209112 Pte. Walter Ashworth British Army 18th Btn. West Yorkshire Regiment from:Bradford Walter Ashworth was my grandfather. He was born in Hebden Bridge in W.Yorks and served and completed his apprenticeship as a tailor in Bradford.
He joined the 2nd Bradford Pals in 1915. After training, he was shipped out firstly to Egypt and then to France for the Battle of the Somme. He was wounded on the 1st June 1916. He had gone 'over the top' with many, many other soldiers and was shot three times, once in the mouth, once in the back and once in the leg. He was left for dead in a bomb crater filled with water for almost three days. Someone noticed him moving and he was removed from the battlefield and sent firstly to an ambulance station where an Army chaplain saw him and sent my grandmother, his fiancee at the time, a letter telling her he had been wounded and was being sent to the hospital at Sidcup. He ended the letter saying, "and may God help him."
He spent many months in hospital having operation after operation on his face and other injuries. He was one of the first soldiers to receive plastic surgery by Sir Harold Gillies and a painting of the medical procedures performed on his wounds is in the Royal College of Surgeons in London. When he was able to return to Bradford, he tried to resume his position as tailor in a leading men's wear shop there. However, he still had bandages on his face and the owners of the business would not put him behind the counter as they told him he would scare the customers away! He worked in their workshop behind, still doing his tailoring but behind the scenes, for one week and then became so upset about the way his bosses were treating him that he resigned and went home. About a week later, his boss appeared on his doorstep begging him to come back because the customers were outraged about what had happend and nobody would deal with anybody in the store but Mr Walter Ashworth, their tailor! He felt a little better about that but still decided not to return. I should add that all the employers in the Halifax and Bradford area had stated quite emphatically that all soldiers who enlisted in the Pals would have their job held open for them when they came back. I'm afraid my grandfather felt too bitter to go back and work for that employer.
He married my grandmother in 1917 in hospital. In 1922, he was still having operations on his face from time to time and his health was not good so the doctors suggested he find somewhere warm to convalesce so my grandfather replied to an ad in the paper from Australia where a sheep station owner was wanting a butler and a cook for two years! He applied for it, got the job and went over to Sydney by himself. When all the details were completed, he sent for my grandmother and my mother, who was a little girl at that time. They worked on this huge sheep station way out in the Aussie bush for two years, he became stronger and regained his health, both physically and emotionally, and they then returned to England.
He opened a tailor's shop in Halifax, then moved to Blackpool and had a successful career until he retired in his sixties. He left his daughter, two grandchildren, and three great grandchildren at his passing.
He was a true gentleman, never talked about his experiences in the war but carried his facial scars and a shrapnel-riddled back all his life with dignity and bravery. He was extremely popular with everybody he met and he never let his appearance get him down. We are all very proud of him.
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