Gotch-Crook Window - Former Unitarian Chapel - Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
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SMacB
N 52° 57.050 W 001° 08.713
30U E 624610 N 5868410
Memorial window in the Pitcher and Piano (former Unitarian Church), Nottingham, which commemorates two cousins, Roby Myddleton Gotch and Philip Joseph Crook, who both died in the Great War.
Waymark Code: WMX0HJ
Location: East Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/08/2017
Views: 1
"This window is located on the left wall as you enter the building (the East wall) about a quarter of the way along. It commemorates two cousins, Roby Myddleton Gotch and Philip Joseph Crook, who both died in the Great War.
The inscription on this ‘Gotch’ window reads:
“To the Glory of God and in proud and affectionate memory of Roby Myddleton Gotch and Philip Joseph Crook who gave their lives in the Great War this window is erected by Sarah Roby Perry, John Thorpe Perry and Francis Thorpe Perry, their Grandmother and Uncles, Anno Domini 1919”.The Regimental badges of the Duke of Lancasters Own (for Philip Crook) and the 7th (Robin Hood) Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Regiment) (for Roby Gotch) are shown to either side of this text. The depiction of St George and the Dragon is thought to represent the reason why so many young men went to war – to overcome ‘evil’ and oppression – with Sir Galahad perhaps depicting the ‘source of strength’ which enabled them to endure the conflict.
1st July 1916 is a well-known date, being the start of the famous ‘Battle of The Somme’, in which the British alone lost nearly 20,000 men dead, with another 40,000 injured, in only the first 12 hours of the conflict.
For 7 days before the attack, the British had bombarded the German lines with 1.6 million artillery shells (that equates to 16 shells per minute, day and night, for 7 days, or one shell just under every 4 seconds). Virtually all of the shells fired during this bombardment were made at the Chilwell Shell Factory, about 3 miles from Nottingham city centre. Most of the workers at the Chilwell factory were women, and working with the chemicals used in the explosives turned their skin yellow, so that they became known as ‘the Chilwell Canaries’4. The yellow Canary bird (like a yellow budgerigar) was a very common household pet at the time.
We happen to have first-hand accounts of the fighting which lead to the deaths of Major Hind and Captain Gotch, courtesy of a book about the Gommecourt offensive by Alan MacDonald5.
Captain Gotch was remembered as being very popular with both men and Officers, and his bright, cheery demeanour had uplifted his colleagues in what was a very depressing and fearful environment. The account is given of a Private Ulyat, whose job it was to follow the troops ‘over the top’ and lay a telephone line across the battlefield (radio was not yet available). He recalled how Captain Gotch had stood bravely above his trench, in full enemy fire, blowing his whistle to signal his troops to advance at 7.25 that morning. After all his troops had gone, a party of six men – Captain Gotch; Private Ulyat and three men helping him lay and fix the telephone wire; and the Commanding Officer, Major Hind – then went over the top and followed the troops across the battlefield under intense fire. Ulyat describes how his three colleagues died in front of him, leaving him alone trying to lay the wire (impossible for one man), when Captain Gotch came towards him to assist, although having a bullet wound to his left wrist. Ulyat then saw Gotch get shot again and sink to his knees. Ulyat himself then received a bullet in his leg. Major Hind happened to be close by and Ulyat received permission from Hind to crawl back to his own lines, 300 yards away.
Just then a Private Waldram, already wounded four times, came towards the shell hole where Major Hind was sheltering and where the wounded Captain Gotch was kneeling close by. Before Waldram could get to the relative safety of the crater, a shell exploded near him, inflicting on him another 18 wounds. Amazingly, Waldram survived, and later described how the shell that had given him those extra 18 wounds had also killed Captain Gotch. Major Hind had then been shot through the forehead while attempting to advance out of the shell hole. Neither Captain Gotch nor Major Hind’s bodies were ever found, almost certainly having been blown to pieces by shell fire."
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