**************************************************************************

**************************************************************************

**************************************************************************

**************************************************************************

TAMWORTH

At about 3.30 a.m. on the morning of Wednesday, 13th May 1942, two pals took over the last guard duty shift of the night at Tamworth Drill Hall in Staffordshire. They were Victor Delanois, aged 16, and his friend Geoffrey A., 17. Geoffrey had been in the local Home Guard platoon for several months and Victor, a Belgian refugee, a matter of weeks. They took over the weapons of the outgoing guard and assumed that the rifles were at that stage not loaded. A bit of fooling about ensued, first of all aiming the weapons at a target in the Hall and then, at each other. The accident waiting to happen then happened. Victor fell dead, killed instantly by a shot from Geoffrey's rifle.

The incident of course resulted in a forensic examination of what had happened and how safety procedures had fallen so short. (It was a lesson learned earlier that year or in 1941 by the Webmaster when, at the age of about six, he was severely admonished by his father and brother for, far too nonchalantly, swinging the latter's Home Guard rifle in their direction. Never to be forgotten were the apprehension in their faces and the raised hands as the lecture was delivered: "Never, EVER, point a rifle....").  Somehow, whatever training these lads had had in the 10th/11th Staffordshire (Lichfield and Tamworth) Battalion, that lesson seems not to have registered sufficiently and tragedy ensued. Perhaps inevitably, Geoffrey was prosecuted for manslaughter. At the local Assizes he was eventually acquitted which was undoubtedly a sensible and merciful outcome.

The reports on this incident emphasised the tragedy of the whole thing: the funeral with full military honours, attended by Geoffrey and his parents; the grief of both families; and the gratitude expressed by Geoffrey's parents at the kindness of the police, Home Guard and individuals towards them in the community. They remind us that when we talk about 1206 men having lost their lives in Home Guard service, we need to remember that each case represented an unspeakable tragedy for every single one of those families, the Home Guard units who were involved and the broader local communities.

Victor Delanois now lies in Tamworth Cemetery.

(With grateful acknowledgement to John Trotter, the Find a Grave website and the British Newspaper Archive).
New addition - 4th February 2024

**************************************************************************

**************************************************************************

**************************************************************************

**************************************************************************

TUTBURY
Tutbury, together with Burton-upon-Trent, was defended by a unit described in February 1941 as the 8th and 9th Staffordshire (Burton/Tutbury) Battalion. (This Battalion is later named elsewhere merely as the 8th and may have been an amalgamation of two earlier battalions as the structure of the Home Guard evolved in the first year of its existence).

In 1941 the C.O. was Lt.-Col. S.R. Sharp, M.M., with another officer of the same rank as 2 i/c, Lt.-Col. H.L. Newton, D.S.O., (late Maj., T.A.)

Henry Leigh Newton (the gt.-grandfather of the contributor of this information) was a resident of Tutbury as a young man where the family home was "The Cliffe". He was one of the two sons of a local cement manufacturer. He was commissioned as lieutenant in 1911 and later served in the Royal Field Artillery during the Great War when attached to 1/6 Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment. He had recently been promoted to the rank of Major when he was gravely wounded on 1st July 1916 at Gommecourt Wood. He was subsequently awarded the D.S.O. for what he did that day.

His brother William Trafford Newton, a lieutenant in "B" Coy., 6th Battn., The Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire) Regiment was killed on the same day, the first day of the Somme, 1st July 1916, again at Gommecourt Wood. He is commemorated by a magnificent altar in St. Mary's Priory Church, Tutbury, donated by the family and made from alabaster mined at nearby Fauld.

"There is a book in the Tutbury Museum about the setting up  of the Burton and District LDV (Local Defence Volunteers) that became known as the Home Guard.  I know there is reference to H. L . Newton included.  It is “The 8^th (Burton) Battalion of the Staffordshire Home Guard”.  This was formed on 22^nd May 1940 in Stafford.  Major H. L. Newton had the task of forming the Burton-on-Trent & District LDV with the rank of Group Commander.  There was the 9^th Staffordshire (Tutbury) Battalion under Major Newton".

If Henry Newton was regarded as too old to serve in the Army in 1939, no such standards had been applied 25 years earlier, however, when Charles Slingsby Chaplin (the contributor's gt. gt.-grandfather) lost his life in 1915 at the First Battle of Ypres: he was 51 years of age.

The story of Trafford Newton and many other Tutbury men who fell in the Great War is told in a well-researched and presented local publication entitled "Tutbury Book of Remembrance". This publication is still evolving and there is information about it online. It is written by Jane Nuth who also contributed the passage about Henry Newton quoted above.

We are most grateful to Jeremy Manners for providing the above information about his gt.-grandfather H.L. Newton, gt.gt.-uncle W.T. Newton and gt.gt.-grandfather C.S. Chaplin. Mr Manners notes that amongst his ancestors five were killed in the Great War and two further men wounded; none of the seven fought beyond July 1916. As family history research continues this number is likely to rise.
Grateful acknowledgement too to Rick and Jane Nuth for creating the original information and also for information about William Henry Brown.