Richard was the oldest son of William Watkinson and Edith Talboys, born in 1895. His grandfather was Joseph Watkinson (1842 – 1931) who is mentioned earlier on this blog.

In 1901 the family lived at 50 Queen Street, Darfield, Barnsley when William was a Colliery Deputy Below Ground and Richard’s younger brother David had been born towards the end of 1900.

Ten years later at the time of the 1911 census the family have moved to 16 Garden City, Turnsco, Nr Rotherham and Richard is now working with his father as a Colliery Underground Pony Driver, aged 15. His siblings are now Donald aged 6 and Louis aged 1.

The certificate above sadly records that Richard only lived another five years and died on the first day of the battle of the Somme along with almost twenty thousand soldiers on that one day. I cannot imagine how hard it would have been for his parents William and Ellen when they were notified of his death. They were now living at 93 Fairacres Road, Oxford, the city were Ellen was born.

In 2016, as part of the hundredth anniversary commemorations of the Battle of the Somme, there was an art installation at the National Memorial Arboretum in which the twenty thousand who died on that first day, which including Richard, were remembered with these twenty thousand, individually decorated, soldiers which were laid in waves across the grass. It was especially poignant to remember that one of those was my father’s first cousin.

Thank you Richard for your sacrifice. Richard is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial in France.

In 2016 I was also able to buy a special commemorative ‘poppy’ specifically to remember the battle of the Somme.

This Somme Centenary Pin was made from metal from 1916 shell fuses recovered from the Somme Battlefields of France. The central red enamel contains finely ground earth recovered from the Somme. The essence of the battlefield and very ground the soldiers of 1916 fought upon, died upon, and many still lie at peace beneath.