John Tobin was born in Accrington, Lancashire on 5 January 1895 and baptised at the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Roman Catholic) Church on 27 January. John was the first for four children of Denis Tobin and Mary Bolan who were married at the same church on 28 April 1894. John's parents were both born in Ireland. Their second child, Margaret, was born on 16 September 1896 and baptised at the Sacred Heart on 11 October 1896 but, sadly, she died before her first birthday. Another son, Denis junior, was born on Boxing Day 1898 and baptised at the Sacred Heart on 29 January following.
When the Census was taken on 30 March 1901 the Tobin family were recorded at 86 Pitt Street in central Accrington. Denis senior was a labourer in a gas works. Another daughter, Jane, was born on 14 May 1901 and baptised on 6 June. Sadly she died before the end of June 1902 by which time her father was also dead and Mary was left to bring up her two young sons. Mary's mother and some of her siblings were also living in Accrington and it seems likely that she would have turned to them for support. But after Mary died in 1903, John (and probably Denis) was taken into the Haslingden Union Workhouse located at Pike Law, midway between Haslingden and Rawtenstall.
Unfortunately, records for the Workhouse are not available online but from subsequent newspaper reports we know that sometime in the next four years, John was adopted by Mrs Elizabeth Gregson (nee Ward). Elizabeth had married William Gregson at St Chad, Poulton-le-Fylde on 12 December 1868 and subsequently had twelve children between 1869 and 1887, all of whom were born in and around Thornton. In the Census taken in 1891, the large Gregson family were living at Rossall School where William was employed as a driver of a steam laundry engine. By the next Census, taken on 30 March 1901, the Gregsons had moved to 1360 Burnley Road, Rawtenstall. William was working as a navvy. Presumably it was during her time in Rawtenstall that Elizabeth came acquainted with the orphans in the Workhouse.
We would not know any of this were it not for reports in the newspapers of the meetings of the Haslingden Union Board of Guardians. By October 1907 it had been established that John was attending a Protestant Church (Thornton Christ Church) and a Church of England school (Thornton Church Road Council School) and was thus not being brought up in the Catholic faith as was required by the Board and as agreed to by Elizabeth Gregson under the Poor Law Regulations. During the course of the next few months the matter was discussed by the House Committee of the Board on at least four occasions. At times a majority were in favour of requiring John to return to Haslingden Workhouse until a more suitable home could be found for him. At other times a majority were in favour of allowing him to remain in Thornton.
The regulations were not clear cut. Under the Boarding Out Orders of 1889, no child was to be boarded out with a family of a different religious creed and an act contrary to that order was "proselytising a child" - a serious matter. The case of John Tobin attracted the attention of the Salford Catholic Protection and Rescue Society (Haslingden was in Salford Diocese).
However, the Haslingden Board did not operate under those orders, proceeding instead under a different section of the act dealing with adoption and parental control. Below the age of 12, the wishes of the godparents would normally hold sway and John's godparents were in favour of his return to the Workhouse. What might apply when a boy was in the Workhouse, however, might no longer apply once he had been put out for adoption and attained the age of 12 - as John now was. A brighter than average boy of this age might be considered sufficiently capable of making up his own mind about his religion.
Advice was sought from the Local Government Board and inspectors were dispatched to Thornton to question Elizabeth and John. All reports indicated that John had a good home and was happy there and happy with his schooling. He certainly did not want to return to Pike Law. It was also established that Elizabeth had done everything she could to get John to attend Sacred Heart Catholic church and school, short of physically dragging him there. When she attempted to send him, accompanied by another boy for support, he cried and refused to go. In January 1908 John turned aged 13 and it was decided that the matter should be allowed to rest. That was still the case after a further inspection report in October 1910.
However, a brief report in the Haslingden Gazette on 5 November 1910 stated that John had been brought back to the Workhouse and that a further request from Elizabeth Gregson for his outplacement with her had been refused. There is no indication what changed the Guardians' decision, but work on converting the adjacent Pike Law Farm into a Boys Home had recently been completed and John was sent there.
John was not at the Boys Home for long before the Guardians sent him to the naval training ship Clio. By 2 April 1911, when the Census was taken, John had moved to the training ship Arethusa, moored at Greenhithe. After short spells aboard five further vessels, John enlisted in the Royal Navy on 5 January 1913 (his 18th birthday) for a term of engagement of 12 years.
When war was declared on 28 July 1914, John was aboard the training ship HMS High Flyer but four days later he was transferred to the cruiser HMS Monmouth. Mobilised on 4 August, the Monmouth was sent to the 5th Cruiser Squadron, based around Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, which had been given the role of protecting Allied shipping in the mid Atlantic. Having arrrived off North Africa, Monmouth was sent over to the Brazilian coast to search for German light cruisers known to be in that area. From there she went down to Tierra del Fuego, around Cape Horn and then, accompanied by other British ships, up the Chilean Coast reaching Valparaíso on 15 October.
Enemy vessels were located from radio signals on 29 October and a naval battle began on 1 November. The German ships were faster and had more powerful weapons than the British. Monmouth was hit by shells from the Gneisenau, one of which blew off its forward turret and started a fire, causing an ammunition explosion. Although the fires were put out, Monmouth was seen listing badly to port. She was then fired upon by the Nürnberg and capsized. All 734 of her crew were either killed or drowned as the seas were too rough for a rescue attempt.
Ordinary Seaman John Tobin, J/14684, Royal Navy, HMS Monmouth, died on 1 November 1914 at the Battle of Coronel. He was aged 19 and unmarried. John is remembered on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, Devon and on the Thornton Church Road School Memorial.
© www.riverwyre.com 2024