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William Farndale
FAR00647
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Served in the Canadian Army in WW1 and died of flu epidemic shortly after the War ended
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Hyperlinks to other pages are in dark blue.
Headlines of Jim’s life are in brown.
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Context and local history are in purple.
Geographical
context is in green.
Follow this link to the Farndales of Tidkinhow
Tidkinhow
1892
William Farndale, son of Martin and
Catherine Farndale (FAR00364) was born at Tidkinhow Farm on 29 January 1892 (BR and
family knowledge). William Farndale’s birth was registered in
Guisborough District in the second quarter of 1891 (GRO Vol 9d page 503).
The ninth member of the family of Martin and Catherine was born
on 29 January 1892. His parents called him William after the child who had died
two years before. As with the others, he went first to Charltons School
and then to Boosbeck.
He left at 14 in 1905. Soon after this, he became an apprentice butcher in Saltburn with a Mr Ormsby.
He then served in a butcher's shop. Later he had a butchers shop in Charltons which he
shared with his elder brother Jim.
They then took another in Commondale. They began by sharing a bullock with a
man in Guisborough who
had a slaughter house. Later they were selling three
bullocks a week and were well remembered in their horse drawn delivery van.
Alfred remembered him at their mother's funeral (14 July 1911) as William
consoled him.
1901
1901
Census – Tidkinhow Farm, Stanghow
1910
William shown aged 10.
The boys of Tidkinhow in about 1910.
John, James, Alfred, William, George and
inset Martin
1911
1911 Census – Tidkinhow, Boosbeck
William shown now aged 20, a butcher
Saskatchewan,
Canada
1913
William Farndale, was a butcher at Guisborough before he went to Alberta Canada about 1913.
He moved to Earl Grey near Regina, Saskatchewan in 1914 and continued his trade
as a butcher. (Family knowledge)
In
1913 William arrived in Canada, but he went to Early Grey in Saskatchewan.
In
1913 Jim went to Canada and
shortly afterwards William followed to become the fifth member of the family to
emigrate there. He first went to join Martin at Trochu
and got himself a job there as an assistant butcher. What happened next is not
clear, but it seems that in about 1914 he moved to Earl Grey in Saskatchewan,
presumably to continue his trade as a butcher. At some time, probably 1915, he
joined the army and went to France. His enlistment date is shown as 19 April
1916 at Regina, Saskatchewan.
William
Farndale, emigrated to Canada and lived at Last Mountain, Saskatchewan, lodger,
butcher working on own account with a shop
He
is shown on the passenger list on the Victorian,
a ship on the Allan Line, departing 13 August 1913 from Liverpool to Quebec, a
labourer, aged 22.
He
fought with the Canadian Army in World War I, where he was wounded, and he died
in 1918 and is buried in Earl Grey. He was unmarried. (Our Huxley Heritage)
1916
1916
Canada Census – Manitoba, Saskatchewan
Military Service;
William Farndale, joined the Canadian Army on 19
April 1916 at Regina, Saskatchewan and went to France.
He was wounded in action at Vimy Ridge on 13 December 1916 while serving
with the 28th Battalion; he had a gunshot wound in the right forearm and was in
hospital in Epsom, England. He was discharged from the Army at Calgary on 18
Feb 1918. He was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. After his
return to Regina, he used his car to evacuate the sick during the great ‘flu
epidemic of 1918. He caught the ‘flu while still weak from his wound and died
at Earl Grey, Saskatchewan, Canada, aged 25 years on 23 Nov 1918. (Record of Service)
Ottawa Free Press, 19
December 1916: WOUNDED. … Pte
W Farndale, England …
William Farndale with his arm in a
sling.
Admission
to Hospital Record on 1 January 1917 – 18th General Hospital,
Private William Farndale, 104060. Radius RF Arm.
He
was wounded in action at Vimy Ridge on 13 December 1916, while serving with the
28th Battalion. All we know is that he was hit in the arm by an explosive
bullet. His medical records show:
"Loss of function, right arm ... penetrating gun shot wound at forearm
with compound commimuted fracture of radius ... bullet entered inner surface of
forearm, two inches below elbow, and passed directly through the arm, coming
out on the other side, and splintering the radius in its passage. Severe
inflammation of the arm followed, and inflammation, and sequestrum formed and
was removed. Had erysipilis while in hospital, 23rd CC Station, 24th General
Hospital (British) Etaples from 17 Jan to 23 April 1917, Reading War Hospital
from 23 April to 12 July 1917, MC Hospital Epsom, since
12 July 1917... wounds all healed. The wound and exit wound shows
the remains of a sinus from the radius not discharging now. Has wrist drop, and is wearing a dorsiflexion splint. Flexion and
extension of elbow are greatly limited and pronation
and supination are absolutely stopped, in a position of partial supination. Is
otherwise normal. (date of report 27 July 1917)".
Alfred, his younger brother, remembers asking for leave to visit him in
hospital in Exeter, but since he was under orders himself for France, he was
not allowed to go. Indeed later William went on leave to Trochu and Tidkinhow and
the family remember questioning him about France and the fact that Alfred was,
by then, in Ypres.
He wrote from hospital, almost certainly in 1917, to his sister Grace:
"Left hand of course
Jan 12
Dear Sister
I will try and write to you. I find I am doing fairly well
but I have got a very bad arm. I was hit with an explosive bullet which made a
hole through two inches wide and broke both bones. They give me very little
hope of my arm being any good but I hope it will not
be so bad. I had an awful hard time in France. I had four operations in two
weeks. They could not get it stopped bleeding and I got so weak that I could
not feed myself. But I am alright now, but not able to get up yet for two weeks
or so. I may have to have another operation. Not sure yet. Going to have my arm
x-rayed shortly. I want you to write a letter for me to Sister Armstrong, 23
CCS, BEF, France. Give her my address and tell her I am getting along alright.
This is not a very nice hospital, but good doctors. If you send a parcel, send
me a toothbrush and hairbrush. I expect I will be here three months. I tried to
get into Yorkshire so you could come and see me, but this is as far as I could
get. If my arm does not get better it is likely I will
get sent back to Canada in the Spring, but I will never see France any more. I
am awful sorry that Alf had to go. If ever he gets to France
I will want to go back again.
Your affectionate brother
W.F."
1918
We know that he returned to Earl Gray and that in the great flu epidemic of
1918 he drove patients to hospital, caught flu himself and died. The wording on
his memorial situated in Earl Gray is very indistinct. It says:
“Farndale. 28th. In
Memory of Pte Wm Farndale, 28th Batt. UEF. Died Nov 26th 1918,
aged 25 years. Erected by his fellow Comrades and the citizens of Earl Grey and
district, in grateful recognition of his services to King and Country.”
Actually the age is not quite right, since in November 1918 he would have been
aged 26.
William
had been engaged to a girl in Earl Grey at the time of his death. She wrote to
some members of the family but there was no trace of her since. William is
remembered as different from the rest of the family, but still with the same
characteristics of responsibility and reliability. His early death was tragic.
We have his campaign medals (British War Medal and Victory Medal) from the
Great War.
Photograph his medals and post here
William Farndale died on 26 November
1918.
Gravestone
“Farndale. 28th. In Memory of Pte Wm Farndale,
28th Batt. UEF. Died Nov 26th 1918, aged 25 years.
Erected by his fellow Comrades and the citizens of Earl Grey and district, in
grateful recognition of his services to King and Country.” (Mon R)
January 1919: DEATHS. FARNDALE. On the 22nd Nov, 1918, at Earl Grey, Saskatchewan, Canada, from
influenza, William, fifth son of Martin Farndale and the late Mrs CJ Farndale, Boosbeck, in Cleveland, and brother-in-law of the late Mr
George Barker, Tancred Grange, aged 27.
The gravestone of William Farndale at
Earl Grey, Saskatchewan, Canada. Born 29 January 1892.
And with thanks to Catherine Paterson who
sent me the following photographs in 2019:
The Veteran’s Tree Trunk Memorial in
memory of William Farndale in 2019
William’s gravestone in 2022 after being
restored by B & B Gravestone Cleaning Services.