This brass plaque is engraved with names of those from Nether Denton parish killed in WW1 and also those who served. It is located within the Taylor Institute (the Reading Room) in Low Row. There is also a Roll of Honour within the nearby Parish Church at Upper Denton.
GRID REF: NY58537 62916 Postcode CA8 2LE
The Parish of Nether Denton lies to the east of the small town of Brampton and close by Gilsland on the Cumbria / Northumberland borderline. It includes the village of Low Row. The area is essentially agricultural now but a century ago many of the menfolk worked the quarries and coal-mines of the region. The local “creamery” provided employment for young women, particularly during the war years when many of the male staff went off to serve in uniform.
This Memorial, in Low Row, bears the names of twenty-six young men of the district who went off to war in 1914-18 and who survived to return to their homes and families.
And of a further six who did not survive that awful conflict.
Those who made the Supreme Sacrifice were;
2nd Lt William Tordiff Johnston. He was 20 years old when he died on 13th April 1917 while serving with 12th Bn Manchester Regiment. William is interred in grave I. B. 24, in Tilloy British Cemetery, Tilloy-les-Mofflanes, Pas de Calais. He was the son of John and Elizabeth Murray Johnston, of The School House, Nether Denton.
Pte Isaac Parker died on either 24th or 25th July 1917 while serving with 8th Bn Border Regiment. He was the son of Joseph and Jane Parker, of Beckstone Gate, Low Row. Isaac is interred in Etaples Military Cemetery, grave LXV.F.20.
Pte Isaac Leonard Potts died on 22nd Sept 1916 while serving with 6th Bn East Yorkshire Regiment. He was 22years old. Isaac is interred in grave IV.G.17, Courcellete British Cemetery, near Albert in the Somme Region. He was the son of Frederick and Isabella Potts of Whitrigg Moor, Kirkbride, and a native of Moorguards, Low Row. Isaac also served at the Dardanelles and in Egypt.
Pte John Joseph Smith, serving with either 6th or 8th Bn Border Regiment, landed at Suvla Bay on 6th August 1915. He died three days later on 9th August 1915. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Helles Memorial to the Missing, on Panel 119/125 or 222/223.
Robert Scott is listed on this memorial. As we are uncertain of the details of this young man we ask our readers for help. Please contact this website if you have any information however vague or limited. He must not be forgotten.
Pte Thomas George Western served with 2nd Bn Border Regiment. He died on 29th November 1916 and is interred in Sucerie Military Cemetery, Colincamps, just north of Albert, in grave I.I.19. He had survived the mayhem of the Battle of the Somme which commenced on 1st July 1916 only to fall victim as that ghastly enterprise was drawing to a close.
As with all of the casualties we list on these pages we really know very little of the men and women whose names we honour here. They had jobs, skills, hobbies, and families. They were civilians in the main, most of whom had never before travelled beyond the local market town. They exchanged letters with parents and siblings they had never been parted from until their “great adventure”. And they had photographs taken of themselves in uniform.
While it is appreciated that the intervening years have shaded the knowledge we would like, we are hopeful that that there will in many households, be medals, documents, and mementoes relating to a half-forgotten ancestor. Please share your knowledge with us whether that is of a relative who lies in a far-away grave or of someone who survived to return to a grateful family.
