Arthur Burton looking dapper in his uniform. Am I imagining it, or is that the Burton family home in Stonnall in the Background? Picture kindly supplied by David Evans.
An email arrives again from David Evans, who’s really cooking on gas at the moment. David again supplies some fascinating historical information, for which my gratitude is extended yet again. This actually dovetails nicely with something I’d like to do on the blog in the coming weeks, but I need the readers to help me, if you will.
I’ve not really covered much from the wars, or indeed any conflict that men from Brownhills went to fight. I don’t actually know much about Brownhills and Walsall Wood and their wartime history – so what can you folks do to help illuminate these dark years? What memories can we record, what were the local events that coloured this important but grim period?
Please comment here or mail me at BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Cheers.
Hi BobThese very rare photos may be of interest to those readers who have followed the posts and revelations concerning the night-time air raid in 1940, mentioned in the comments to earlier posts.One of the farmers whose fields sustained the impact of what was possibly a Hermann bomb – the largest type to be dropped on the UK during the Second World War – was one Mr Arthur Burton, M M.These are photos taken from the transcription booklet of the red, penny diary kept by Mr Burton during his tours of duty and show him during the first World War when he was a ‘line’ messenger at Ypres Salient and elsewhere, and the medals gained for his valour, including the Military Medal.He is pictured wearing his service uniform of the Grenadier Guards, in 1915.with kind regardsDavid Evans(Apologies for the poor quality – the booklet was a Gestetner home production of the 1980’s)
The medals of Arturn Burton, image supplied by David Evans.