George Sherwin

Among the first of the young lads from Bourne to enlist for military service at the outbreak of the First World War was George Sherwin, son of Luke Sherwin, a hairdresser, of 58 West Street, Bourne.

After the formalities of enlisting, he was one of fifteen recruits (pictured above) who left Bourne to join the Lincolnshire Regiment for basic training on Monday 31st August 1914. The company met at the recruiting depot in West Street [at the indoor rifle range next to the Bourne Institute] and were escorted to the railway station by the town's brass band with a large number of residents following behind to give them a hearty send-off.

He was subsequently allocated army number 11059 and assigned to the 2nd Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment as a private and later sailed with his unit for France. During his time in the trenches, he wrote many letters home and one has survived. It was written either in October or November 1916 and said:

"We are up to our neck in dirt as we are having so much rain. I was grieved to know that one of Mr Larkinson's sons was prisoner and one missing. That was in the fierce fighting we had on September 26th. My word! It was just fighting, too, all day long. We took three lines of the enemy's trenches and the devils got some back again."

Mr and Mrs Larkinson lived in Coggles Causeway and two of their sons were serving in France. Frank Larkinson was posted missing presumed dead on 26th September 1916 and his brother Percy was captured by the enemy on 17th September 1915, his 18th birthday, and spent the rest of the war at a prisoner of war camp in Germany.

There is also a reference to George Sherwin in a letter home from Lance Corporal Oliver Davies, son of Joseph J Davies, headmaster of the Bourne Council School where they had been pupils together. It was written to his parents on 13th November 1915 and said:

"Did I tell you I have seen George Sherwin since I have been here? He is with D Company along with Hubbard of Morton. He is a very good sort and has come off very lucky; been through three attacks sans scratch."

The reference was ironic because Private Sherwin was killed in action on 1st July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme. He was 25 years old. He has no known grave but his name is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial in France.

George Sherwin's name is also on the war memorials in the Abbey Church at Bourne, on the War Memorial in South Street and on the family headstone in the Bourne cemetery.

His death was reported by the Lincolnshire, Boston & Spalding Free Press on Tuesday 26th September 1916 which said: "Private G Sherwin of the Lincolns officially reported as wounded and missing." The same newspaper also reported on Tuesday 15th May 1917: "Private G Sherwin of the Lincolns, son of Mr and Mrs Sherwin, West Street, Bourne has been officially reported as killed. It will be remembered that Pte Sherwin has been missing since the 1st July last year and the official records give the date as being the day he was killed"

It has to be remembered that the first day of the Somme resulted in some 60,000 casualties with nearly 20,000 men being killed and so information was rather confused at the time, hence the delay in information being received in this country.

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