POW 202179 A. L/C Thomas Edward Skinner

[susantydd]

I came across this man remembered on his family's headstone in Swinton Cemetery.  The inscription reads " died a prisoner of war Le Cateau 29th September 1918 aged 28.  I know he enlisted in Swinton and was in the 2nd/5th Battalion.  His parents were Thomas and Caroline Mary who lived in Swinton.
I have checked your database but he doesnt appear to be on it. He is buried at Le Cateau Cemetery plot I. B. 149.

I am trying to establish when and where he was taken prisoner and which POW camp he would have been in.  Any information about this man would be most welcome. 

I have a Somme Anniversary Memorial Service followed by a tour of war graves and war memorial inscritions next sunday 3rd July at      2 p.m., Swinton Cemetery and would like to include Thomas on the tour.

[mack]

hiya susan
we didnt have a list of POWs to work from,all the ones in our database have been found by trawling through tons of service records,newspapers etc,thanks to you,we can now include thomas in the list.
sadly,theres no more info that i can add,it states that he died on 29th sept,which usually means from sickness or accident and not from wounds,le cateau was the main german railhead+hospital centre,its likely that he was taken straight there and died while waiting to be shipped to a POW camp elsewhere

mack

[susantydd]

I can add for the following info for you.  The family grave is in a Non - Conformist plot.  Thomas's is also on the War Memorial at St. Peters Church Lych Gate ( the church is C of E ).  Hopefully more information will emerge in time.

[mack]

hiya susan.
is this the lych gate that has a casket of earth from the somme,thats embedded in the wall

mack

[susantydd]

Yes as far as I know it does !  A lot of the names are becoming unreadable, think the damage was done when the Gate was cleaned up some time ago.

Struggling to find any details about the military hospital Le Cateau !

[timberman]

Hi Susan

Welcome to the forum.
Several areas in Le Cateau would of be used for the hospital. There are 4 cemeteries listed for Le Cateau.

This information is from the CWGC site.

Le Cateau and the country to the west were the scene of the battle fought by II Corps on 26 August 1914 against a greatly superior German force. The town remained in German hands from that date until the evening of 10 October 1918, when it was rushed by the 5th Connaught Rangers, but not cleared until a week later. Le Cateau had been a German railhead and an important hospital centre, and the military cemetery was laid out in February 1916, with separate plots for the Commonwealth and German dead. It contains the graves of over 5,000 German soldiers, in part burials made during the occupation, the rest brought in from other German cemeteries after the Armistice. A separate plot contains the graves of 34 Russian prisoners of war. The Commonwealth plots contain 698 burials and commemorations of the First World War. 187 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to 20 casualties known or believed to be buried among them. The majority of the graves in Plots I, III, IV and V are those of Commonwealth dead buried by the Germans, mainly from the battleground of 1914. All of the graves in Plot II, eight of which were brought in after the Armistice, date from October and November 1918. Plot III also contains two German graves. The Commonwealth plots were designed by Charles Holden.

Timberman

Found this as well,
German Army Field Hospital (Kriegslaz), Le Cateau.

[susantydd]

Thanks Mack and Timberman for the information.  I have tried searching for the hospital and also searched German Army Field Hospital (Kriegslaz), Le Cateau, but there doesnt seem to be much information available.  Be good if I could establish when Thomas was taken a prisoner of war!  Is it likely he could have been in hospital for some time or were troops moved onto the POW camps fairly quickly?  Any more thoughts ideas and information greatly appreciated.

 A bit more info I have for him and his family is as follows.

His father was Thomas Stamper Skinner born in Melton Yorkshire about 1851, his occupation, Draper.  He moved to the Manchester area and married Joan Blackwood Cooper 1880 in Chorlton, Manchester.  A child Samuel Cooper was born in the early part of 1882, within three months Joan had died.  Thomas Stamper Skinner remarried in 1885 to Rose Hannah Coates in Prestwich, Manchester.  Thomas Edward Skinner was born about 1890 by this second marriage, also a daughter Caroline Mary born in 1888 but she died as a young girl.  I havent been able to find the family on the 1891 or 1901 census but from the indexes for the 1911 census it appears the family are living at 165 Swinton Hall Road, Swinton.  I shall try and take a proper look at the 1911 later in the week.

Regards, Sue

[george.theshed197]

Hi there Sue,
Since I knew the place well - St Peter's and the Lych Gate that is, having lived on Partington Lane for many years several  moons ago, I decided to have ago at the Thomas S.

On the 1881 census RG11/ 3885 /51/ 34. He and his first wife Joan were visiting with what I presume to be relatives of Joan at 407 City Road, Stretford, Lancashire ( in the St George's area if my memory serves me rightly)

COOPER, Wilhelmina, Head. Dau.  single. F 21 1861     b. Manchester, Lancashire.
     "        Elizabeth    Dau.               "      F 17 1864   Scholar b. Manchester, Lncashire.

SKINNER, Thomas    visitor  Married        M 29 1852  Salesman Drapery. b. Wetton, Yorkshire.
     "         Joan            2          2             F  26 1855     "         Wife         b. Hamilton, Scotland.

On the 1901 RG13 / 3655 / 20 / 32

SKINNER, Thomas S Head Married  M 48 1853 Office Porter Melton, Yorks.
      "        Rosannah  Wife      "       F 45 1856                  Willenhall, Staffs.
      "        Louisa E    S/dau.  sgl     F 17 1884  Cotton weaver Prestwich, Lancashire
      "        Nelly          dau       "      F 12 1889                        Manchester, Lancashire.
      "        Thomas E   son       "      M 10 1891                        Prestwich, Lancashire.

Sorry I have no info on Le Cateau; give my regards to Swinton.

George.

[susantydd]

Hi George,
Swinton sends regards!
Thankyou for finding the 1901 census for the family will add it to my file. 
Regards Sue

[mack]

only found this yesterday

L/cpl skinner was captured on 21st march 1918,resided at 165 swinton hall rd,swinton and worked as a clerk at the simpson+godlee mill,swinton

mack