The Chippindales in World War 1
The Long, Long Trail
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The Chippindales in World War 1
The Long, Long Trail
From the Barwicker No.95
September 2009
Our local villages sent many young men to fight in the First
World War. Among those who came back were four family
members of Arthur and Susan Chippindale of The Avenue,
Scholes.
The two pairs of Chippindale brothers who answered
Kitchener's call for volunteers were William and Henry
Murray, brothers to Arthur, and Arthur's teenage sons,
Donald and Hugh Arthur. In the war which most people
thought would be over by Christmas, all four men
distinguished themselves on active service, three of them
gaining the 'officers medal', the Military Cross.
William Chippindale, at 34 the oldest of the four, was
manager at the family brickworks in Wood Lane, Scholes.
He opted to put his mechanical engineering skills to work in
the war effort by joining the Royal Flying Corps as 1st Air
Mechanic, later Leading Aircraftman.
His brother Henry, a corporal in the Yorkshire Hussars,
landed in France in April 1915, where he fought on the
Western Front. On commissioning, Henry transferred to the
Yorkshire Dragoons and was awarded the Military Cross for
conspicuous gallantry while making a reconnaissance. The
London Gazette reported that Henry had taken his troop
forward carrying out his duties most successfully, and when
machine-gun fire compelled him to send his horse away, he
continued his reconnaissance on foot, observing the enemy
and sending back good information. Henry also located enemy artillery, a machine-gun position,
and an infantry position. He was praised as having done excellent
work, and his report was said to have been of great
value to the operations.
William and Henry's nephew, Donald Chippindale, joined
the Royal Field Artillery, 1st North Midland Brigade, landing
in France in 1916. He too was a second lieutenant, and
won the Military Cross in what turned out to be the bleakest
year of the war for the allies, 1917. The London Gazette
noted his devotion to duty as Forward Observation Officer.
His trench was shelled continuously, but Donald kept up
communications and three times reported the enemy massing
for an attack, enabling counter activity that thwarted the enemy.
Donald's brother, Hugh, was only 20 when he was awarded
the Military Cross. Hugh served in the Royal Field Artillery,
Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force, and won his medal
for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty while carrying
out reconnaissance. He and his pilot were reported to
have been attacked by eleven hostile scouts. They succeeded
in destroying one of these, drove off the remainder, and then
completed the reconnaissance, flying at very low altitude
under continuous rifle and machine-gun fire from the ground.
They located hostile batteries, enabling effective counter battery
work to be carried out. Hugh was praised as showing
splendid courage and skill.
When armistice was declared on November 11th 1918, imagine
the excitement there must have been at the Chippindale
home when the phone calls came to say the boys were coming
home! Arthur, perhaps, took a brisk walk down Wood
Lane to give the news to his siblings, Miranda, Kate and
Isaac, at Brickworks House. Or maybe the Chippindale soldiers
and airmen stepped off trains at Scholes Station and
arrived unexpectedly. One thing is certain - the family must
have been overjoyed that their loved ones were home at last.
Perhaps though it was joy tinged with anxiety in case of callback,
as fighting did not stop finally until 1923.
The Chippindale boys did not emerge completely unhurt
from the war. William returned with tuberculosis. He died at
Brickworks House in 1921 from pneumonia, and is remembered
on the Chippindale grave in Barwick Churchyard.
Donald Chippindale also suffered ill health from his war service.
He relinquished his commission in December 1918, but
on discharge he was granted the honorary rank of Captain.
Donald did eventually recover his health, and lived to be 89
years old.
For the Chippindale family, the years between 1914 and
1918 had been a long, long, trail. Life now had to be picked
up again, and Scholes Brickworks re-opened under the management
of Miss Miranda Chippindale. Arthur Chippindale
was able to progress his building business, and Henry, Donald
and Hugh pursued their own careers.
In 1919 the Scholes War Memorial Committee formed to
commemorate those who had fallen and those who served in
the war. The Chippindale heroes are among those remembered
on the Barwick-in-Elmet and Scholes War Memorials
Web Site.
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