Born: 1892, Pudsey
Died: 1 July 1916, Somme
Buried: No known grave
Address: 6 Acre Lane, Eccleshill
Parents: Joseph and Mary,nee Proctor
Spouse:
Siblings:
Occupation: Apprentice lithographer
Organisations/clubs: Undercliffe Wesleyans Young Men’s Class; Eccleshill CongsSwimming Club
Military
Rank: Pte
Medals/awards:
Rolls of Honour: St Luke’s, Eccleshill & Thiepal Memorial
Children:
Regiment: Bradford Pals
Herbert Ramsden
Herbert Ramsden was born in
Pudsey in 1892 the son of Joseph
Ramsden and Mary, nee Proctor.
By 1901 the family were living at
12 Woodview Cottages, Eccleshill
and Joseph was working as a
fettler. Mary died in 1908 aged 49
years.
In 1911 Joseph and Herbert were
living at 17 Charnwood Road.
Joseph was still employed as a
millhand in a woollen mill and at
18 years of age Herbert was
working as an apprentice
Lithographer.
He was a member of the Under-
cliffe Wesleyan Young Mens Class
and also a swimmer and diver
associated with the
Eccleshill
Congregational
Swimming Club.
Joseph died in 1915
aged 51 years and
Herbert would later give
his address as 6 Acre
Lane the address of
school teacher Amy
Firth who lived there
with her family.
Herbert enlisted on the 23rd of
September 1914 as Private 16/731
in the 16th Battalion of the West
Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of
Wales Own).
In October 1915 he was called from
camp in order to bury
his father and then on
the 17th December 1915
his regiment set sail for
Alexandria in Egypt
arriving on the 22nd.
In March 1916 they left
Port Said aboard HMT
Briton bound for
Marseilles in France, a
journey which took 5
days.
They travelled by train to Pont
Remy, a few miles south east of
Abbeville and marched to
Bertrancourt arriving on 29 March
1916 in readiness for the
forthcoming battle of the Somme.
At 7.30am on the 1st of July 1916
the 16th Battalion were the first in
the line to go over the top of the
trenches and Herbert was presumed
killed in action on this day. He was
23 years of age.
He is remembered on the Thiepval
Memorial which records the names
of the men of the British Armies
who fell on the Somme Battlefields
but who have no known grave.
Herbert left his effects to Amy Firth
the sole legatee who received
£3.9.11d on the 9th of June 1917
and a War Gratuity of £8.0.0d on
the 17th September 1919.
In 1922 Amy immigrated to the
USA where she married and raised
a family.
.
Researched and written by Jean
Britteon, to whom many thanks
