238919 Pte. Henry Sporforth Dobson British Army 331st Road Constructions Company Royal Engineers from:Albion Buildings, Great Thornton Street, Hull, Yorkshire Henry Dobson is my maternal grandmother's father who was born in 1872. At the outbreak of WW1 he went along to the recruiting office in Hull but was turned away by the Recruiting Officer with the words,"Go home Grandad, we don't need you." He finally received a notice in May 1917 and returned to the recruiting office in Hull. At this time he was 44 years of age. He was almost rejected from service on medical grounds because he wore dentures but according to my grandmother he told them, and I quote, "I am going there to fight, not bite the buggers!" This was very typical of Henry because he was quite a character.
He was recruited into the Royal Engineer's 331st Road Construction Company and sent to France. In May 1918 he was poisoned by a gas attack and sent to the Wharncliffe War Hospital in Sheffield before moving on to the the Military Convalescent Hospital at Ashton in Makerfield near Wigan. He left this establishement in August 1918 and returned to service. Henry was demobbed in March 1919 and returned home to his family in Hull where he continued to live until his death in January 1939 at the age of 66 years. He was the father of 13 children, the youngest of whom was my grandmother.
|