Darlington honoured WW1 heroes with controversial medal

In the century since the war ended, the medal, the bravery of its recipients and probably the politics behind it, has been forgotten, but new research by John Atkinson has brought many of the men’s stories back to life – although several are still shrouded in mystery.

The Darlington gold war medalThe Darlington medal features the town’s coat-of-arms and bears the legend: “The Great War. In recognition.”

The other side of the Darlington gold medal - have you got one in drawer anywhere?Among the recipients was John’s great-grandfather, Petty Officer David Jones.

“When one of my uncles died, he left me the medal, which I didn’t know existed, because I was researching the family,” says John.

So John turned to researching the rare medal. He has found that five men were given one, and a sixth seems to have died before he could receive his. There is mention of a seventh presentation, but no record of it can be found.

Thomas Putnam, managing director of Darlington Forge, and founder of the Sailors' and Soldiers' Welfare Bureau. Picture courtesy of the Darlington Centre for Local Studies The medals were presented by the Darlington Sailors’ and Soldiers’ Welfare Bureau which, under the chairmanship of Thomas Putnam, the managing director of Darlington Forge, was set up in June 1916.

Over the next couple of years, the Bureau assisted wives and children make 1,080 expensive visits to see their injured husbands and fathers who lay in hospitals across the country and in France. It paid for 60 military funerals, and it organised seven “welcomes” for soldiers who had been awarded gallantry medals.

“Men have gone from Darlington and distinguished themselves in action, but except for the welcome offered them by their family circle, their meritorious conduct has passed unnoticed,” said the Bureau in June 1916, announcing its hope that Regimental Sergeant Major Charles H Buss would be the first to receive a “hero’s welcome”.

RSM Charles H Buss

The sergeant-major is an enigma. He was born in Bristol and served in the Somerset Light Infantry. After twice being mentioned in despatches, in June 1916, he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for “consistent good work and gallant service”.

The Bureau was keen to make him the first recipient of the gold medal bearing the Darlington coat-of-arms but it seems that he never returned to the town before, on May 3, 1917, he was killed in northern France.

His age was not recorded and, surprisingly for a local hero, he does not appear on any of the war memorials in the town, yet at the top of the Northallerton memorial outside the parish church is the name “CH Buss”. It must be him, but why this West Country soldier was lauded in two North East towns has not been explained.

L-Cpl Harry Dickinson and Pte Joseph Tobbell

The Echo's headline above its report of the ceremonyON Saturday, November 18, 1916, the Bureau met two injured soldiers who had both won Military Medals (MM) when the 2.30pm train brought them into Bank Top station, probably from hospital in Newcastle where they were recuperating.

Harry Dickinson standing on the car and Joseph Tobbell beside it as they process through the streets of DarlingtonA procession of buglers and Boy Scouts led them out of the station. “The two soldiers occupied a gaily decorated motor car, which was followed by others, also decorated, bearing members of the Committee,” said the Echo’s brief report.

L-Cpl Dickinson, of the Durham Light Infantry, had won his MM for his “complete mastery over enemy snipers”. Or, as the headline in the Echo’s rival paper, the North Star, said, he had “bagged 20 Hun snipers”.

When the motor car dropped him off at his home in Archer Street, Mr Putnam presented him with a gold medal. The procession then went off to Pte Tobbell’s home in Russell Street, where he received his gold medal.

Pte Joseph Tobbell, from the North StarA former tram conductor, he had won his MM with the Northumberland Fusiliers for “exceptional gallantry in attending to the wounded under heavy shellfire” as a stretcher bearer.

Although both Dickinson and Tobbell were injured, both seem to have survived the war – but what happened to their gold medals?

1st Class Petty Officer David Jones & CSM Ernest Pike

Northern Despatch headline above its report of this third ceremonyON Saturday, December 2, 1916, the Bureau honoured two more heroes.

Petty Officer Jones was from Middlesbrough, had served in the navy since 1891, had come to Darlington as a postman but had been called up when war broke out, even though he had turned 40, to serve on armed trawlers patrolling the North Sea.

David Jones, wearing both his Distinguished Service Medal and his Darlington gold medalHe was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal “for brave work in destroying an enemy submarine” off Southwold on June 29, 1915. His ship, HMT Miura, rescued a couple of sailors when their trawlers were torpedoed, but it was then torpedoed by a U-boat. Eleven of Miura’s crew died, but four were rescued, including David.

The Bureau picked him, his mother and his wife up on the corner of Station Road and Northgate, and “they proceeded in a number of flag-bedecked motors to Hamsterley Street”, his home, where he was presented with his gold medal.

CSM Ernest Pike, from The Northern EchoThe motors then took Company Sergeant Major Pike, of the Durham Light Infantry, to his home in Model Place where he received his gold medal.

Pike had been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal “for continuous devotion to duty during two months’ fighting on the Somme”. He brought back three wounded comrades under heavy fire; he dug out some signallers, saving their lives, after they had been buried when a shell exploded on top of them, and had volunteered for a mission which cost the lives of two of his fellows taking information across a valley.

A picture from the North Star newspaper showing Thomas Putnam presenting the two war heroes with the Darlington gold medalSgt Smith

The North Star reported that on February 17, 1917, the Bureau presented a gold medal to Sgt Smith, of the DLI, who had won a Military Medal. It doesn’t give any more details, so Sgt Smith has proved elusive.

The mysterious Sgt Smith receives his Darlington gold medal from Thomas PutnamAfter Sgt Smith, the ceremonies ceased, although there is a reference to a seventh being awarded, and the Bureau concentrated on helping families reconnect with their injured servicemen.

The gold medal says that it has been presented by the Empire Day Darlington Citizens’ Committee.

Celebrations in 1902 of the first Empire Day in Darlington's South ParkThe first, unofficial Empire Day was held on May 24, 1902, on what had been Queen Victoria’s birthday. It was intended to encourage children to think about their place in the worldwide empire, and to that end, the Darlington Citizens’ Committee arranged annual events in South Park for 2,000 children.

In 1916, Empire Day became an official, national event, and the Darlington committee felt the town council should organise the celebrations. The committee therefore transferred its funds into the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Welfare Bureau.

It funded two “Darlington Empire Day Motor Ambulances”, which could be seen ferrying injured men around the frontline, and a “Darlington church army rest hut”, which local soldiers could drop into behind the lines and receive a “surprise gift” from the people at home.

Plus it funded the gold medals.

Families of men who had won gallantry awards had to apply for a medal. There were probably several dozen awards, including two Victoria Crosses, given to the 4,000 or so Darlingtonians who served in the war, so it was not a comprehensive scheme.

Plus there seems to have been a tension between the council and the Bureau. The mayor and councillors were invited to the presentation ceremonies but don’t appear to have attended.

Mr Putnam was knighted in the 1918 New Year’s Honours list, which described him as “managing director of Darlington Forge, founder and chairman of the Darlington Sailors’ and Soldiers’ Welfare Bureau, and prominent supporter of the Unionist cause”.

It is interesting to note that the Liberal Echo and the independent Darlington & Stockton Times gave the award ceremonies cursory coverage, but the Conservative North Star carried pictures and provided regular updates of the Bureau’s activities.

It would seem that there was some local politics going on, but there is no denying the bravery of the men honoured and that the handsome Darlington gold medal has enabled their stories to be kept alive, thanks to the research of John Atkinson.

THERE are many mysteries surrounding the Darlington gold medal. If you can help with any of them, please email chris.lloyd@nne.co.uk.

For instance, the hallmark on David Jones’ medal reveals that it was made of 9ct gold in Birmingham, by William Bingley, in 1919 – so this cannot have been the medal presented to him on December 2, 1916. So how can that be?