Andrew Monkhouse
Hanoi, Vietnam
Wednesday, February 20, 2013 12:25 |
Sutton Juniors c1910 - future veterans of the Great War
Hi Tony, the photo of the SUTTON JUNIORS circa 1910 is pretty significant. It’s not just showing a local junior soccer team of 11 players from Sutton dating back to around 1910. It’s also showing the innocent youthful faces of 11 boys, 9 of whom were destined (through no fault of their own) to witness some of the most terrible battles the world has ever known during the Great War from 1914 – 1918.
It’s quite possible (even probable) that all 11 served during the Great War, but I can’t locate Raymond Ratcliffe on the Sutton Nominal Roll of Honour. It may be that he was deemed medically unfit to serve, or that his name appears on the Nominal Roll of Honour of a neighbouring village? I cannot find Sam Simmonds either on the Sutton Nominal Roll of Honour, although there is a Sam Simons (same person? – perhaps, perhaps not?)
In any case, the following 9 boys captured on that photograph from 1910 went on to serve during the Great War. Fortunately, all 9 returned home after the war but we’ll never know what lasting impact the physical & mental scarring had on each and every one of them:
Arthur Storey
Clifford Ratcliffe
Wilfred Smith
Tom Riley
Joseph Sharp
James (Jim) Teal
Herman Davy
Leonard Davy
James (Jim) Summerskill |
