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MEMORIES
AND INFORMATION - STAFFORDSHIRE HOME GUARD
Pte. K. BLASTOCK, Cpl. J. W. BORTON and Lt. W.
MORRIS
of
13th STAFFORDSHIRE (CANNOCK) BATTN.
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During the evening of Monday, June 29th 1942,
members of the
Hednesford Home Guard, part of the
13th
Staffordshire (Cannock) Battalion, were
training with live ammunition on
Cannock Chase.
At some stage a rifle grenade was fired but
exploded prematurely. There were fourteen
casualties. Cpl. John
William Borton died on the same day,
Lt. William Morris
on the Wednesday and then
Pte. Kenneth Blastock
on the following day, July 2nd. All
three men now lie in
St. Peter's
Churchyard, Hednesford.
A Midland
newspaper reported the tragedy.
Another report
written immediately after the accident
identified other casualties:
Lt. James
Bond (30) of
New
Penkridge Road, Cannock
2/Lt. Fred Bowen
(40) of
18a Burn
Street, Chadsmoor
L/Cpl. William
Hyden (21) of
29 Clarkes
Avenue, Hednesford
Cpl. Albert
Larner (20) of
121
Rawnsley Road, Hednesford
Lt.
Charles Perks of
469
Rawnsley Road, Hednesford
(reported elsewhere as 2/Lt. Abner
Perks).
Lt.
Henry Talbot (29) of
7 Broadway,
Hednesford (reported elsewhere
as Pte. Eric Talbot).
Pte. John Henry
Whittle (21) of
9 Marine
Crescent, Hednesford
Also mentioned elsewhere:
Capt. William Pearce (39)
of Lower
Road, Hednesford.
Cpl. Benjamin
Holford (35) of
Huntington Terrace Road, Cannock.
It is to be hoped that these men
eventually made good recoveries.
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Contrary to newspaper reports, it seems as
though the unfortunate
Kenneth Blastock was
only 17. This is according to his CWGC
headstone. His home was
195 Station Road, Hednesford.
He worked at Wood Pit for the
Cannock and Rugeley Colliery Company.
John William Borton
(seen right)
was
a married man and lived
at
34 St. John Street,
Wimblebury. He left three sons
aged 4, 9 (Ray) and 14
and his widow was expecting a fourth
child. He was a shunter employed by the
Cannock and Rugeley Colliery
Company. As well as this image, taken at the
back door of his home, his Corporal's stripes also survive
within his family and are a proud memory of his service
and sacrifice.
William Morris, also
a married man with two sons, Raymond and Victor (the
latter serving in the RAF), of Glenaden,
Rawnsley was
a Councillor for Cannock U.D.C. and
Chairman of the Education Committee. He was
manager of the Co-op in Rawnsley. He was a veteran of the
Great War.
(Images of the headstones
of these three men can be seen
online on the
Burntwood FHG website.
)
The funeral took place on
Saturday 4th July 1942 at St.
Peter's, Hednesford. Amongst the mourners was a
cortege of no less than 500 Home Guard officers and men
paying tribute to their fallen comrades.
At the
inquest at the Anglesey Arms,
Hednesford, Pte. Cyril Rowe of
Moreton Street, Chadsmoor
gave evidence than when Lt. Bond pulled the trigger there
was "a flash of flame and a huge explosion". The likely
cause of the accident was a faulty grenade. A verdict of
"Accidental Death" was returned.
|
The weapon with which these men were training at
the time of the accident was likely to have been
the EY grenade launcher rifle. |
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**********
In Memory of
Kenneth Blastock
John William Borton
William Morris
and all their Comrades in
|
13th
Staffordshire (Cannock) Battalion
including
Those
injured in the above incident
and
Victor Leslie
Bradbury
(late R.F.A.) |
**********
FURTHER
INFORMATION
Further information about this
Battalion can be seen on the
Cannock Home Guard Summary Page.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND
SOURCES
Grateful
acknowledgement is made to
Matt
Felkin and his "Wartime
Birmingham and the Blitz" Facebook page;
to David Bate, Ray Borton, Keith Bradbury, Lyn Hyden,
Wilfred Miles,
Maureen Rushton and other members of the
Old Photos from Hednesford, Cannock and Chadsmoor
Facebook page;
and to the Sunday Mercury and Mike Longley and
Richard Pursehouse.
Borton images
© Ray Borton 2018
