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2nd Lt. Gordon Jacob Wilson
British Army Northamptonshire Yeomanry
from:Manor House, Apethorpe, Wansford, Northants
(d.12th Mar 1915)
I saw a child's toy boat for sale on an internet auction site. The boat had an SN Registration number North Shields and Newbiggin (a town in Northumberland) written on one side and the name Gordon Jacob Wilson written on the other side. Newbiggin is just a few miles from Woodhorn Manor where Jacob Wilson (later Sir Jacob Wilson and Gordon Jacob's father) once worked managing the estate between 1857 and 1866. Jacob then moved to work at Chillingham Barns, Northumberland on the estate of Lord Tankerville. While there, Jacob and his wife Margaret had two sons, Albert Edward and Gordon Jacob (born 1882) and two daughters, Beatrice and Mildred. I have no doubt that this is the same Gordon Jacob Wilson who owned the toy boat.
Gordon Wilson became a land agent and lived at Manor House, Apethorpe, Wansford, Northants. After joining the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry, he became a 2nd Lieutenant. Gordon was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle on the Western Front on 12th of Mar 1915, may he rest in peace.
I just wanted to reunite his boat with his story and by doing so remind us all that those brave men who gave their lives are more than just an entry in a war graves site.
