RESEARCH carried out by Holsworthy museum volunteer Shawn Dymond has uncovered the story of a local man who died in the Great?War and whose name seems to have been left off the parishes’ memorials.

In 2014 Holsworthy Museum was awarded £9,900 by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

This money supported their project to research the lives of people named on the 27 memorials in the 22 parishes that make up Holsworthy.

As part of the ‘In Remembrance – Holsworthy and District 1914-1918’ project, led by Shawn Dymond, information has been found on one member of Holsworthy who is unnamed on any local memorials.

John Bailey, born in Holsworthy Workhouse on February 17, 1885, was the illegitimate child of Mary Ann Bailey — who passed his and his sister Ellen’s care to the Heddon Family of Ugworthy Farm. His sister unfortunately died as a young girl, with an inquest into her death leading to both his mother and the Heddon’s being severely censured.

In 1907 John signed up, for a second time, to serve in the Devonshire Militia, before joining the regular army early the following year — according to the 1911 census he was serving with the 2nd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment, stationed in Malta.

There has been no discovery of an image of John but according to his attestation paper in 1907 he was 22 years and 10 months old, working and living in Pyworthy; he was 5ft 3¾ inches tall with a fresh complexion and light brown hair.

Research showed he was buried a little way away from the town centre of Boulogne sur Mer, France, after dying on December 27, 1914 from wounds sustained during an attack near the village of Neuve Chapelle on December 18th 1914.

His name is on the Exeter Cathedral Devonshire Regiment Roll of Honour but no memorial in Holsworthy has been found to commemorate his life. John’s entry in the Cemetery Register reads simply: “BAILEY, Pte. J., 8602 2nd Bn Devonshire Regiment 27th Dec 1914 III A 79”.

After more than a century a small wooden cross with a poppy was placed on his grave in France on Sunday 11th October 2015 to show that his sacrifice has finally been recognised by the people of Holsworthy.

Holsworthy Museum Volunteers would like to hear from anyone who has any family recollections of life during World War One. Especially if they have stories of those who survived the turmoil, or of what life was like in Holsworthy and its surrounding villages during the war. In July 2016 a major exhibition is being planned, as the culmination of the project, and they would like to include as many of these stories as possible.