Broughton, Harold Arthur

Harold Arthur 

Broughton

1890 - 1916
Rank Private
Service no.34592
DiedSeptember 15, 1916

About

About
Harold Arthur
Broughton

Harold, born in 1890, was the third child of Walter Broughton a Shoe Finisher and Edith
Marriott who had married on 13th February 1882. In 1901 the family were living at 315 Avenue Road Extension, Harold was 11, he had 2 older sisters, Alice, born 1886, was a Shoe Machinist and Margaret, born 1888 was a Hosiery Hand. He also had two younger sisters, Mabel, born 1893 and Elsie, born 1895, as well as two younger brothers, Albert Marriott born 1897 and Shirley William born 1900.

By 1911 the family had moved to 107 Howard Road, Margaret was no longer living with them as she had married Charles Smith in 1909. Harold who was 21, was a Corset Cutter.

Harold attested on the 9th January 1915 to Short Service for the Duration of the War, but was discharged on the 22nd January as ‘not likely to become an efficient Soldier’ as he was unfit. However, as the war progressed longer than expected, it is possible he was called up because by 1916 he was a soldier.

On the 22nd June 1916 Harold married Ann Birtles, she was living at no 5 Kentish Street and he was living at No 11, which was the George & Dragon Pub, the publican was Ann’s father, Andrew Birtles. Their marriage certificate shows that Harold was now a soldier and Ann was a Corset Hand.

Three months later, Harold was Killed in Action on 15/09/1916, aged 26 and is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial in France which is the worlds largest Commonwealth memorial, it commemorates more than 72,000 mem who died in the Somme, the majority died during the Somme Offensive of 1916. The memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, who also designed Leicester’s War Memorial in Victoria Park.