Niece of Sunderland First World War hero delighted as name finally placed on South Hylton War Memorial

The memorial was erected 100 years ago on August 16, 1924, to honour those who served and perished during WW1.

As I reported last month, Private Thomas Littlefair Howarth, was one of three soldiers - which also included Charles Rathbone and John Edward Wake - finally added to the memorial after a remembrance plaque was discovered at the nearby but now closed St Mary’s church which contained the same list of names, but with the addition of the missing three privates.

The article was seen by 73-year-old Valerie Miyata, who hails from Sunderland but now lives in Ontario, Canada.

Valerie, who left Sunderland at the age of 23 to settle in Canada, said: “Part of my soul is still in the city and I’m a big fan of SAFC and so I often read the Sunderland Echo to keep in touch with the news back home.

“I saw one of the photographs on the article and noticed the name Howarth, which was my mother’s maiden name.

“Thomas died on the April 7, 1919. My mother was born in 1923 and my grandparents died when I was a child and so I’d never heard about Thomas by word of mouth

“However, for the last 17 years I’ve been looking into my family tree and so carried out some research and discovered Thomas was my great-great-uncle, on my mother’s side.

“I’m delighted Thomas now has his name on the war memorial. It’s important not to forget what he and his generation did and the sacrifices they made, but it seems like Thomas was forgotten.”

Why his name was missing

However, the key question still remains as to why Thomas’s name was not alongside those originally engraved a century ago?

Valerie said: “Thomas’s military records show him as having been in France from November 2, 1915, to June, 1, 1917. He first reported sick on May 5, 1917 at the 3rd. Canadian Hospital in Boulogne and was sent back to England from the front with tuberculosis.

“His record shows that he was discharged from the War Hospital in Huddersfield on June 14, 1917, with the recommendation that he be fully discharged from the service as his disability - tuberculosis - rendered him permanently unable to carry out duties.

“The next military record dated December 5, 1918, shows that Thomas was examined and evaluated in Sunderland, which I think might have been in connection to his army pension.

“This record states that Thomas had been receiving sanatorium care for four months, and that his tuberculosis was advanced, active, and contagious and that he should be segregated.

“He died on April 7, 1919, and is buried in Bishopwearmouth Cemetery.”

Speculating on how this may be connected to Thomas originally not being included in the list of fallen heroes, Valerie added: “On his burial record Thomas is still listed as a soldier.

“War memorials are there to remember those who perished as a result of the conflict in which they fought.

“Thomas developed tuberculosis while serving in the conflict, however died from the condition five months after the official end of WWI and so could this time lapse have something to do with him not being on the original memorial?

“The British military records are so good and so I’m surprised his omission was not picked up before now.

“He was obviously in sanatorium care and so maybe hospital records at that time weren’t as accurate and Thomas has been lost in the system as he moved around.

“Perhaps it was assumed he had died over in France.”

Born in 1873, one of the most striking aspects of Thomas’s story was his age of death was listed as 46, significantly older than the majority of fallen soldiers of similar rank during the Great War.

Valerie confirmed Thomas signed his sign-up papers on August 15, 1915. She added: “At that time he listed his age as 41 years and 5 months, and his height as 5 feet 7 inches. On the papers it also states that he had not previously been in the military.”

The British Army did not conscript men to sign up until January 1916, but at the time Thomas enlisted, the age specification for men being recruited was 18 to 41, putting Thomas at the very end of the recruitment demographic.

Valerie said: “I’m sure part of the reason Thomas signed up would have been to do his bit for his country.

“However, unlike his brothers and father, he seemed to jump around from job to job. According to Census data, in 1891, at the age of 18, Thomas was a cart man, in 1901, at the age of 28 he was a labourer in the shipyards, and in 1911 he was working in the paper mill in South Hylton.

“It’s possible that Thomas was out of work at the time he signed up and the army offered a means of employment.”

Valerie also revealed that during the Great War, Thomas was part of the Number 2 Army Service Corps Remounts Service.

She explained: “Having done some research, the service was responsible for looking after the mules and horses and deploying them to the army units.”

105 years after his passing, Valerie and the rest of Thomas’s ancestors can now gain solace from the fact he has at last re-joined his comrades with his rightful place on South Hylton War Memorial.

Whilst we now know much more about his life, mystery still remains over why his name was omitted in the first place, as it does for Private Charles Rathbone, service number 27/613, and Private John Edward Wake, who is believed to have served in the Durham Light Infantry.

If you know anything about these lost heroes of WW1 or can shed any light on the mystery behind their omission from the original war memorial, then contact me at [email protected]