POWNALL, Arthur [of Nottingham]

1st battalion Lincolshire Regiment

By John Pownall

Arthur Pownall of Nottingham

1st Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment (No 7415).

          Whilst compiling my family history, I discovered that my grandfather Samuel, had a younger brother called Arthur, who joined the British army. I had a lot of trouble tracing Arthur’s Census records - especially for 1891. As with many families who resided in central Nottingham, the conditions were not pleasant and people would struggle to reach any kind of old age. In Arthur’s case, when he was about 7 he lost his father, also named Arthur (aged 42). He also lost his mother Sarah (aged 30) a few years prior in 1885 when he was only about a year old. I do not know where Arthur lived or who looked after him during his childhood. However, he did have older sisters and could have been looked after by one of them. He is next shown on the 1901 Census aged 16, along with Brother Sam aged 21, as boarding with their eldest sister Emily who was married with her own family to a Mr Turner.

          My Father was called Charles. My aunt (my father’s sister) Evelyn said that Arthur and his brother Samuel would hardly speak about their childhoods. Evelyn and my father believed that they may have been brought up in an orphanage or even the work house system. My father said that Arthur and Samuel did not like it due to the beatings they had received. They told my father they had ran away but been sent back only to receive more beatings. They ran away again, and lived by their wits, often sleeping in hedge rows and finding scrap metal etc. to sell for money in order to obtain food. Evelyn told me that Arthur and Samuel could not read or write very well, but she said that they did understand the value of money!

          I believe that poverty, terrible living conditions plus losing his parents at a very young age would have been what encouraged him to look for a secure future. He probably felt that Army life could offer him, being a single man, the security he probably needed i.e. that he would be fully clothed and have three square meals a day, and a little adventure with pay!

          He is next recorded on the 1911 Census. According to the Census record, he is enlisted in the 1st battalion Lincolnshire regiment. So I looked for any Army service records and discovered that he had first enlisted in 1904, aged 18 years 4months - not during 1914 as I had first thought. One record documents his initial assessment, which stated that after 6 months service and completion of a gymnastics course, he physically improved by growing ½” (1.3mm) taller and grained 8lbs (4kg) in weight.

He served approximately 8 years in the army and then re-joined before WW1, meaning that in total he served approximately 12 years. I said earlier that he may have wished for a little bit of adventure, well, according to his service record it shows that he did! He certainly did see a little of the world. The 1911 Census was taken whilst his regiment were stationed in Aden, now known as Yemen in the Middle East. The British Army in those days would have been serving the interests of the British Empire.

When looking at documents on one of the well-known history sites, it is just about legible that he had been stationed in Gibraltar for about a year and was in the British Expeditionary Force, which was sent to France in the summer of 1914. His regiment was sent to the Belgian town of Mons (refer to “The Long Long Trail” site for details about battle of Mons). This was where the British Army first engaged the Germans and the fighting began. Due to the condition of the Army service records that remain (often referred to as the Burnt Records), it appears that he was taken prisoner of war. This was about the second day of fighting and he was wounded in action. His record also infers that he was transferred to a hospital believed to be in town of “Frameries”. This place was soon abandoned and taken over by the advancing German Army. It may be that sometime later he was placed in an “Internment” situation, away from a standard prison camp. Printed on his medical notes is the name of a town called “Leysin” which is in Switzerland. The documents state this happened about 3 years later. The hospital notes are in fragments but state he had problems with his lungs.

Another record clearly says that he later re-joined the colours in 1917, this time in the 3rd Battalion. Repatriated men who were declared unfit would not normally re-join and continue to take part in any fighting. However, it seems that some men were still allowed limited active service. It appears that the 3rd Battalion was a training unit based in England. This could mean that experienced soldiers might have been given training duties as they would be useful as mentors for the training of new recruits being prepared for active service at the front.

Arthur received the war medal and the king’s certificate.  On his service record, along with many thousands of soldiers, he was eventually discharged as “no longer physically fit” for more service. His occupation prior to enlistment on his Service record is stated as “Miner”. This may have been the old Pit in Radford because his home address is nearby in Hyson Green. I can only speculate about his employment after WW1. Apparently, he was entitled to a small pension from the army after the War. However, he may have helped his elder brother who had his own business on Hyson Green, Radford. Samuel was a well known “Marine Store Dealer” involved in the salvage of metals, old clothes and other items. This may be true because he lived at his brother’s house in Lenton Street for some time.

          At this time I have no photo of him from my family records or any official records, which on a personal note is a disappointment.

He was born 1884, died 1946. I and other family members do not believe that he ever married.

Notes; - documents state that he was entitled to the following,

          British War Medal, Victory Medal and the 1914 Star with Bar (issued between certain dates 1914, for seeing action under fire). Also the War Badge, with Kings Certificate.

 The facts in article were obtained by use of documents available on Ansetry.com, Find my past.com and The Long Long Trial web sites.