SKELTON - IN - CLEVELAND
IN HISTORY
"WE WILL REMEMBER THEM"

Private ROBERT SPEECHLEY.

4282 1st/4th Bn, Yorkshire Regiment.

who died,aged 22, on the 10th August 1916.

Son of Rimis and Eda Speechley of 12 William St, North Skelton, N Yorkshire.


Quarry Cemetery Montauban, 10k East of Albert.

Montauban village was taken by the 30th and 18th Divisions on 1 July 1916 and it remained in Commonwealth hands until the end of March 1918.
It was retaken on 25 August 1918 by the 7th Buffs and the 11th Royal Fusiliers of the 18th Division.
Quarry Cemetery was begun (as an advanced dressing station) in July 1916, and used until February 1917.
The Germans buried a few of their dead in Plot V in April and May 1918.
At the Armistice it consisted of 152 graves in the present Plots V and VI.
It was then increased when graves (almost all of July-December 1916) were brought in from the battlefields and small burial grounds surrounding Montauban.

At the census of 1901 Robert, aged 6, was living at 12 William St, N Skelton and had been born in Skelton.
His father [probably step-father], aged 54 at that time, came from Farcett, Huntingdonshire and was a Milk Seller.
His mother, Eda, aged 35 at that time, came from Suffield, Norfolk.
There is an older son, George age 28, also a milk seller and born in New Brotton, Yorks, who must be from Rimis' first marriage.
The two younger sons, Edwin age 11 born in Grangetown and Robert himself seem to be from Eda's first marriage as their surname on the census is given as Woods.

The 4th Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment were formed in August 1914 in Northallerton.
They became part of the 150th Brigade, 50th (Northumbrian) Division.
After landing at Boulogne on the 14th May 1915, the Division took part in most of the actions on the Western Front.
Robert was killed in action during the Battle of the Somme, which began in June 1916 and lasted into the winter.