Nateby War Memorial, Longmoor Lane, Nateby. PR3 0JH
There are 7 men commemorated on the memorial from WW1:
Thomas Billington
Private 82237. 20th Battalion Durham Light Infantry
Thomas was born in Catterall in 1894, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Billington.
The family lived at Brick Row, Catterall.
Thomas was killed in action on 4th September 1918, near Ypres. He was 19.
He is buried at Voormezeele Enclosure No.3 Cemetery, near Ypres.
He is also remembered on the Memorials at St. Helen’s Church, Churchtown, and Kirkland and Catterall Memorial Hall.
John Croft
Gunner 161179. B Battery, 180th Brigade Royal Field Artillery
John was born at Nateby in 1899, the son of Edward and Betty Croft.
He enlisted at Lancaster, and joined the Royal Field Artillery.
John was wounded in action, and died from his wounds on 7th August 1917. He was 19. He is buried at Mendinghem Military Cemetery, Vlaanderen, Belgium
James Cross
Gunner 126553. G Battery, 5th Brigade, Royal Horse and Royal Field Artillery
John enlisted at Garstang in late 1915, and joined the Royal Horse Artillery, serving in France as a gunner from 1916 until he died following the Battle of Albert on 26th August 1918.
He is buried at St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen, France.
He was 23.
James is also remembered on the Garstang and Pilling War Memorials.
Henry Grayston
Private 315235. 25th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers
Henry was born in Bilsborrow in 1895, the son of William and Mary Grayston.
The family lived at Fylde Road, Churchtown in 1911.
Henry was killed in action on 31st October 1917, Mesopotamia, now Iraq.
He is buried at Beersheba War Cemetery in Iraq.
He is also remembered on the War Memorials at St. Helen’s Church, Churchtown, and Kirkland and Catterall Memorial Hall.
Nicholas Hornby
Driver 43387. 133rd Army Troops Company Royal Engineers
Nicholas was born in Pilling in 1895, the son of William and Grace Hornby.
The family lived in Station Road, Pilling.
Nicholas was killed in action on 9th September 1916 during action on the Somme in France. He was 21.
He is buried at Fricourt Military Cemetery at Fricourt, Somme, France.
Henry Pearson
Private 112926. 11th Battalion Nottinghamshire & Derby (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment
Formerly Private 49619 Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment.
Henry was born in 1889 in Nateby, the son of Thomas and Jane Pearson.
He married Alice Dunderdale in 1911 and they had 3 Children.
Henry died of wounds on 24th October 1918. He was 29.
He is buried at the Quietiste Military Cemetery, Le Cateau, France
George Shaw
Private 21770. 1st/4th Battalion Loyal North Lancashire Regiment
George was born in 1895 in Nateby, the son of Richard Shaw and Ellen Wilson, and had
3 siblings.
He was a farm labourer and the family lived at Diamond Cottages in Nateby.
George was killed in action on 20th Sept 1917. He was 22.
He is one of the many men with no known grave, and is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial near Ypres, Belgium.
The War Memorial also has a list of those men from Nateby parish who served in WW1:
Kirkland Strict and Particular Baptist Chapel, Longmoor Lane, Nateby. PR3 0JH
The Strict Baptist cause at Nateby near Garstang dates back to 1828 when four persons were baptised in a pond at Primrose Hill, Nateby on 14th May 1828. The present chapel was built in 1877, replacing a smaller one near Kirkland Hall which had become too small for the increasing congregation.
There is one War Grave in the graveyard:
Thomas James Hesketh
Private 34503. Highland Light Infantry. Later Private 597677 of the 582nd Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps.
Thomas was born in St. Michael’s on Wyre in 1895, the son of Thomas and Nancy Hesketh.
He originally joined the Highland Light Infantry
In 1917 a number of infantry battalions were transferred to the Labour Corps, and it is believed that this is what happened to James’s battalion.
He may have been wounded and transferred as not fit for the Front, or he may have just been transferred along with his battalion.
Thomas died on 12th November 1918, believed from wounds received in action, his death being recorded at Garstang. He was 23.