Yorkshire Regiment War Graves, - Sheffield (St. Michael's) Roman Catholic Cemetery

A view of Sheffield (St. Michael's) Roman Catholic Cemetery showing the chapel
Photo by Richard Roberts (<richard.nsw@googlemail.com>)

Sheffield (St. Michael's) Roman Catholic Cemetery contains 30 burials from both World Wars, - 24 from the First World War and 6 from the Second.

Burials are on a hill, which has become very overgrown. The Commonwealth War Graves are at the top of this hill, away from the chapel, and all are marked by grey granite headstones. Two soldiers who served with the Yorkshire Regiment are buried in the cemetery.

There are also 2 family headstones on which a soldier who served in the Yorkshire Regiment is commemorated.

We are very grateful to Richard Roberts (<richard.nsw@googlemail.com>) and Wayne Bywater (<waynetyke123@aol.com>) for providing the photographs relating to this cemetery and the Yorkshire Regiment headstones.

Select the thumbnail image of a headstone for a larger sized image which opens in a new window.

		Captain Michael Delaney. Yorkshire Regiment and 16th Group H.Q. Royal Air Force. Husband of Alice Delaney, of 34, Dixon Rd., Hillsborough, Sheffield. 25 years' service. Born at Middlesbrough. Died 29 March 1919. Aged 46. "OF YOUR CHARITY PRAY FOR THE SOUL OF THE ABOVE MAY HE REST IN PEACE" Photo by Wayne Bywater (<waynetyke123@aol.com>) Biographical notes on Michael Delaney may be read by selecting this link.

Serjeant George Parker. 9109. 11th Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment. Son of the late E. and W. Parker, husband of Sarah Parker, of 14, Normandale Rd., Sheffield. Died at home 15 February 1916. Aged 50. Born Kidderminster, Enlisted Sheffield. "ON WHOSE SOUL SWEET JESUS HAVE MERCY" Photo by Richard Roberts (<richard.nsw@googlemail.com>)

A view of Sheffield (St. Michael's) Roman Catholic Cemetery showing the general condition
Photo by Richard Roberts (<richard.nsw@googlemail.com>)

Captain Michael Delaney

In the 1891 Census, Michael Delaney was shown as having been born in 1876, and was the son of Bernard and Mary Delaney.
The Delaney family was living in 26 Cleveland Street, Middlesbrough, - together with 6 children (including Michael), a grandmother, and 36 lodgers! Mr and Mrs Delaney were heads of this household.
Michael Delaney was shown as being a Shipyard Labourer.
On 8 December 1892 Michael Delaney enlisted in the Yorkshire Regiment in Richmond.
Fortunately much of his Service Record still exists in the National Archives, and from this we can see that;-
a. He was an exemplary soldier. He was a gym instructor for 10 years, and made an excellent Colour Sergeant - being sober, hard working, and very reliable.
b. He saw service in South Africa in 1901 and 1902, including the Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg, and Drifontein.
c. He was awarded a siilver Medal for long service in April 1913.
d. He completed his service on 7 December 1913, retiring as a Company Quarter Master Sergeant.

He married Alice Webster in Sheffield in 1906, and on his death he and his wife were liiving at 137 Channing Street, Sheffield.
He was the father of Margaret Mary (1907), Jack (1908), and Harry (1912).

On the outbreak of war he re-enlisted in the Yorkshire Regiment (or was recalled from the Reserves?) and was commissioned as a Lieutenant.
He joined the 8th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, and was posted to France on 26 August 1915.

Sometime after this he joined the HQ 16th Group Royal Air Force York, - a training group formed 1st April 1918. His rank in the RAF was, by now, Captain.
The greater part of his war service would have been with the Yorkshire Regiment, though we have no details of this.

He died, of "natural causes", in the Military Hospital, York, on 29 March 1919 aged 46. (Ref. RAF Officer Deaths 12.11.18 - 31.12.28)

Research by Steve Erskine (<research@greenhowards.ork.uk>), Researcher at the Green Howards Museum, Richmond, provided the following information. This research was at the request of a descendant of Captain Delaney.

August 2024

CAPTAIN MICHAEL DELANEY

In response to your Research Application here are the results of my delve into the archive. Unless otherwise stated, all documents referred to are enclosed.

If we start with Michael’s pre-World War One military career. I have found the remnants of his original Enlistment papers. These records were badly damaged during the Blitz and the majority were lost (they are known as ‘The burnt records’) so to find even a partial set is good news. You will see from the enclosed copy that this record has been damaged by fire, smoke and water. I appreciate that it is not easy to read so I will walk you through some of the headlines.

Page 1. Michael enlisted into the then Regular Yorkshire Regiment (it became The Green Howards in 1921) on 8th December 1892 here at Richmond Barracks. He had previous Militia Service with the 4th (Militia) Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment so, to put it in today’s terms, he was a Territorial, part-time, soldier before becoming a Regular full-time conscript.

Page 2 of the Enlistment form shows that Michael was 5ft 5½ inches tall, with a chest size of 33inches (which expanded by 2½ inches when he inhaled), a fair complexion, light blue eys and light brown hair.

Page 3 details his family, specifically his son Jack who was born at Sheffield on 7th October 1908 and Baptised in Richmond on 1st November.

Page 4 details some of the training he undertook, in his case handling the Short Magazine Lee Enfield rifle, Mark 1. At that point Michael held the rank of Colour-Sergeant and he was serving with the 3rd (Training) Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment.

Page 5 is very damaged, but you can make out a testimonial of Michael’s conduct whilst with the Colours, he is regarded as An excellent Colour-Sergeant, smart, sober, hard-working and reliable.

Page 6 records the birth of another child whose name I cannot read. This child was born on 28th February 1912 at Blackdown Barracks also known as Deepcut Barracks at Camberley in Surry, this child was Baptised at Deepcut on 17th March 1912.

Page 7 gives a lot of detail. The breakdown of Michael’s service is:

8.12.1892 – 11.1.1890 At Home

12.1.1890 - 21.3.1899 At Gibraltar

22.3.1899 - 23.11.1899 At Home

24.11.1899 - 6.9.1902 At South Africa

7.9.1902 – 9.2.1902 At Home (until discharged from military service)

Michael took the opportunity whilst in military service to improve his education, attaining 3rd and 2nd class Educational Certificates.

He attended the Musketry Course at Hythe Rifle School on 24th May 1904, and qualified as a Marksman.

He was awarded a Silver Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct in April 1913.

Page 7 also gives details of Michael’s various promotions until he was discharged from military service on 7th December 1913.

His service in South Africa qualified him for the Queen’s South Africa Medal and the King’s South Africa Medal, with clasps covering the engagements in which he was present, namely: Paardeberg, Driesfontain, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, Belfast and the Relief of Kimberley.

The next record shows that Michael submitted a pension claim to the Board of Chelksea Hospital. The outcome of this claim is unknown.

I mentioned earlier that many individual records were destroyed during WW2, sadly this is the case with Michaels First World War Record. I cannot find a comparable Service Record for him (similar to his pre-war papers). However I have managed to find his Medal Index Card, his entry in the Regimental Medal Roll and a Pension Record Card.

The Medal Index Card shows that Michael served with the 8th Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment before joining the HQ Section of 16 Group, Royal Air Force (RAF). He was entitled to the 1915 Star, the British War Medal and The Victory Medal. He was entitled to the 1915 Star because he landed in France on 26th August 1915.

The 8th Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment fought in France and Belgium before, in late 1917, moving to the Italian theatre of operations. Are you aware of him having spent time in Italy?

What we do not know, because of the loss of his WW1 Record, is when Michael transferred to the Flying Service. His Medal Index Card says he joined the RAF. The RAF came into existence on 1st April 1918, but he could have transferred to its predecessor, the Royal Flying Corps, before that date.

Every Battalion that was on operational service kept a daily War Diary, I have the diary for the 8th Battalion. This is a large document which I am happy to share, copying the entire contents will be a big task. Do you have an email address I can send it to? I would do this via an online document sharing platform called We Transfer. This is a very simple and secure way of sharing large documents. I will send it to the email address of your choosing. That address will receive a message saying there is a document to download, you will then have 7 days to do so before it automatically deletes. Do it this way will mean that you have an electronic copy that you can access at your leisure.

The Battalion War Diary details the locations and actions in which Michale was engaged though, again, without knowing the date on which he moved to the RFC/RAF, how much of that diary is relevant is difficult to say, but a large part of it will be applicable.

His entry in the Regimental Medal Roll simply lists him, with no accompanying details. This was because of his move to the RFC/RAF.

Michael’s Pension Record Card simply notes his contact details.

The 16th Group of the RAF was established at Fossgate in York on 1st April 1918 with the creation of the RAF. This organisation was the planning arm of the Northern Training Wing of the RAF. Michael would have been engaged it organising, developing of flying training.

Sadly, Michael died on 29th March 1919, according to the archive of RAF Officer deaths, at the Military Hospital, York (situated on Fulford Road) of ‘natural cause’ though the exact cause is not detailed.

Given Michael’s service with the 8th Battalion, you will be interested in a recently published book which covers the history of the 8th and 9th Battalions of the Yorkshire Regiment. This is entitled The Green Howards in the Great War: the 8th & 9th Battalions of the Yorkshire Regiment. The author is John Sheen, and the publisher is Pen & Sword books.

I appreciate that there is a lot of information here (hence my lateness in responding). Once you have had a chance to consider it all, I am sure you will have further questions, do not hesitate to let me know, this is very much the beginning of our conversation.

I will leave it there rather than overload you any further!

I look forward to hearing from you, especially about transferring a copy of the Battalion War Diary.

Yours Sincerely

Steve Erskine
Researcher