Chesterfield medal collector uncovers story of how north Derbyshire soldier helped to save five comrades entombed in enemy shelling attack

A medal collector has uncovered a fascinating story of the sacrifices made by two north Derbyshire soldiers who fought for their country during the First World War.
Michael OrmeMichael Orme
Michael Orme

Michael Orme, of Chesterfield, has made it his mission to find out about the men whose medals he has and has released his research in the run-up to Remembrance Day.

He focused his attention on Cpl Fred Tomlinson, the most decorated servicemen commemorated on the war memorial in Ashover churchyard, and Pte Albert Henry Kent, whose name is on the cenotaph in Eastwood Park, Hasland.

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Fred was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal Military Medal, 1914 Star (with bar), British War Medal, and Victory Medal which came into Michael’s possession through a dealer a few months ago.

Medals awarded to Fred Tomlinson for his war service.Medals awarded to Fred Tomlinson for his war service.
Medals awarded to Fred Tomlinson for his war service.

Michael obtained Albert’s 1914-15 Star via eBay several years ago. He said: “Sadly, it is just one third of his full medal entitlement, but perhaps, one day the others will surface to be reunited with it and those of his old comrade.”

Both soldiers served with the Sherwood Foresters. Fred, who was born in Ashover, was a member of the regular peacetime army. He was serving in India when war was declared.

Albert was among a group of lads from Railway Cottages in Hasland who volunteered after war was declared in August 1914.

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As members of the 1st battalion, Fred and Albert fought in France initially at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, then at the Battle of Aubers Ridge and the Battle of Loos. Albert was wounded during the Battle of Aubers Ridge and at one point during 1915 his family were mistakenly sent an official notification from the War Office stating that he had been killed.

Fred Tomlinson is the most highly decorated serviceman to be commemorated on the war memorial in Ashover churchyard.Fred Tomlinson is the most highly decorated serviceman to be commemorated on the war memorial in Ashover churchyard.
Fred Tomlinson is the most highly decorated serviceman to be commemorated on the war memorial in Ashover churchyard.

By the end of 1915, it is likely that Fred and Albert were serving together in the newly formed Machine Gun Corps.

The Battle of the Somme brought fresh horrors when their unit suffered several casualties around the village of Fricourt in July, 1916. Fred was awarded the Military Medal that year but the official record of the citation has not survived while the war diary kept by the unit makes no mention of it.

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Fred and Albert were still on the Somme sector of the Western Front in October that year, based in an area officially known as Delville Wood but commonly referred to as Devils Wood by the Tommies. Fierce fighting had raged there for two months and the forest had been reduced to a quagmire, interspersed with shattered tree stumps and shell holes. “The ground there at that time was littered with the corpses of the unburied dead, and the maliferous odours of corruption and poison gas were a constant companion,” writes Michael.

The 1914-15 Star awarded to Albert Henry KentThe 1914-15 Star awarded to Albert Henry Kent
The 1914-15 Star awarded to Albert Henry Kent

It was the direst of circumstances in Delville Wood which linked Albert and Fred, the latter showing such courage and determination that he would later be awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

Two of their unit’s guns were hit by a British artillery shell that had fallen short of its intended target. The resulting explosion collapsed a dugout and entombed five soldiers, including Albert, who had been sheltering there. Fred and a sergeant major from the East Lancashire Regiment rushed to the aid of their stricken comrades, managing to bring them all to the surface alive in a five-hour operation.

Less than six months later, Fred had the sad task of writing to Albert’s parents to tell them that their son had been killed while in the trenches during a shelling blitz by the Germans. Albert’s body was buried beside three other servicemen who died that day and a cross marked his final resting place near the village of Bouchavesnes.

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Fred died nine months later when his section came under heavy gunfire in the 3rd Battle of Ypres, more commonly known as Passchendaele.

A letter sent to Fred’s parents, which Michael has in his possession, said: “He met his death whilst most gallantly leading his section forward to consolidate some ground just captured from the enemy. Your son’s gallantry in action was at all times a wonderful source of inspiration to the men.”

Owing to the circumstances of his death, Fred has no known grave. HIs official commemoration is on the Tyne Cot Memorial to the missing, located close to Ypres.”

MIchael, 60, researched the stories of Fred and Albert through a wide variety of sources including military documents and the Derbyshire Times.

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He said: “It’s all motivated by a desire to see that these lads and their sacrifice are not forgotten. I see them as very important part of our local history, and I will continue to write about them, speak about them at local history societies, and find opportunities to put their medals on public display.

“Over the four years of its centenary commemorations, emphasis was rightly concentrated on the colossal number of lives that were lost during the Great War which gave our nation cause to institute the original Remembrance Day.

"Though many of the memorials built to record the names of its fallen were recycled a generation later to perpetuate the memory of those who had given their lives in the Second World War, and have since been deemed suitable places to commemorate those who have become casualties in a myriad of subsequent conflicts, we should never forget that generation which in many ways was responsible for founding our national tradition of remembrance.

"The unprecedented volume of its dead should surely be enough to ensure that the history of the Great War must never be forgotten, and the names of its fallen are still able to provide us with an almost innumerable quantity of forgotten stories about the sacrifice and loss endured by the ordinary folk of our county during that dreadful conflict that are waiting to be rediscovered.”

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