The lost story of a Liverpool veteran Harold Dawson Hoskins

[Ken Holden]

The lost story of a Liverpool veteran

I have been searching for 40 years for the WW1 record of my great uncle Harold Dawson Hoskins. After finding new information on part of our family history, I have been able to uncover his entire story.

He was born in 1893 and in 1906 he came to Canada as a British Home Child. He arrived in Halifax on the Tunisian and traveled to Knowlton Quebec.

By 1911 he was living in Biggar Saskatchewan. At the outbreak of WW1 he enlisted in Battleford Saskatchewan in the 46th Battalion. The unit war diary traces their activities during the war. Nearly one month after the battle of Vimy Ridge, on May 1st 1917 during the battle of Arras, Harold was wounded in battle and moved to a nearby field hospital where he died of his wounds.

According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Harold Dawson Hoskins is buried in the Barlin Communal Cemetery in Pas De Calais France. His grave reference is 1. A. 94.

In parliament Hill in Ottawa are books containing rolls of honour for soldiers who died in battle. In the Honour roll for WW1 Harold’s name appears on page 258.

On either side of the front entrance to the Liverpool Sheltering home at 7 Myrtle Street in Liverpool England, which is now one of the campuses of the City of Liverpool College, there is a memorial to Barnardo Children that were lost in WW1. The memorial marker on the left side of the door contains two columns of names; the name on the marker third from the bottom on the right is Harold Hoskins.

I was able to contact the Tower of London for their remembrance ceremony to have his name read on Nov. 2 2014 at the sunset ceremony.

I was able to locate and share this information with lost family members in Canada. I believe there are also family members on the Hoskins side still in England who do not know about this story.

I am sharing it with you so you may pass it on to anyone who may be interested. I can also provide the documentation to anyone looking to preserve the stories of Liverpool veterans.

[Bertieone]

Hi and welcome,

It interested me why Harold's birth was registered in Birkenhead, his father was the manager of the Egremont Hotel, also known as the Egremont Tap.
Later, on appeal the transfer was completed.

Liverpool Mercury 1894

[MaryA]

Hi and welcome to the forum Ken. Thank you for telling Harold Dawson Hoskins story and how you came to find it, a beautiful commemoration.

Thanks also to Bert for that additional piece, hopefully adding to Ken's biography.

[Ken Holden]

Thank you so much Bert for digging that piece up! What a piece of history to add to the biography for sure!

Now that I have some dates to go by, I have been finding more pieces. I'll be sharing them here shortly. I have a feeling that you may be able to add more pieces to the story too.

Thanks again.

Today I shared some information on another Facebook group I'm in called Vintage St. Catharines. I was able to help a number of people find their Canadian family WW1 stories. Is there a place on the forum I can post the links for anyone interested? Where would be the best section?

[MaryA]

We have a websites board
http://forum.liverpool-genealogy.org.uk ... m.php?f=14

If your links are all connected, just put an appropriate heading and list them all in the same post.

And thank you for sharing them, others always find our successful links useful.

[Ken Holden]

Thanks Mary. I posted some links in the appropriate location. I hope members find them useful. If anyone needs any other Canadian information I'd be glad to help in any way I can.

I also posted more Hoskins information in the forum for genealogy questions. I have a brick wall on the Holden side with my grandfather James Holden. Any assistance would be appreciated. Thank you.

http://forum.liverpool-genealogy.org.uk ... =2&t=14335

[Ken Holden]

A bit of news for follow up. Sometimes timing is everything.

When I shared Harold's story with family out in Western Canada that we had lost touch with, they were able to share it with all of the cousins and my uncle Wilfred, who was Harold's nephew. I am told that he was the story teller on that side of the family. They said he was quite thrilled to hear the news and he told the family more stories of their history. A number of my cousins are digging through old photos and papers and finding new information. I received news that on Dec. 30 2014, my uncle Wilfred Cecil Hoskins had passed away.

I am glad to have been able to find Harold's story and be able to share it with him in time. Much the same thing happened with my mother. I am now working on getting information I received about the Holden family to the older relatives that I know of. I'm looking to trace any of them in Britain that I can, and some of the Hoskins descendants that may still be in Southern Ontario Canada.

I am grateful for the assistance I have received here from members of the forum that have shared information so I can pass it along to family.

[MaryA]

Sorry to hear about the death of your uncle, but I'm glad you were able to share your information with him.