256391 Pte. Walter Skirrow British Army 7th Battalion, D Coy. York and Lancaster Regiment from:36 Flowitt Street, Mexborough (d.25th October 1917) Walter Skirrow was born in 1889 in Idle, a small village near Bradford and was the son of John and Elizabeth Skirrow. His father died aged 35 and left his mother to bring up the children. There were 7 boys and 3 girls. Two of his brother died within a year of being born. The family moved from Idle to Dodworth and then to Mexborough. In 1908, Walter married Annie Wilson at the parish church in Mexborough. Prior to enlisting, he had four children - Miriam, Walter, Joseph and Annie.
He enlisted in 1914 along with his brothers Joseph, James and Harry. His brother Arthur remained working in the local mines and was killed in a mining accident in 1916. Prior to enlistment Walter had worked underground at Manvers Msin Colliery. He is remembered on the Mexborough War Memorial and the Manvers colliery one in Wath.
Both his sisters had moved to Scotland and Harriet was married to Alex Craig, a Scottish footballer who played for Rangers.
With Walter's experience of working in the mines, he was assigned in 1915 to a tunnelling company and remained on the front line until he had leave in 1917 between 23rd of August and 12th of September 1917, where he returned to Mexborough to see his young family and wife.
On his return to Ypres, he joined the 7th Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment in D company, where he was part of the team building a railway line. This was an extremely dangerous job as they were often targeted by the enemy. Whilst working, he was hit by the enemy and died on the 25th of October 1917 and was laid to rest in Bard Cottage Cemetery.
From his orbitury in the local paper, his brother Joseph had been injured and his brothers James and Harry were present at his death and both went on to assist with carrying him to his resting place and burial. James wrote a letter to his widow Annie, that Walter had died a hero's death fighting for King and Country. His pals in the Battalion thought highly of him and said there wasn't a better chum to be found anywhere.
He described that once Walter had been hit, he did not speak again, dying instantly when the shell had hit him. The brothers had not realised that the end was so near, as they had been in the canteen the night before laughing and joking in the canteen. James vowed that as long as he stayed at the front he would visit Walter's grave even if he had to walk 10 miles to get there.
Following his death, his widow gave birth to his fifth child on the 19th June 1918 and the little girl was named Frances Ypres Skirrow to remind her of the father she never met. Frances because the war was in France and Ypres for the town where her father had died.
Many of Walter's grandchildren and great-grandchildren have been out to the grave at Bard Cottage Cemetery, with many mementoes remaining in the family to this day. One of his medals was found in a pawn shop and kept by the owner's family for 50 years and then it eventually returned to direct descendent of Walter himself.
His great-grandchildren have carried out research about his life and are always looking for information, which will tell them even more about his life in Mexborough, at Manvers and his time on the battlefield.
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