Alix Oliffe Liddle

Alix Liddle

(Information from Jack’s mother, librarians in the North-east, and Darlington newspapers)

Alix (unusual spelling) Olef (unusual name) Liddle was born in 1889, and was employed in the offices of Pease and Partner. In April 1914 he married Clara Mains, and in the following September he joined in the initial jingoistic enthusiasm for army service during World War I. He enlisted in the 18th (Service) Durham Light Infantry, the Darlington ‘Pals’. In December 1914, German ships bombarded Hartlepool and other Northeast ports, and Alix was killed by a shell. The family story was always that he had the unwanted distinction of being the first soldier to be killed on British soil since the Civil War, but the fact is that a group of four soldiers was running across a square in order to take cover, and all were killed instantly by the shell. I suppose, therefore, that four families would be competing for this doubtful honour. He was the first member of the Darlington ‘Pals’ to be killed, and this may have given rise to confusion in family folklore. There is a plaque on the cliff tops at Hartlepool, at or near the point where the shell burst, commemorating this event. The newspaper report refers to Alix as ‘Corporal’, but the official casualty list gives him as ‘Private’. A suggestion from the DLI Museum is that because so many untrained men had enlisted, promotion was rapid, and this may explain the discrepancy about his rank. He lies in the same grave as his parents, in Darlington Cemetery. He had been married for only 8 months; there were no children.

In 1982, Rena and I visited West Hartlepool to see the plaque, and continued to the Darlington Library to research newspapers. We found an account of Alix Liddle’s funeral in the ‘Northern Echo’ of 21 December 1914. It was a poor copy on microfilm, but the names of the mourners were readable. These included his wife and parents and all his siblings and their spouses, with the exception of my grandfather, Joseph Gainford. Mr and Mrs A F Pease were also mentioned.

Rena copied out the following for me:

The coffin, covered with the Union Jack and a number of beautiful wreaths, was placed on a wagon, draped in black and drawn by two black horses. It was preceded by a long military procession. In the front was Hoggett’s Military Band…….. while behind them came a detachment of the Yorkshire Regiment, now quartered in the town. The Northumberland Fusiliers provided a bugle band……. next came a detachment of the County Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry, including a number of the ‘Darlington Pals’, of which deceased was a member. The ‘Pals’ also provided the firing party, and marched in procession with arms reversed.

Thousands of people congregated in the streets and at the cemetery. On reaching the cemetery, the troops opened out and lined each side of the way to the chapel, where a brief service was held, conducted by the Rev. F Peacock, Vicar of Holy Trinity. (The Rev. Peacock had married Alix and Clara.)

The scene at the grave was an impressive one. The troops had been drawn up round the grave in the form of a square, with the firing party at one side and the bugle band at the head of the grave. The mourners gathered round the grave inside the square, while thousands of people, many of the men reverently uncovered, stood in a great crowd outside the military, while the last sad rites were being performed. Immediately the Rev. Peacock had concluded the service, the firing party fired three volleys over the grave into the air, and then from the bugles came the strains of the ‘Last Post’. Thus was laid to rest the first of the Darlington ‘Pals’ to give his life for his king and country.