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Harry BRIGHT 1893 - 1916

Page history last edited by Ian Elsom 11 years, 10 months ago

 

 Filey War Memorial, Murray Street

 

 

Harry was born in Winwick, Huntingdonshire in 1893 (Free BMD Oundle Dec Q 3b 217). There is some uncertainty about his arrival in Filey. Dan Eaton says that "before the war he was known as a general labourer" around the town "and was seeing a girl called Jane Ann Johnson". The couple married at St Oswald's on 28th July 1915. It appears from other sources that Harry first enlisted in the Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion (Service number 0060) and may have been posted to Filey with them. He might still, of course, have lived and worked in the town before the war began.

 

 

Service Notes 

The information that Private Harry Bright, 20702, enlisted with the Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion comes from the Old Fletton War Memorial page on the Internet. I'm not sure why Harry is listed as "Joseph", and, as there are other Harry Brights amongst the First World War's dead there's always the possibility of mistaken identity here. But service numbers, regiment and date of death seem to tally, so until someone can prove otherwise it is Harry from Huntingdon on Filey's Memorial.

 

Dan Eaton says that when he was posted to France with the 1st/5th Warwickshire Regiment he was "based around the Somme region and saw the heavy fighting that occurred during the 1916 campaign". There is a photograph here of weary Warwickshires resting behind the lines after just two or three weeks of fighting. On the 22nd August Harry went 'over the top' and "was never seen again". The place where Harry disappeared isn't given but it was probably in the vicinity of Delville Wood. With thousands of others whose bodies were never recovered Harry is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial, just a few miles from where he died. And, because he moved some distance from his place of birth to marry he is remembered on three war memorials in this country.

 

Source: In Flanders Fields...The men of Filey who fought and died during the Great War for Civilization (1914 - 1919) by Dan Eaton

 

Internet Sources

THIEPVAL Memorial

FILEY CASUALTIES

PETERBOROUGH War Memorial

OLD FLETTON War Memorial

 

 

From the Census

 

Census taken on 31st March

1901 Household Record not available
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Census taken on 2nd April

1911 Household Record not available
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Available records suggest that Harry's wife, Jane Ann, gave birth to their son, James Walter Johnson BRIGHT, in the spring of 1916. The child was baptised at St Oswald's, Filey on the 19th April. 

 

Jane Ann married again in 1922 and had at least five children with John William HOLMES but died aged only 44 in July 1941. 

 

 

 

 

 

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