Born: 1896
Died: 1 November 1917
Buried: Etaples Military Cemetery
Address: 12 Mount Avenue, Eccleshill
Parents:
Spouse:
Siblings: Charles, Mary, Maden, Alice, William, Eva, Annie, Mary, Frank
Occupation: Grocer’s asistant
Organisations/clubs:
Military
Rank: Pte
Medals/awards:
Rolls of Honour: Eccleshill, Park & St Luke’s
Children:
Regiment: West Yorkshire
Cyril Styles
Cyril Syyles was born in 1896 the
eight of ten children of Samuel and
Martha Ellen, nee Holt.
Samuel died in 1899 aged 49 years
and in 1901 Martha Ellen is shown
as a widow and head of the
household. By 1911 Martha Ellen
was living with her children at 80
Mount Street and Cyril, at 15 years
of age, was working as a grocer’s
assistant.
Cyril enlisted on the 6th of August
1916 as Private 263031 in the 1/6th
Battalion of the West Yorkshire
Regiment (Prince of Wales Own).
He appears in British Army Service
Records as a patient in the No.22
General Hospital at Dannes
Camiers during the Battles of
Passchendaele which took place
between the 12th of October to the
10th of November 1917.
He is recorded on the 29th of
October as being still dangerously
ill in 22 and on the 1st November
1917 as “chest dang.”, dying at
12.30pm on that day.
Whether his death was caused by a
chest infection or wounds received
in battle is not known.
Cyril is buried in the Etaples
Military Cemetery. During the
First World War the area around
Etaples was the scene of immense
concentrations of Commonwealth
hospitals which could deal with
22000 wounded or sick. The
cemetery contains 10,771 burials.
He left his effects to his mother
Martha who received £3.1.0d on
the 27th of February 1918 and
£1.11.0d on the 25th April 1918.
However his War Gratuity went to
Miss Edith Hawley who received
£14.0.0d on the 11th December
1919.
Researched and written by Jean
Britteon, to whom many thanks
As with his brother Charles, we are
fortunate to have some of Cyril’s
letters which they passed on to the
Shipley Times & Express. The first
was published on 14 May 1915:
‘I am now in a village that has been
shelled and the sights are awful. We
get amongst all kinds of regiments
here and among them are the
famous Ghurkas.
We are having plenty of work at
present and when the public at
Bradford get to know what their
“fighting 6th” has done they will be
proud.
What surprises me is that such a lot
of our chaps are not joining the
colours. If they could only see the
long thin line of khaki out here that
needs reinforcing they would soon
enlist and fight for their country.
Some of them would perhaps be
glad if the German brutes got into
England and gave them a taste of
what they have given Belgium. If
they don’t enlist we shall do our
best to stick it and overcome the
foul fiends. I’m going to try and
account for at least two dozen.’
In a later letter he says: ‘We have
now moved up towards Belgium
and the country here is lovely.
I will tell you how I enjoyed the
trenches. It was night when we
went in and the bullets were
whizzing all around us and just for
a few minutes I felt excited. I could
only tell I was in the firing line
because of the noise.
I think most of the Germans kept
their head down because I only saw
one and he was knocked over by
one of our corporals.
About dinner time the next day
they commenced to shell our
headquarters and the noise was
simply deafening. Our maxims
came into play so you can just
imagine the uproar of it all.
One curious thing about being out
here is that it makes one prize
England more than one did when at
home.
On 9 July 1915 they reported on letter which was written on his 9th day
in the trenches.
They were then up to their knees in mud and as it was raining heavily,
they were wet through to the skin. The night previous he had just
dropped off to sleep when he was awakened for further duty and during
the heavy bombardment which followed six men were killed and many
injured.
He has had several narrow escapes from being hit but so far has come
through safely.
Instead of the Lusitania disaster making them downhearted it has made
them more determined than ever to overcome the foe. They are
determined to stick to it to the last and though it is just hell during a
bombardment they prefer to face it rather than let the German fiends
come over to England.
Writing later he says: “Before we came into the trenches this morning we
were shelled out of our billets and had to take to the dug outs. Pieces of
shell wounded eleven men.
“Allan Noble has joined the bomb throwers and is attached to the
Grenadier Guards. I have seen quite a number of Eccleshill lads out
here but have not had the privilege of speaking to them. I am most
grateful for the parcels I have received and I should be glad if you will
send me the Times & Express every week.”
*Allan Noble was an Eccleshill lad who had joined up at the same time
as Cyril and Elkanah Ramsbottom. Another local soldier, Fred
Cordingley, had mentioned seeing Cyril in the distance in June and that
he looked “as fit as a fiddle”
A week later it was Ramsbottom revealed that Cyril had been wounded
and had also been the bearer of sad news: “I have been to see Cyril
Styles several times and the other day he gave me the cutting out of the
newspaper telling about my brother’s death at the front.
“It is hard lines for him after going through the biggest engagements to
be snapped off by a German sniper.“
On 20 August 1915, the newspaper
carried another article, with Cyril
again critical of stay-at-home
young men
We have not much time for letter
writing in the trenches as the
Germans take a lot of watching.
They are up to all sorts of tricks
and we have to be on constant
readiness.
Up to coming to this part of the line
we have been in the front and
reserve trenches 32 days and are
still awaiting the chance of a good
sleep with our clothes off.
Burning liquid
Last week I saw the Germans make
an attack on our right with burning
liquid. It was just at daybreak and
the sight was splendid in one way
for it lit up the sky for miles.
It was not as terrifying as you
might suppose as it is fairly easy to
get out of the way. In the attack I
witnessed only one man was
slightly injured.
I don’t think people in England
realise how this war is being
fought. Some, I suppose, think that
we are meeting the Germans every
day but that is quite wrong for we
have been three months and never
seen one.
This is not one of those swift wars
that Germany has previously gone
through; it is a war of attrition and
it is quite likely we shall want more
men still to bring us through
victorious.
These slackers who stand at street
corners with a cig in their mouth or
play dominoes in a pub had perhaps
be better looking inside a recruiting
office or they might be getting
orders they don’t like.
Shot down
It is hard lines to see comrades shot
down on either side of you and
think that their lives might have
been saved if more of those
shirkers in England had been
helping to make munitions.
Trench duties are not altogether
dull for there are often things to
smile at. Only yesterday the
Germans sent a hundred shells over
and the only casualty was that of a
young lady in the village behind
our trenches.
When we take our places in the
front line we generally come in for
a warm reception from bombs and
trench mortars. The latte is a
terrible shell and very deceiving in
its flight for it looks as if you were
going to run into it but it swerves to
the left and misses you altogether.
The gasses liberated from bursting
shell are only injurious to the eyes
but I have had a little taste of the
other kind and want no more.
We are practically safe from its
poisonous effects by being
provided with smoke helmets and
respirators.
Last week, while in the reserve, I
had the opportunity of attending a
drumhead service conducted by a
Wesleyan minister. We sang a few
of the old favourites and every now
and again there was the roar of a
big gun which shook the place
where we were standing.
The service, which concluded with
the singing of ‘Fight the good fight
with all thy might,’ was just
splendid.
It was 22 October 1915 before Cyril describes how he was injured.
Perhaps he’d intended to hide the fact from his family and only explained
after Elkanah Ramsbottom ‘let the cat out of the bag’
or this might have been a second wounding
He says: ‘When hit I was returning from hospital and
making my way back to the trenches. I had got in the
middle of a big field when the Germans started
shelling us. I was just dropping down when
something hit my leg above the knee and it felt like
the kick from mule.
‘I managed to get into an ambulance waggon but on
arriving at the hospital I had to be assisted inside.
The wound is not serious and I am making good
progress. Our chaps who are in the trenches are
close up to the Frenchmen and in one part of our line
the Germans are only 15 yards away. Bombing goes on day and night.
‘You will probably have read the good news in the paper lately and it is
our opinion that there will be more to follow.
We had a service on Sunday which was much enjoyed. While we were
singing ‘Fight the good fight’ we could distinctly hear the big guns
booming.
One of the astonishing things out here is that farming goes on as usual.
The people work very hard on the land though they live close to the firing
line.
‘The weather out here is bitter cold and when we get up in a morning it
just looks like winter. There have already been several cases of frost
bite. I should like to say how grateful we are for what our country and our
patriots have done for us while we have been fighting the foe.’
