Colin Hedley Bishop

Totley War Memorial WW1 1914-1918 | Index

Colin Hedley Bishop, known as Hedley, was born in Dore on 8 April 1893 and baptized at Christ Church, Dore on 22 October 1893. He was the fifth child and second son of Colin Bishop, a gardener, and his wife Mary Ellen (nee Kirk) who were married at Dore on 4 June 1884.

By August 1897 Colin Bishop and his family had moved to Totley and in the 1901 census they were living at Rolling Mill, Totley Rise. Hedley attended Totley All Saints School until April 1906 when, at the age of 13, he left to start work.

Rolling Mill Cottages

Mill Cottage

By the time of the 1911 census, Colin and Mary Ellen Bishop had ten children, six of whom were still living with them at Ivy Cottage (now called Mill Cottage) in Mill Lane, Totley Rise. Hedley Bishop was aged 17 and was working as a machine file cutter.

Hedley's paternal grandfather, Joseph Bishop, was a farmer and scythe maker who lived at High Greave Farm, Whitelow Lane, Dore. He died young being buried in Dore churchyard on 27 July 1871 at the age of 41 followed 8 years later on 13 July 1879 by his wife Mary, aged 49. The family of Hedley's mother, the Kirks, were from the area around Hope and they were also farmers.

When the First World War began, Hedley Bishop must have volunteered almost immediately and he became Service No. 2763 Private Hedley Bishop in the Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons.

The regiment arrived at Le Havre in France on 16 July 1915 as part of the 17th (Northern) Division and were deployed to the Ypres salient. In September 1915 Hedley will have received the sad news that his 17 year old sister Doris had died.

On 1 July 1916 the Battle of the Somme began and on the first day 19,240 British soldiers died. The Yorkshire Dragoons were involved in the Battle of Delville Wood which took place between July and early September. This was a subsidiary attack of the Somme offensive and it seems very likely that Hedley Bishop was wounded during the fighting and eventually died of his wounds on 21 October 1916. He is buried in Grave K34 at Aveluy Communal Cemetery Extension. He was awarded the 1915 Star as well as the Victory Medal and British War Medal.

1916 was a year of tragedy for the extended Bishop family as two of Hedley Bishop's cousins were also killed. Maurice Bishop died at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 and his brother Harry died on the Somme in September 1916.