Kettlethorpe pupils and teacher responsible for making and installing this moving display - Holly, Nell, Ms Quartermaine, Rachel and Emily-Jo |
Pte Hollings was born and raised in Sandal and was associated with the Harriers at Thornes Park. He died on 20 December, 1915 in a gas attack in Ypres. He was 20 years old.
Sgt Summers was in the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.
Though born in Staffordshire, in his adulthood he lived in Horbury and worked
at Charles Roberts & Co. railway works. Sgt Summers was married and had
three children. He died at the Battle of
the Somme on 1 July, 1916 at the age of 30.
The pupils were able to make contact with some of Sgt
Summers’ descendants. His granddaughter was able to tell them that, prior to
the outbreak of WWI, Nelson Summers was a member of the Territorials in
Wakefield.
Kettlethorpe pupil, Rachel, working with curator, John Whitaker, to install the WWI display in the museum entrance |
In addition to conducting their local research, Emily-Jo,
Rachel and Miss Quartermain had the opportunity through a government funded
programme to journey to France and Belgium to see the WWI battlefields for
themselves. One of the objectives set for the pupils by this programme was to
share what they saw, learned and experienced with at least 110 other people.
The pupils chose written words and art as the mediums through which to share this
information.
With this in mind, the school asked if the pupils could
display their finished work at Wakefield Museum - and we were very happy to say
‘yes’. The result is a very moving display with, at its centre, a beautifully
crafted patch-work textile that illustrates different aspects of what soldiers
like Pte Hollings and Sgt Summers experienced during the war and the ways in
which we remember WWI soldiers today. This is accompanied in the display by an
original drawing dedicated to the memory of Pte Hollings and Sgt Summers created
by Lucy, a pupil who was not able to attend for the installation, as well as text
cards that reveal what the pupils learned about the lives of the two local
soldiers and the impact this project has had on the pupils themselves. The
display reached the target of attracting 110 viewers within two days.
Beautifully made patchwork textile commemorating Pte Hollings and Sgt Summers |
The installation of the Kettlethorpe pupils’ display in
Wakefield Museum is very timely as 1 July, 2016 marks 100
years since the Battle of the Somme.
It is joined by a second
commemorative display installed by our curatorial and design team in the atrium
on the Upper Ground Floor of Wakefield One which features a wrist watch that
was worn by Captain R. England, also of the King’s Own Yorkshire Light
Infantry, during the war. On a paper tag attached to the watch Captain England typed,
‘D [Company] was timed to “go over the top” at 7.48 a.m. on the 1
July and this is the watch which timed that event in the battle’. Captain England survived the Battle of the
Somme and donated the watch to Wakefield Museum in 1974. On a paper tag attached to the watch when it was donated are typed the following words: 'D [Company] was timed to "go over the top" at 7.48 a.m. on the 1st July and this is the watch which times that event in the battle".
A wrist watch belonging to Captain R. England and worn at
the Battle of the Somme. This watch is now at the centre of a commemorative
display at Wakefield One.
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New display to commemorate the Battle of the Somme |
Thank you for doing this wonderful thing... Frank Hollings is one of my ancestors, I have only today discovered his existence.. He had no descendants of his own so you children honoured him thank you Denise was Hollings
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