Zechariah Tolley (1895-1975) served as an officer in the 44th Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion Home Guard. (See a separate page for further information). Like so many other Home Guards in a position of authority he had seen service in the Great War where he had been a Private in the South Staffordshire Regiment.
Images, records and mementoes of Zechariah Tolley's Great War service survive within his family. Several of them are reproduced on this page, both to commemorate the man himself and also to indicate the sort of background shared by many men defending their country for the second time in little more than 20 years. |
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Zechariah Tolley enlisted on December 12th 1915 at the age of 20.
His Battalion was posted to France in November 1917 and was heavily involved in the fighting during the German Spring Offensive of 1918 and during this period he was wounded and at the same time earned the Military Medal.
The award was gazetted in the London Gazette of 27th June 1918. An image showing the investiture survives, with Pte. Tolley on the left (right).
Research by members of Zechariah's family conducted 95 years after the event reveals the circumstances surrounding this award.
On the 24th March the Battalion dug into trenches but later in the day were forced to leave them and retire due to heavy enemy attacks. The letter further down this page mentions having to abandon the trenches in a hurry leaving behind a wounded soldier called Adams who was subsequently taken prisoner and at the same time Zechariah being wounded. A published history describes the events of that day and briefly mentions Zechariah's role:
Following his injury and during his convalescence he received a letter from his Commanding Office, Capt. O. H. Mason dated 20th October 1918. (The Regimental Diary shows that Capt. Mason, as a mere 2/Lt., had taken command of "C" Coy on 7th April before it was "wiped out" in the front line on the 10th during a heavy artillery barrage; he clearly survived this, somehow).
It reads as follows:
4th So. Staffords
B. E. F.
France
20 - 10 - 18
Dear Tolley,
Pleased to receive your letter and know that you are getting on quite well. I happen to be on a course at present and that is the reason I have not received your letter sooner.
Lo ! I am afraid that poor Adams was taken prisoner when we had to leave the trenches just before you were hit. I never saw him at all but guess he must have been wounded. One of the fellows here tells me that he was reported prisoner of war . I hope he is alright. You might want to find me his home address.
You will perhaps be pleased to know that I am now a Captain and have managed to get a Military Cross.
I am enclosing £1 for a few cigarettes.
Dont be in a hurry to come out at present, the Battn. is not being made up just yet.
Very best wishes,
H. Mason
I hope you won't need my home address, all the same it is -
4 Alexandra Rd.,
Burton on Trent,
Staffs.
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An image of a group of convalescent soldiers in their distinctive uniforms, presumably including Pte. Tolley, survives:
Either before he went to the front or after his recovery from his wounds Zechariah played football for his unit, as the following images bear witness.
 The last of the three above pictures bears the following inscription on the plaque held by one of the players:
'League Winners 1915-16' 'Cup Winners 1916-1917' 'Runners Up 17-18'
(His footballing prowess earned him further recognition after the Armistice: he played for Walsall Town in 1921-3.. see right).
Zechariah was discharged in March 1919 at the age of 24. The following record confirms his period of service
and the award of the Silver War Badge.
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And also his entitlement to the British Victory and War Medals:
His family also made a major contribution to the defence of the country: his three brothers also served, as did their own sons. And a nephew (the grandfather of the contributor of all this information about Zechariah) was captured in France in May 1940 and spent the rest of WW2 in a POW camp in Poland.
Zechariah Tolley died on October 25th 1975 at the age of 81. He is buried in Weston-super-Mare.
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