It's Fram Cleese....from Framty TowersDon't mention the war!
He had found my name because I am also descended from the Goates family of Broughton and Sidney was a descendant of the same family. I guess I was easy to find because there are not many people called Goates in this country, or there weren't years ago. My name has never been Goates (just wanted to add thatYes, I meant the Goates from Broughton, North Lincs. I've just discovered how many other Broughtons there are. I've been trying to research Sidney Goates, who was a pupil at Sir John Nelthorpe School, Brigg, and whose name appears on our war memorial plaque.
So far I know that he enlisted at London into the 1/14th Battalion London regiment (London Scottish). He was killed on the first day of the Somme, July 1st 1916, at Gommecourt. This was the northern extreme of the Somme battlefield, and the attack was supposed to be a diversion to help the troops further south. The London Scottish completed their part of an encircling movement around the south of Gommecourt Wood, but the troops who should have met up from the north were prevented by shellfire. The London Scottish were then isolated, and bore the full brunt of the German defenders. Of the 871 soldiers who went over the top, 616 were casualties, of whom 558 were killed. Sidney Goates was among these, and his body was never recovered. A copy of the school newsletter from Spring 1917 mentions that he is still missing, and there is a brief tribute to him from an officer who also attended the school. He was 19.
The 1901 census lists his parents as being John and Sarah, of Village Street, Broughton. His father was a tailor. I assume that you have probably found this information already, but I can give the full census details if you wish.
On this Friday morning 40 pupils from Sir John Nelthorpe School will be travelling to Belgium and France for a study of the literature of the Great War. On Saturday we will be laying a wreath at the Thiepval Memorial, where Sidney Goates is listed among those who have no known grave. I'll try to get a picture of his name, if it is not too high up. We tried in vain to find a picture of one of people on the school memorial - do you have a photo of this young man? I can leave a message from his family at the memorial too, if you can get back in touch before tomorrow night.
Best wishes
Dave Waite
(English teacher)
) but my great-grandfather was born with that name, although he changed it to Todd.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 68 guests
Bored of normality, why not go smurf?