Neville Bernard Blackwell 1893-1917

NEVILLE BERNARD BLACKWELL 1893-1917

 Photo: Manchester Evening News 23rd October 1917

100th Anniversary of Neville's Death

I am writing this Part on 21st September, 2017, just one day before the one hundredth anniversary of Neville's death.

Tomorrow, 22nd September 2017, Paul Blackwell and his son, Tom Blackwell will be present at the official grave of war grave of Neville in Belgium. They will place a memorial tribute in Neville's memory.

Paul has posted up a picture of the tribute on his Tribal Pages website

https://paulblackwell1946.tribalpages.com/

Neville was born on 16th March 1893. Neville was born in Sale. He was baptised at St Joseph's RC Church, Ashton-on -Mersey.

Neville Bernard Blackwell was the only son of  Harry Gratrix Blackwell and his wife Mary Ann "Polly" Martin. As I explained in previous parts, the descendants of Isaac Blackwell, Neville's grandfather and those of Marsden, his great uncle, seemed to drift apart. My mother's generation of Blackwells appeared to have little to do with Harry Gratrix's family. Harry Gratrix's descendants' whereabouts in Manchester were unknown to us.

Paul Blackwell, my cousin, who has carried out a great deal of research into the family, asked me a few years ago if my mother ever spoke of Neville Blackwell as Paul had discovered that Neville had been killed in action in the First World War. He also found that Neville and his family had lived only two miles away from Paul's current address in Didsbury, Manchester.

Paul had obtained photographs of the official war grave in Belgium at Menin Road through a contact there.

Neville's photograph, at the top of this section, the only one we have, was found by Philip Blackwell from Tasmania, who shares the Blackwell name, but is not related. He contacted my wife about Neville after obtaining his war medals. He carried out further research and came up with the photograph of Neville above from the Manchester Evening News. He supplied information to us including  an extract from De Ruvigny's Role of Honour.

De Ruvigny's Role of Honour extract

Neville's service number was 705233. He was killed in action on the Menin Road, Ypres on 22nd September 1917. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission website states he was in C Battery, 210th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery. He was buried in Menin Road South Military Cemetery, plot I, U, 24.

Philip sent pictures of the medals

Update: November 2017

I have been able to obtain Neville's medals from Philip Blackwell, who sent them to the UK. It seemed to me to be most appropriate for the medals to be sent to Paul Blackwell and his family, who live quite close to Neville Blackwell's former home in Didsbury, Manchester. I am hopeful that Paul Blackwell's son Tom, will agree to be the custodian of the medals for the family.

Philip Blackwell also sent a Roll of Honour from Neville's Employer,

This year, 2017, we were contacted by Dr Andrew Bradbury from Christ Church, West Didsbury who was researching a First World War Memorial Reredos at the church. I put Dr Bradbury in touch with Paul Blackwell who supplied information about Neville and the family. The Church produced the second edition of a booklet with a tribute to Neville Blackwell. Andrew Bradbury sent photographs of the Reredos to us, the existence of which was unknown.

The Church also sent a memorial tribute to Belgium on the 100th Anniversary. There are photographs of this and other photographs on Paul Blackwell's Tribal Pages website. I reproduce one of the photographs below. Neville has not been forgotten.

                            Rev Anne Pilkington of Christ Church W Didsbury holding Neville's WW1 medals   16 November 2017

Anyone who has read about the First World War knows something about the unimaginable horror that hundreds of thousands of young men suffered. The pointlessness of the gigantic pitched battles based on trench warfare in which millions of soldiers on all sides were injured and died makes the deaths even more tragic. A whole generation across Europe was slain in the conflict. History shows that it was not as claimed, a "War to end all Wars". The political settlement after the Armistice led within 20 years to another World War.

Young men like Neville really had no chance. His life was lost amidst a huge third battle at Menin Road along with 20,000 other casualties from 20-25th September, with over 3000 killed in action.

I would like to express my appreciation of Paul and Tom Blackwell's trip to Neville's official grave in Belgium on the 100th anniversary. We can all share in a moment of identification with young Neville and all his fellow soldiers (on both sides) who found themselves faced with no alternative but to endure, carry out their military orders in appalling conditions and hope that somehow it might come to an end and they would survive. For those of us who came into existence after the gigantic conflict, the sacrifice of Neville and his generation should prompt us to reflect on ways of preventing it from ever happening again.

Battle of the Menin Road Ridge. A signals section of the 13th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, equipped with telescopes, field telephone and signalling lamps, watch the battalion's advance on Veldhoek on 20 September 1917. -Imperial War Museum 

A informal Will left by Neville with the Army is similar to many others, but is poignant nevertheless,

Please get in touch if you wish to comment on anything in this blog.

tbjolliffe@gmail.com

Part 10 Isaac Blackwell's Family

In Part Four I posted as follows,

"I explained in an earlier Part that my discussions with my cousin Paul Blackwell led me to the discovery of the family grave of Isaac Blackwell (1828-1876) at a cemetery not too far from where Paul Blackwell lives with his family in Manchester. There seemed to have been a rift in the family between Isaac Blackwell and his descendants and the descendants of his brother Marsden. I believe this was the result of differences about religion as Marsden's wife was a devout Roman Catholic and all their children were brought up in that religion. This had led, I think, to the gap in knowledge about the fate of that branch of the family.

When Paul Blackwell paid a visit to the grave of Isaac, it is likely, I think, that it was the first visit by any descendant of Marsden Blackwell.

Isaac Blackwell's grave Brookland Cemetery, Marsland Road, Sale. Plot L997

Photo by Paul Blackwell first family visitor for at least half a century 08.02.15 

The text of the headstone reads as follows,

In loving remembrance of Isaac Blackwell, died Dec. 2 1876 in his 49th year. Also Sarah Anne, his wife, died Oct. 24. 1879, in her 45th year. Also Arthur John, elder son of the above. Died in South Africa July 18 1918, in his 56th year and is buried at Johannesburg. Also Neville Bernard, RFA, only son of Harry G and Mary A Blackwell, killed in action Sept 22, 1917 in his 25th year, and is buried at Ypres. Also Mary Ann (Polly) wife of Harry G Blackwell died April 5. 1931 in her 66th year.


To Paul Blackwell and to me, this was a great discovery, as the whereabouts of Isaac's grave had been a mystery. What was even more interesting about this headstone was that it contained information about the death of Arthur John, Isaac's son, in South Africa, that was unknown to us. It also commemorated the death in World War 1 in action at Ypres in 1917 of Neville Bernard Blackwell (which was known as a result of Paul's research), and it told us that Harry G's wife, (G for Gratrix), was known as Polly."

In this Part, I shall follow the family of Harry Gratrix Blackwell, one of Isaac and Sarah Anne's two sons. We have just a single confirmed photograph of Harry Gratrix, when he was a child. This came from the photo album held by Paul Blackwell

Harry Gratrix Blackwell, 1870 - Five years old

Harry got married in 1886 at the age of 21 to Mary Anne "Polly" Martin. By that time both his parents had died. Little is known about his wife, her name "Polly" was found on the gravestone for Isaac Blackwell and his wife.

Harry and Polly had four children together, Gladys Dorothea Blackwell (b 1888), Constance Mary Blackwell (b 1890), Neville Bernard Blackwell (1893) and Kathleen Cecilia Blackwell (b 1895). Gladys and Kathleen were both married, but Constance did not marry. Neville fought in the First World War and will be covered in the next Part.

This part will be continued to cover further details of the family.

Please get in touch if you wish to comment on anything in this blog.

tbjolliffe@gmail.com