Menu

« Back to Northop Hall Soldiers WW1

Dodd, Joseph E

He lived at Milllfield House, Northop Hall  The 1901 census places him there as a three year old in the home of his widowed grandmother, Margaret Dodd. Also living in the house were five of her children  George 26 was a brickyard labourer, William 22 was a coalminer as was 17 year old Charles, Richard was 12 and Margaret H was a ten year old daughter.

In the 1911 census he was living at Millfield Cottage Northop Hall which was by then the home of his uncles and aunt. The household comprised Head, George Dodd (a 36 year old steam crane driver), his brother Richard (22 year old brickyard worker) and his sister Margaret Hannah (20 year old housekeeper). Their nephew Joseph Edward was 13 and was at school.

UK soldiers who died in the Great War 1914 -19 accessible on www.ancestry.co.uk gives the regimental details as stated above  and also tells us surprisingly that Joseph enlisted in Curragh Ireland

Joseph  served 2years 8 months in the army.  (*On the Flintshire Roll of Honour cards his regiment is described as 16th Lancers but his CWGC certificate and Northop Church memorial state the Royal West Surrey).

  • In Loving Memory of George Dodd
    Who died Nov 22 1930
    Aged 57 yrs
    Peace perfect Peace
    Also J E Dodd
    RW Surrey Regiment
    Who was killed in France
    Feb 25th 1917
    Aged 19
    Also Thomas Wilcock
    Beloved husband of Margaret H Wilcock
    Died May 271932
    Aged 61 years
    Nearer my God to Thee

  • 15th September 2008

    Visit to Thiepval Memorial.

  • These walls are on either side of the entrance to this huge memorial

  • We arrived at Thiepval towards the end of a long day. The sky was darkening and it was getting cold which accentuated the atmosphere at this place which commemorates a chilling and gruesome chapter in history.
    This is another memorial designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and it is situated next to the village of Thiepval, off the main Bapaume to Albert Road (D929).
    Everything about it is vast. The memorial is huge but then it had to be to carry the names of more than 72,000 servicemen
    More than 90% of those named were killed on the Somme in one five month period in 1916 (July to November)
    There was something very incongruous about this gigantic construction in the middle of what is now a peaceful, rural, agricultural area. It is surrounded by fields of crops and farmers working.

  • The Thiepval Memorial is the largest British Military Memorial anywhere in the world.

    Every year on 1st July a major ceremony is held at the Memorial.

  • We found Joseph’s name and here Viv is pointing it out for the photograph.

  • Joseph E Dodd, a lad from Northop Hall.

  • This small cemetery which lies at the foot of the memorial contains the graves of equal numbers of French and Commonwealth graves, this is to recognise and honour the joint nature of the 1916 battle. The French graves are marked with simple crosses on the left of the photograph and the commonwealth graves on the right are marked with the traditional simple stone gravestones of the CWGC. All of these were unknown soldiers “Known unto God”


Learn more about the other soldiers on the Northop Hall Memorial

Back to top