2nd Lieutenant Harry Todd

• Age: 27
• From: Carlisle
• Regiment: M.G.C.
• Died on Tuesday 29th October 1918
• Commemorated at: Etaples Military Cemetery
  Panel Ref: XLVIII.C.4

Henry (Harry) Todd was born in 1890 in Carlisle, the son of  William John Todd and his wife Rosina Emma (nee Yeomans) who married in June 1890.

The 1891 Census shows Rosina and her son Henry living at her father’s address Ashleigh House, Botcherby, St Cuthbert Without, Carlisle. The head of the household is George Yeomans a widower aged 53, born 1838 and employed as a head time-keeper on the railways and was born in Darley, Derbyshire. He is living with his two children Matilda aged 27, born 1864 and she is a music teacher and Frederick aged 25, born 1866 and he is employed as an assistant time-keeper and both were both in Derbyshire. Rosina is aged 22, born 1869 in Belper, Derbyshire and her occupation is shown as a housekeeper and Henry is shown as born in 1891.  

The 1901 Census shows William John, Rosina and their two children living at his parents address 58, Booth Street East, South Manchester. The head of the household is Henry Todd aged 72, born 1829 and his occupation is listed as wine and spirit merchant and was born in Cumberland. His wife Mary is aged 65, born 1836 in Cumberland and has no occupation listed. Their son William John is aged 30, born 1871 in Carlisle is a wine and spirit merchant, his wife Rosina is aged 29, born 1872 (1891 Census shows year 1869) and has no occupation listed. They have two children Harry (Henry) is aged 10 and William aged 4, born 1897. 

The 1911 Census shows the family living at 17 Rawson Road Seaforth, Seaforth, Lancashire. The head of the household is Rose (Rosina), she is married and aged 41 and her occupation is listed as a shopkeeper. She has been married for twenty one years and has five children who at the time of the Census were all living at home, Harry aged 20 is a timber clerk, Alfred aged 16 is a shipping clerk, William aged 14, is a cotton broker’s clerk and her two daughters Elsie aged 7 and Dorothy aged 4. Also living at the address is William John’s parents  Henry Todd aged 82 and his wife Mary who is aged 74.

The extract below was taken from Liverpool's Scroll of Fame.

The case of Second-Lieutenant Harry Todd is a peculiarly sad one. He joined up in August, 1914, saw much hard fighting right through the long war, and then on the 29th October, 1918, a few days before the armistice, succumbed to pneumonia at the 20th General Hospital, and was buried in Etaples Military Cemetery. He was 27 years of age.
The son of Mr. William John Todd and Mrs. Todd, of 17 Rawson Road, Seaforth, and an old scholar of Christ Church School, Waterloo, he was apprenticed to Messrs: F Chaloner and Sons, Timber Merchants, Liverpool. He possessed a good tenor voice, was in the choir of St Thomas' Church, Seaforth, and sang at local concerts and entertainments. Football and cricket claimed a great deal of his leisure time.

He was among the first to join the "Pals" and went with them to France on November 5th, 1915. In January, 1917, he came home for his commission, and after a period at Gailes Cadet School was gazetted to the 13th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers. He again served on the Western Front from September, 1917, to January, 1918, when he was sent to Grantham for training in the Machine Gun Corps. On May 1st following he returned to the front, and remained at the post of duty until his fatal illness.

Both in the army and civil life Lieutenant Todd won much love and confidence. The Rev. Stephen Phillimore, Vicar of Seaforth, writing to the bereaved mother said: "After so many years constant fighting to meet his end that way is extraordinarily hard... I loved Harry ; he appealed to me enormously. His confidence in one's judgement, his beautiful openess and his tremendous earnestness all went to prove what a splendid fellow he was, and one of the saints on earth. You must be a proud mother to have reared such a son, and Seaforth is proud of him.

"He was a real soldier" wrote a member of Messrs: Chaloner & Co, "and had worked his way up to responsible positions, thus proving that he not only desired but succeeded in serving his King and Country to the uttermost."

He now rests at Etaples Military Cemetery, France.

During the First World War, the area around Etaples was the scene of immense concentrations of Commonwealth reinforcement camps and hospitals. It was remote from attack, except from aircraft, and accessible by railway from both the northern or the southern battlefields. In 1917, 100,000 troops were camped among the sand dunes and the hospitals, which included eleven general, one stationary, four Red Cross hospitals and a convalescent depot, could deal with 22,000 wounded or sick. In September 1919, ten months after the Armistice, three hospitals and the Q.M.A.A.C. convalescent depot remained.

The cemetery contains 10,771 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, the earliest dating from May 1915. 35 of these burials are unidentified. It is the largest CWGC cemetery in France, and was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

His death was reported in the Liverpool Echo on 08th November 1918

TODD - October 29, in hospital, of pneumonia contracted on active service, HARRY, Sec. Lieut. MGC, the dearly loved eldest son of W. and R. Todd, 17 Rawson Road, Seaforth.

Soldiers effects to mother Rose and probate to his mother on 22nd September 1919.

His father died in the June quarter of 1945 in Peterborough, aged 76.

His mother died on 11th January 1964 in Peterborough, aged 95. (probate)

We currently have no further information on Harry Todd, If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.