World War 1
Search the known records to date of those lost from the wider Alnwick area in World War 1
Generally showing where they are commemorated, when they died and some basic facts about each person. There are gaps, however, so if you can fill in any missing details do please contact us.
David Alexander Woodcock
Forename(s):
David Alexander
Surname:
Woodcock
Initial(s):
D A
Service Number:
39112
Rank:
Private
Regiment:
Lancashire Fusiliers, 3/5th Battalion Territorial Force
Died:
15/11/1917
Aged:
19
Buried:
Tyne Cot Memorial (Tyne Cot Cemetery)
Service History:
Enlisted in 1916 at Alnwick, Northumberland.
After training & Home Service on the Suffolk coast, Woodcock's battalion disembarked at Le Havre on 1 March 1917. From June to September 1917 the unit will have been involved in operations of the Flanders coast called 'Operation Hush', which was a failed attempt to land on the Belgian coast behind German lines.
As part of 197th Infantry Brigade, 66th Division, the Lancashire Fusiliers' 3/5th Battalion was involved in the later stages of the Third Battle of Ypres, more commonly known as Passchendaele. By November 1917 ground & weather conditions were atrocious.
Woodcock was killed shortly after his unit had relieved the regiment's 2/7th Battalion a few hours earlier. He was the only battalion casualty listed as killed on that day. According to his commanding officer he was struck & killed instantly by a shell.
(Source: 'The Fallen of Embleton 1914-1919'; Written & researched by Terry Howells, Mary Kibble, & Monica Cornall; pp. 43-45)
Background:
Born on 27 April 1898, at Craster, Northumberland, in 1911 the eldest surviving child of David Woodcock, by his wife, Margaret Woodcock (née Thorburn), of Embleton South Farm, Alnwick, Northumberland.
The 1911 Census records Woodcock's parents having had seven children of whom four had then survived. His surviving siblings were Thomas (b. 1900); John (b. 1905); & Lily Louisa (b. 1907).
The family of six, plus Woodcock's paternal grandfather, lived in a 2-room cottage at Embleton South Farm. His father was a Farm Labourer / Spademan.
Woodcock was educated at Embleton Vincent Edwards Church School from May 1907, having previously attended school at Newton-by-the-Sea. His education ended on 3 May 1912 at age 14 when he left school to start work on the same farm as his parents were employed on, which was farmed by Mr. George Robertson.
(Source: 'The Fallen of Embleton 1914-1919'; Written & researched by Terry Howells, Mary Kibble, & Monica Cornall; pp. 43-45)
Local Memorial:
Embleton, Church of England Memorial Plaque