tom-walshaw | Lister Lane Cemetery

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Friends of Lister Lane Cemetery

Registered Charity No 1097153

Tom Walshaw

Monumental Inscription

Tom, infant son of Edwin and Harriet Walshaw, of Halifax, died 11th Aug 1852, aged 17 days.

A rose just bloomed to die.

Also of Rosalind, the beloved daughter of the above who died June 4th 1857, aged 2 years & 5 months.

Uncertain life, how soon it flies.

Also of Herbert, son of the above, who died December 14th 1902, aged 42 years.

Also of Arthur, the beloved husband of Emma Walshaw, & son of the above, who died November 10. 1910 aged 48 years.

Also of L. Cpl. Tom Walshaw, 1st Batt. Northumberland Fusiliers, the dearly loved and only son of the above Arthur & Emma Walshaw, who was killed in action somewhere in France April 18th 1918, aged 19 years.

Duty nobly done.

Also of Emma, dearly loved wife of the above, Arthur Walshaw, who died March 24th 1937, aged 74 years.

At rest.

Source of biographical information including the image of Tom Walshaw:

The Halifax Courier, dated April 27th, 1918

CWGC: Courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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Tom Walshaw was the son of Arthur and Emma Walshaw. He served in the 1st Bn. Northumberland Fusiliers and died of wounds in France on 18th April 1918, aged 19 years. The circumstances of Tom's death were conveyed in a letter to his mother from one of his comrades, Pte. R. Taylor:

...“Your son died from shrapnel wounds which penetrated the small of his back, during a heavy bombardment, and all our Lewis gun team were standing to ready for action when a shell burst just under the parapet, immediately in front of him. He was conscious for a little while. I bandaged him up as best I could, then went for the stretcher-bearers, but as it was all open country it took me a little longer than I expected, and when they came he was unconscious. After we had put fresh bandages on him he came round and asked for a drink of tea, which I gave him. This seemed to ease him, as he closed his eyes and passed peacefully away.”

(From a report in the Halifax Courier, dated Saturday, April 27, 1918)

In the Halifax Courier report, Tom's rank is given a Lance Corporal which is the same as the inscription on the gravestone of grave number 3096 below. He is commemorated as Private Tom Walsh on the Loos Memorial at Pas de Calais, France, memorial reference Panel 20 to 22. (CWGC)