Guest 700- Registered: 11 Jun 2010
- Posts: 2,868
#1
This message was sent out from the Kent Family History Society, may be of interest to some Forum members:
The Kent Messenger Group of newspapers will be producing a supplement to commemorate the start of WW1 next year. They would like to hear from anyone who has any pictures or stories (Kent based). If you have any, please contact Lesley Bellew at
lesleykbellew@gmail.co.uk .
Thanks.
Janet Welch
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Lincolnshire Born and Bred
Guest 938- Registered: 13 May 2013
- Posts: 36
#3
Maybe the town could honor this man
HERO OF DOVER
William Thomas Sharp was born on 30th March 1893 at no. 6 Chapel Street, the son of Albert Edward Sharp and Alice Annie (nee Gillman). He was baptised at St Mary's Church on 3rd December 1895. As a young boy, he moved with his parents to no. 35 Albany Place, where the family were living in 1901.He attended St Mary's School in Queen Street, just round the corner from the family home. On leaving school he went to work as an apprentice pastry-cook with the well-known firm of Igglesden and Graves in the Market Square. In 1910, aged 17, he joined the army, serving with the 4th Btn., The Rifle Brigade, in India. In 1914 he returned to Europe and to Flanders, where he fought at Ypres. He was at Ypres when the Germans first used poison gas in the trenches. At this time, his parents were living at no. 5, Sidney Terrace, Malvern Road.After the war, William was put in charge of one of the barges that were crossing and re-crossing the Channel from the port of Richborough, bringing back the surplus stores and supplies.His destination was the port of Calais where, on one of his trips, he met and fell in love with a young French woman by the name of Germaine Delaplace. They were married and moved back to Dover, where their first daughter, Doris, was born in 1921.Shortly after this, William and his family returned to Calais, where he got a job as a foreman in a factory making artificial silk. It was here that their second daughter, Eliane, was born. Later, William became an interpreter at the Harbour Station. Germaine owned a café in Place de Suede, near the harbour.In 1936, William became a naturalised French citizen.In 1939, war came again to Western Europe. The Germans made their way to the French coast and attacked Calais in 1940. During the bombardment, Germaine's café was destroyed and she was killed. William stayed in Calais with his two daughters and became an informant for the Intelligence Service.One of the first tasks of the occupying forces, after driving the British troops out of Dunkerque, was to fortify the cliffs and sand-dunes along the coast and to build emplacements for the long-range guns that would pour shells into William's home town of Dover. Later, launching ramps for the V1 flying bombs were erected along the coast to attack London.William joined the Resistance. At night, he and his comrades would creep out to sabotage the German installations and to send messages to the British Intelligence. Their efforts helped the RAF to target the enemy installations on the Pas de Calais, thus saving Southern England from even greater destruction.He joined the Pat O'Leary Network as a "passeur d'hommes", helping allied airmen to escape back to England.After the O'Leary network was infiltrated, someone informed on the Calais members and, in November 1942, the Gestapo kicked in the door of William Sharp's Calais home and he was arrested. He and his fellow Resistance workers were dragged off to prison in Loos, on the outskirts of Lille, where they were tortured by the Gestapo in an attempt to get them to reveal the names of the other members of the Calais cell.He was beaten and kicked about the face until he was barely recognisable, but he refused to talk. It is said that, even under torture, he cried out in French, so the Gestapo would not be aware of his English birth. Eventually, on 27th August, 1943, at the Citadel de Bondues, in Lille, William and his 4 companions, Pierre, Marcel, Henri and Alphonse, were taken out and shot. As they went out, they are reported to have defiantly sung "la Marseillaise".After the Liberation, the body of William Sharp was exhumed and taken to Calais, where it was laid to rest with full military honours near La Porte de Dunkerque in the town where he had become a hero.In 1963, the Mayor and Council of Calais honoured William by naming a street after him in the Beau Marais area of the town.Some 30 years later, he was further honoured with the posthumous award of a medal from the French government.
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
#5
Quite a moving story there - thank you Alan.
Roger
Guest 737- Registered: 10 Jan 2012
- Posts: 9
#6
Thanks for posting this Alan. William Sharp is actually a relative of mine, on my mothers side of the family.
William's Dad, Albert, was a Dover Harbour Board Tug Mate and looking through the family history William's relatives are listed in the 1861 and 1871 census as residing at the time at the Commercial Quay Hotel, Dover and the Pelican Inn, 159 Beach Street, Deal respectively.
William was educated at St Mary's School and the St Mary's Old Boy's used to visit his grave, the words on his gravestone read: William Sharp. Shot at Bondues, Nord on 27 August 1943 at the age of 50 years
I believe his first daughter Doris has died but not sure if Elaine is still alive
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
#7
i read an article on the bbc website a few days ago about aspiring poets, artists, music hall stars and sportspersons that lost their short lives during the conflict and i was surprised that our local hero didn't get a mention.
link courtesy of brian.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/walter-tull-descendants-honour-pioneering-3036505#.UtwvahDFLIUGuest 649- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 14,118
#8
Thank you for puting that up on the Dover forum,I am reading at this time about the life story of Walter Tull ,we must never forget any of them"They shell not grow old as we grow old." True but their names must live forever.
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
#9
walter tulls name appears on the arras memorial to the missing,his brother william tull is buried in cheriton cemetery along with his parents.
Guest 700- Registered: 11 Jun 2010
- Posts: 2,868
#10
Local papers (including the Dover Express) published photographs of 'serving' servicemen, during the First War, with brief details AND usually a photograph -
here are a few examples:
These are refs mostly from the Dover Express newspaper,
but also included are references from some other sources.
Notes: for those names which do not state where they came from (if Buffs register) they may not be from E.Kent.
There are many men mentioned who are "serving" , and not necessarily killed.
ATLAY, Harold T., Lieut.Comm. Death at Deal 11 November (Dover Express 20.11.1914 front page)
ALLSOPP J.H. -included in Dovorians in Buffs' GROUP PHOTO
(Dover Express 5.11.1915 p.8 at top)
AUGUST (Private), R.M.L.I. of Dover - (in GROUP PHOTO) (Dover Express 6.8.1915 p.8 centre)
ARMAN, S. (Bombadier RFA ) (PHOTO of him) - who is shortly proceeding abroad;
the eldest son of Mr and Mrs ARMAN of 47 Eaton Road, Dover (Dover Express 9.3.1916 p.3)
ASHFIELD, F. (Private, R.A.M.C.) (PHOTO of him) "somewhere in France", son of Mr and Mrs ASHFIELD of 2 Albany Place, Dover (Dover Express 28.1.1916 p.8)
AIRD J, late of Adisham, aged 26 (in Navy) killed by a mine (PHOTO of him)
Brother of Mrs OXTOBY of Adisham (Dover Express 13.7.1917 p.3 at top)
A.S. ABBOTT, name on War Memorial 1914-18 war, (St Marys Churchyard, Dover)
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Lincolnshire Born and Bred
