887
Lance Sergeant, 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards
Awarded the Military Medal, January 1918
Killed in action at Battle of The Scarpe, 27th August 1918
Final resting place unknown; named on panel at Vis-en-Artois Memorial, Pas de Calais, France
Joseph Probin
Born Barrow, Cheshire, 2nd October 1888
Private, 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards
Killed in action at the Battle of Poelcappelle, Flanders, 9th October 1917
Reburied from battlefield burial ground at Artillery Wood Cemetery, Boezinge, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium
John Stockton
Born Croxton Green, Cholmondeley, September 1878
Private, 8th Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers
Died from wounds at Bait 'Isa, in attempt to relieve Kut-al-Amara, Mesopotamia (Iraq), 21st April 1916
Buried in Amara War Cemetery, Iraq
Ernest James Thelwell
Born Woodchurch, Birkenhead, 22nd March 1892
Private, King's Company, 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards
Killed in action in the Battle of the Somme, 25th September 1916
Commemorated at the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, Pas de Calais, France
1939-1945
William Woodall
Born Nantwich, 27th June 1919
Sergeant Navigator, 70 Squadron, RAF Volunteer Reserve
Died in Yugoslavia, 19th November 1944
Buried in a collective grave in Belgrade War Cemetery, Serbia