Roll of Honour (Borlase - Cooper)

Edward Thomas Borlase was born at Bettws-y-coed in North Wales on the 27th of March 1883, the younger son of Captain William Henry Borlase, manager of Llanwrst Mines, and his wife Rebecca (nee Corin). He was seven years old when his father arrived as Chief Agent at the Greenside Mine in Glenridding. His father was a well-paid man of some standing in the community, and in common with many others of this class, he sent his son to be educated at the prestigious school of St Bees in Cumberland. From 1898 to 1901 Edward served his apprenticeship in various lead, coal and iron mines in the North of England, getting practical experience in mine office work and underground mining, and completed his education at the Camborne School of Mines. 

Soon after the outbreak of hostilities, Edward joined the Officer Training Corps before being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in March 1915 first with the Royal Artillery and then with the Royal Garrison Artillery. He was posted to France on the 23rd September 1916, where he remained for the rest of the war (it has been said that he left with the rank of Captain in 1918, although the Roll of Honour, his medal index card and his obituary all show him as a Lieutenant). After his discharge he returned to his profession as a mining engineer, briefly as an assistant to his father at Greenside Mine in 1918, then several years overseas. He returned to Britain in May 1925 and in 1926 took over the management of Greenside Mine, living at Greenside Lodge.

In March 1935 Greenside Mine went into liquidation and Eddie joined the staff of the British Non-Ferrous Mining Corporation and was sent first to a Portuguese mine at Viseu for twelve months, although he came back after 7 months to be the mine superintendent at their Halkyn mine in Wales. He lived at Northorpe near Holywell until he left the mine in 1936 or 37. After a brief sojourn in London he went to live at Grassington, where he managed simultaneously some Barytes workings on Grassington Moor and the Potts Ghyll Barytes mine at Caldbeck. Unfortunately he was by now a sick man with a developing heart complaint which put him off work for many months at one time, and finding himself unable to manage both mines he left Grassington and went to live in Carlisle, where he died on the 29th November 1939 at the age of 56 years. 

Research Documents:

    For a more detailed biography click here

    Census Records         Medal Card          Obituary, C&W Herald 2 Dec 1939          Death Announcement, C&W Herald 9 Dec 1939

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Dawson Bowman, who was baptised at Patterdale Church on 7th November 1880, was the fourth son of the famous Joe “Huntie” Bowman and his wife Mary (nee Martin from Matterdale). Joe was working at Greenside Mine when in 1879, he was made Hunstman of the Ullswater Foxhounds, which had been formed in 1873 when the Patterdale and Matterdale hunts were joined. He held this position, with a few short interruptions, until 1924. Three of Joe Bowman's sons appear on this Roll of Honour - Dawson, James and John.

Dawson was one of 9 children, his siblings were; Annie (1874), Thomas (1876-1892), Matthew (1878-1960), Joseph (1879-1940), Martin (1883), Mary Elizabeth (1885), John (1888), and James Little (1890-1965). After attending school in Patterdale Dawson joined the army and in the 1901 census he was recorded as a 20 year old gunner in the artillery stationed at Fenham Barracks in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. On the 28th Feb 1906 Dawson married Alexandrina Victoria Lauder (aged 27), at St Brides Church, Partick in Lanarkshire. By 1911 Dawson had been promoted to Sergeant and was serving with the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) in India.

By the time WW1 broke out, Dawson, with at least 14 years experience in the Artillery, had attained the rank of Battery Quarter Master Sergeant in the Royal Field Artillery and in April 1915 joined the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (probably based in Egypt). By mid 1915 (either 15th June or 23rd July) he had been commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery and later promoted to a Captain in the Royal Field Artillery. 

From the addresses written on the Medal Index Card, it looks as if Dawson and his wife returned to this area for a time after the war, staying first at Causeway Cottage (next to Greenbank Farm in Patterdale) and then at the Punchbowl Hotel in Askham. In the June 1921 census, Dawson, with his wife and two sons, is living in Barrow-upon-Humber, Lincolnshire, where he is the Proprietor of the Foresters Hall Cinema. They eventually settled in Kelso, Scotland. Dawson regularly attended the Ullswater Hunt, where, according to Mayson Wear (who lives in Glenridding and is the son of Joe Wear who succeeded Joe Bowman as Master of the Ullswater Foxhounds), he was known as "Kelso Bowman". 

During WW2, Dawson served with the 4th Scottish Border Battalion of the Home Guard with the rank of Major, although from the 1st Feb 1941 he held the rank of "acting" Lieutenant Colonel. 

In a 1947 Cumberland Herald newspaper report, he is mentioned as a visitor to the Ullswater Sheepdog Trials.  

"The open stakes at Ullswater sheepdog trials were won by Mr. G. A. Leslie, Portinscale, with his Gaelic-named dog, Ferach. Spectators included Major Dawson Bowman, Kelso, son of the famous Joe ("Huntie") Bowman, who was huntsman of the Ullswater pack for 46 years."

His father Joe died in 1940 and is buried in Patterdale Churchyard. Dawson himself died on the 19th January 1968. We are grateful to his grandson Jim and other members of the family for providing so much information and photos about Dawson and his brothers.

Research Documents:

    Census Records          Baptism Register (Entry 284)          Marriage Register          Photo of Dawson with Hounds in Egypt          Medal Card  

James Little Bowman, who was baptised at Patterdale Church on 31st August 1890, was the youngest son of the famous Joe “Huntie” Bowman and his wife Mary (nee Martin from Matterdale). Joe was working at Greenside Mine when in 1879, he was made Hunstman of the Ullswater Foxhounds, which had been formed in 1873 when the Patterdale and Matterdale hunts were joined. He held this position, with a few short interruptions, until 1924. Three of Joe Bowman's sons appear on this Roll of Honour - Dawson, James and John.

James was one of 9 children, his siblings were; Annie (1874), Thomas (1876-1892), Matthew (1878-1960), Joseph (1879-1940), Dawson (1880-1968), (Martin (1883), Mary Elizabeth (1885) and John (1888). After leaving school in Patterdale, James trained as a stonemason, and by 1911 was working as a Stonemason in Kendal. On the 26th June 1914, James, along with a school friend Joseph (Joe) Laurence Graham, sailed from Liverpool aboard the SS Empress of Britain to Quebec in Canada, arriving on the 3rd July. From there they continued into America heading for the small town of Benton in Wisconsin, a lead mining area. There to greet them, most likely, would have been two other Patterdale school-friends Ernest and Leonard Marr who had travelled out to the nearby Cuba City in May 1913.  

On 6th April 1917, the USA declared war on Germany and officially entered World War I. Six weeks later, the Selective Service Act was passed, which authorized the President to increase the military establishment of the United States. As a result, every male living within the United States, between the ages of 18 and 45, was required to register for the draft. James completed his Draft Registration Card on the 5th June 1917, in which he gave his address as Benton, Lafayette County, Wisconsin, and his occupation as a self-employed Brick Mason and Plasterer. Only a small percentage of the men who registered were actually called up for military service. Also registering for the draft in Benton that day, was Ernest Marr.

The following day, 6th June 1917, James married Henrietta Alton Calvert who was born in Benton.

James continued to live in Benton, Wisconsin and had three children; Joseph Calvert (1918-2002), Mary Isabel (1920-1994) and George Thomas (1923-1978). In 1920 he was working as a stonemason, in 1930 as a merchant and in 1941 he opened a Grocer and Feed business called 'the Rock Store'. He was also in business for a time with his old friend Joe Graham, who married Henrietta’s sister Ida.

The 1930 census indicates that he was a veteran of WW1, although no other evidence of military service has yet been found. It seems very likely that the reference to RAF on the Glenridding Roll of Honour is yet another mistake.

James and Henrietta visited England in 1937 and no doubt visited Patterdale. They returned to New York on board the Queen Mary. James died on the 22nd Feb 1965 and his wife Henrietta on the 23rd July 1968. They are buried at the United Methodist Church Cemetery, Benton, Lafayette County, Wisconsin. 

Research Documents:

    Census Records        Baptism Register (Entry 450)          Empress of Britain Manifest of British Passengers - 26 Jun 1914

    Empress of Britain Manifest of Passengers proceeding to the USA - 26 Jun 1914          US WW1 Draft Registration Card          US WW2 Draft Registration Card

John Bowman, who was baptised at Patterdale Church on 1st January 1888, was the sixth son of the famous Joe “Huntie” Bowman and his wife Mary (nee Martin from Matterdale). Joe was working at Greenside Mine when in 1879, he was made Hunstman of the Ullswater Foxhounds, which had been formed in 1873 when the Patterdale and Matterdale hunts were joined. He held this position, with a few short interruptions, until 1924. Three of Joe Bowman's sons appear on this Roll of Honour - Dawson, James and John.

John was one of 9 children, his siblings were; Annie (1874), Thomas (1876-1892), Matthew (1878-1960), Joseph (1879-1940), Dawson (1880-1968), Martin (1883), Mary Elizabeth (1885), and James Little (1890-1965).

The Glenridding Roll of Honour records him as having served in the RAF but the photo, from his family, shows him in an army uniform and with a cap and badge that appears to be Artillery. It seems that the RAF reference is almost certainly a mistake and he most likely served with the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) like his brother Dawson. From the Medal Index Cards, there are five John Bowmans who served in the Artillery and survived the war, so it has not been possible to determine the medals he was awarded.

His grandson Carl says that he did serve in France during the war as his mum can remember him coming home on leave and having to remove the lice from his uniform before he could come into the house! 

Research Documents:

    Census Records:  1891, 1901,           Baptism Register (Entry 396)

David Brown was the second son of George Brown, a Blacksmith at the Greenside mine, and his wife Mary Lizzie (nee Hetherington). He was baptised at the Wesleyan Chapel in Patterdale on 27th September 1896. David would have attended Patterdale School along with his cousin Frank Brown, who was born less than a month earlier, and his siblings Emily (1892), Robert Edward (1894), George Burnett (1899), Annie Beatrice (1900) and half-sister Mildred Mary (1906). His mother died in May 1902 and his father married Jane Bellas in February 1906. 

In April 1911, aged 14, he was working as an errand boy, most likely for the Cooperative Store in Glenridding. On 13th September 1914, David enlisted in the 8th Battalion of the Border Regiment, which was part of the 75th Brigade. In November, the Battalion moved to Codford, in Wiltshire for further training, to Romsey in May 1915 and then to Aldershot in June. His Battalion embarked for Boulogne in France on the 27th of September 1915. They were part of the Army’s 25th Division concentrated around Nieppe and saw action in 1916 on Vimy Ridge. The Division then moved to The Somme in late June 1916. David was injured on the 2nd July 1916, probably on the second day of the Battle of the Somme but he returned to his unit in August 1917. By the beginning of April 1918, the 25th Division was holding the front line at Ploegsteert in Flanders when the Germans launched their Spring Offensive and broke through the British lines.

Extract from the 8th Bn. War Diary for April 1918

10th April 1918 - Dull - slight mist - Enemy attacked about 5.30am after heavy bombardment. A Coy practically cut off. B, C & D Coys returned to Reserve line which was soon enveloped & about midday Battalion withdrew with other troops to a North and South line West of Le Bizet. A further withdrawal to the road Clef de la Belgique-Oosthove was necessitated during the afternoon, and late at night the right flank was swungback to the line Coutre Rue Oosthove-Doudou.

By this time, David was a Lance Corporal in Platoon No 5 of B Company, and so was caught up in the withdrawal and taken prisoner (but not wounded). On the 18th May 1918 the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald reported that his father had been informed his son son was missing. After three weeks fearing the worst, the family received a postcard in early June from David, saying that he was a Prisoner of War in Germany. David had been taken to Friedricksfeld Camp, which was sixty miles north of Cologne near Wesel and had a capacity for 35,000 prisoners. By all accounts it was not bad - there was space in the centre of the camp for football and tennis; also gardens with flower beds between the barracks; large vegetable gardens and potato field run by the prisoners. Less pleasant was the nearby Westerholt Coal mine where some POWs were sent to work. At least David only had to endure this for 7 months - some had been there since 1915. The prisoners at Friedricksfeld were released soon after the war ended. In the June 1921 census, he and his wife Elizabeth were recorded visiting an address near Liverpool, however, his occupation was shown as a Passenger Porter with the North Eastern Railway in Darlington (where his wife was born), so perhaps that is where they were living. We believe he returned to Glenridding and worked at the Greenside Mine for a time.  

David was in the Army for almost the whole duration of the war, he saw and survived many famous actions and was awarded the 1914 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. 

Research Documents:

    Census Records        Missing in Action Report: C&W Herald 18 May 1918          Prisoner of War Report: C&W Herald 8 Jun 1918

    Friedricksfeld PoW Camp Records           British Red Cross PoW Record Card           Medal Card  

Frank Dewis Brown was the eldest son of David Brown, a Lead Miner, and his wife Mary Jane (nee Dewis). Frank attended Patterdale School and was a member of the Patterdale Church choir. After leaving school at the age of 14 years, he initially worked as a Lead Ore Washer at the Greenside Mine but later worked as a Farm Labourer at Edenhall, near Penrith. He enlisted in Penrith on the 11th February 1915 and joined the 2nd/4thBorder Regiment. On the 7th of March 1915, the battalion left Barry in Wales bound for India, passing through the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal before reaching Bombay on the 31st March. Their final destination was the Ghorpuri Barracks, in Poona. Whilst serving in India, Frank would have served in Shankargarh, Nowshera, Peshawar and Sadar Garhi (for service on the Mohmand Blockade Line). He is known to have suffered a long bout of Malaria in September 1918 whilst in Nowshera. Upon returning to Peshawar, presumably still in a weakened state, he contracted influenza and was admitted to the hospital there on the 21st October but sadly his condition worsened and he died on Wednesday the 30th October 1918 aged just 22 years. Frank Brown is buried at Peshawar. 

Frank had served in India for three and a half years and his medal card shows that he was posthumously awarded the Victory Medal and the British War Medal. 

 For Research Documents and a more detailed biography, see his War Memorial Page Click Here

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William Stanley Brown was the youngest of three children born to John Brown, a Joiner and Carpenter, and his wife Sarah Ann (nee Wilcock?). In 1891, the family were living at Grisedale Bridge but had moved to Laburnum Cottage in Glenridding by 1901 and older brother Leonard, aged 15, was already working as an apprentice joiner to his father. The family had moved back to Grisedale Bridge by the time the 1911 census was taken and William had also begun working as a Joiner in the family business. Their sister Ada had moved to Manchester where she was training to be a nurse. On the 9th December 1915, at the Wesleyan Chapel in Patterdale, William married Mary Elizabeth Pears, the daughter of Robert Pears of Crookabeck Farm.

When he married, William gave his address as South Shields and stated his occupation as a Joiner and also a Private in the 3rd Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry - this was a reserve Battalion, which remained in South Shields as part of the Tyne Garrison. However, from reports in the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald, we know that he was a Signaller with the D.L.I. and was wounded twice, so must have been posted to another Battalion who were serving at the front. The first time he was wounded was in August 1917 from shelling and gas poisoning, which were serious enough for him to be evacuated to a hospital in Bradford. The next was just over a year later when he sustained a shrapnel wound to an arm. We cannot find any medal records for William but he clearly met the criteria for the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. As he was still in a home based battalion in December 1915, he would not have been entitled to the 1915 Star.

Without knowing which Battalion he joined, it is difficult to know exactly where he served or the actions where he was wounded.

In June 1921, the census shows William and Mary Elizabeth living at Rookings in Patterdale, where he is working as a Carpenter and Joiner for his father's business. They eventually settled in Lancaster, where he died in May 1953.

The Kellys Directories, show that his father John continued to run a Joinery business from his home at Ullswater View. However, by 1925 the name had been changed to Leonard Brown and Co. (Builders) at Brookfield and was still trading under that name in 1938.

William's mother Sarah Ann died in January 1930, aged 75 years, and his father John in March 1942, aged 87 years. They were both at Brookfield, Glenridding when they died and are buried together in St Patrick's Churchyard. 

Research Documents:

    Census Records        Wesleyan Marriage Register - 9 Dec 1915          William Stanley Brown - Wounding Report - C&W Herald 1 Sep 1917

    William Stanley Brown - Wounding Report - C&W Herald 28 Sep 1918         Medal Card          Probate          Burial Register Entries for his Parents (Entries 377 and 489)

Ernest Chugg was born in Glenridding on the 22nd of November 1887. He was the son of William Chugg, a miner at the Greenside Mine and Isabella (nee Nelson). His father had been born in Coombe Martin in Devon and had married Mary Ann Cutcliff there in 1871. They had two children, William Richard (in 1879) and Florence (in 1881) before Mary Ann died on the 10th May 1882, aged just 26. Soon afterwards William moved north with his two young children to work at the Greenside mine in Glenridding.

On the 13th June 1885, William married a second time to Isabella Nelson of Low Rake, whose father also worked at Greenside mine. They set up home in the newly built miners cottages at High Rake, just above where Isabella’s parents lived, and had seven more children; John (1886), Ernest (1887), Annie (1889), Agnes (1890), Nellie (1892), George (1894), and Ada (1895). Sadly both George and Ada died in infancy, and Florence died in Glenridding on the 23rd January 1893 aged just 12. After attending Patterdale school with the likes of Jim Bowman and John Graham, Ernest worked for a time at the Greenside mine but soon moved to Penrith, where in 1911, he is found working as a Drapers Assistant.

We have been told by the grand-daughter of his sister Annie that Ernest had been born with a club foot and therefore had served with the Ambulance Corps section of the ASC. We do not know exactly when Ernest enlisted or where he served but his medal card confirms that he became a driver in the mechanical transport section of the Army Service Corps, and was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, which means that he must have entered a theatre of war, most probably in France.

After the war Ernest returned to Glenridding. In June 1921, he was living at Stybarrow Terrace with his parents William and Isabella. Isabella died in October 1923 aged 65 and William in April 1925 aged 69 - they are buried together in St Patrick's Churchyard. Ernest, who was working as a Draper in Penrith, continued to live alone in his parents old house at Stybarrow Terrace, although by 1930 he had left the Dale. In March 1935 he married Sarah Annie Balmer and they settled in the village of Maulds Meaburn where he was employed as a Draper's Traveller. Ernest died there on the 23rd September 1946 at the age of 58. We believe that Sarah Annie continued to live there until her death in December 1979 at the age of 82.

As for the rest of Ernest’s family, we know that his half-brother William and his family were running the Post Office in Patterdale in 1930, and by 1939 had moved to Lakeview, Patterdale (above and behind the Post Office). Ernest’s other older brother John had died back in March 1919 at the age of just 32. His sister Agnes married Alfred Brown Coward on 24th march 1915. and was living in Kendal when she died in January 1967, aged 74, but was buried in St Patrick's Churchyard. His sister Annie married a miner, Bertram Ernest Jones, on the 15th September 1919. They had two daughters, Edna, who sadly died in infancy, and Ethel. Annie died in 1955 aged 66, whilst living at 4 Low Rake, where her mother Isabella had grown up.

Research Documents:

    Census Records         Medal Card          Probate          Parish Registers

George Robinson Cooper was the youngest of ten children born to Joseph and Bridget Cooper (nee Allinson). His father worked at the Greenside Mine and the family lived in Dockray, so it is likely that George attended school in Matterdale. By 1911, aged 18 years, George was working as a Carter at Crookabeck Farm in Patterdale but later moved to Glencoyne Farm, giving this as his address when he enlisted in the 2nd Battalion of the Coldstream Guards, in early December 1915. George would have received his basic training at the Battalion’s barracks in Windsor before he was posted to the front, near Passchendaele, in the spring of 1916. He was wounded twice whilst serving on the front. By August 1918, the 2nd Battalion were positioned in Ransart, a small village south of Arras. On the 27th August 1918, the 2nd Battalion were ordered to attack towards Croisilles. George was part of No.2 Company and in one of the two platoons led by Lt. Lake. At 7am (zero hour) an artillery barrage was commenced on the German positions, allowing the advance to begin. Initially they made good progress and took many prisoners but the Germans brought more machine guns into action and casualties increased. The two platoons led by Lt. Lake had to ‘dig in’ when they became outflanked and their numbers had been reduced to just 18 (from around a hundred) – it seems probable that George was killed in this phase of the attack.

George had served with The Coldstream Guards in Flanders for around two and a half years and his medal card1 shows that he was posthumously awarded the Victory Medal and the British War Medal. 

For Research Documents and a more detailed biography, see his War Memorial Page Click Here

Miles Cooper was born on the 16th of September 1890 whilst his family were living at Thorneythwaite in Matterdale. He was one of the nine children born to Joseph and Bridget Cooper (nee Allinson), including his youngest brother George Robinson Cooper, who died in World War One. His father had started working at Greenside mine around 1883 having been born in Penrith. The family lived in Dockray and it is likely that Miles attended school in Matterdale. We know that he was employed as a farm labourer when he enlisted with the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion of the Border Regiment in Carlisle on 13th May 1909 (although it appears that he was in the 4th Bn. (Territorial Force) of the Border Regiment prior to this. As a Territorial and then a Reservist, Miles would have received some payment for attending training sessions and the annual camps/exercises.

At the time of the 1911 Census, Miles aged 22, was lodging in Ingleton, Yorkshire where he was working as a Trailer (Brakeman) in the Ingleton Coalfields. On the 23rd December 1911 he married Jane Moore, from Thornton-in-Lonsdale, Yorkshire and had a daughter Mabel who was born on the 3rd February 1914. Miles was mobilised on the 7th August 1914 and on the 25th November 1914 was transferred to 'B' Company of the 2nd Bn. Border Regiment who were already in Belgium as part of the British Expeditionary Force. Miles wrote a short will on the 13th December 1914, leaving everything to his wife Jane who was living in Middlesborough at that time - these were usually written by soldiers just before going to the front line for the first time.

It is unclear from Miles’ service records exactly what action he saw in France but we do know that the 2nd Bn. Border Regiment were involved in the Battle of Neuve Chappelle (10th-13th March 1915) and the Battle of Aubers (9th May 1915). His records show that he was posted back to England on the 19th July 1915 to re-join the 3rd Bn. in Shoeburyness, Essex, from where, on the 8th November 1915, he deserted.

His desertion created great problems for his wife Jane. Apart from the anxiety of not knowing what had happened to him and the stigma associated with desertion, she also had difficulty obtaining a pension and in trying to get him presumed dead. Her correspondence on the matter up to 1933 can be viewed through the links below.

Publication of the  June 1921 Census has revealed what happened to him - he met another woman!  Miles Cooper added bigamy to his reputation when he married a woman called Edith May Blackman at the end of 1915 in Rochford, Essex, which is not far from Shoeburyness.  It's surprising that he used his real name in a place so near and so soon after his desertion. Nearly six years later when the 1921 census was taken, Miles is living in Mile End Old Town in London, along with Edith and three young daughters,  working as a self-employed window cleaner. Although he has knocked a couple of years off his true age, he was still using his real name and place of birth. The age of 5 years and 1 month given for the eldest daughter, suggests that Edith would have discovered she was pregnant around October 1915, so perhaps this precipitated his desertion. Miles died in 1936 aged just 46 years.

Research Documents:

    Census Records        Army Service Records        Will Dated 13 Dec 1914      First Wife's Correspondence      Life Events