Trafford

Born on 29/09/1892 at Openshaw, Manchester, the birth being registered
during the December quarter 1892 in the Prestwich R.D. - ref: 8d/328, the
son of John & Rozena Hilliker (nee Plant).     Baptised at St. Jude's,
Ancoats, Manchester on the 06/11/1892.

1901 Census - 60 Brunswick Road, Altrincham.   Son - aged: 8 - born:
Manchester.   Head of household - John Hilliker - Married -  aged: 37 -
occ: Machine Tool Fitter - born: Manchester.    Also - Rosina Hilliker
(born Rozena) - Wife - aged: 37 - born: Manchester.  Plus 2 brothers.

1911 Census - 17 Woodfield Road, Altrincham.   Son - aged: 18 - occ:
Butcher's Shop Assistant - born: Manchester.   Head of household - John
Hilliker - Married -  aged: 47 - occ: Machine Fitter - born: Manchester.   
Also - Rosina Hilliker (born Rozena) - Wife - aged: 47 - born: Manchester. 
Plus 3 brothers and his widowed maternal grandmother.

Employed by Mr. Hulme, (Butchers), George St, Altrincham and later at the
Westinghouse Works, Trafford Park.   Attended St. Andrew's Mission Church,
Timperley, where he was a member of the choir and a Sunday School Teacher. 
  St. Andrew's was a daughter Church to the main Timperley Parish Church -
it was sold in 1998 and converted to office use.

Enlisted in August 1914       Photograph in the 07/07/1916 edition of the
local newspaper.

Death reported in the 30/06/1916 edition of the Altrincham Guardian.

Commemorated on the private family gravestone in Christ Church Churchyard,
Timperley, which states that he was Kia in France.
His father, John Crawshaw died 03/02/1940 aged 74 years and his mother,
Rozena died 23/12/1935 aged 72 years.

Estree-Cauchy is a village 16 kilometres north-west of Arras on the main
road from Arras to Boulogne. Les Quatre-Vents is a hamlet about 2
kilometres south-east of Estree-Cauchy. The cemetery is found just north of
the junction of the main road (D341) and the road from Aubingy-en-Artois to
Servins (D57). 

The area was used by Dressing Stations during the greater part of the War,
and the cemetery was begun by French troops in June, 1915, and carried on
by British Field Ambulances from March, 1916, to April, 1918. The 335
French and 19 German graves were removed after the Armistice to other
cemeteries. There are now over 100, 1914-18 casualties and one 1939-45 war
casualty commemorated in this site. The cemetery covers an area of 1,428
square metres and is enclosed by a rubble wall. 

Cannot determine how he died - "Soldiers Died" lists 173 soldiers deaths
that day, but they are from a multitude of regiments and only three were
from the Liverpool Regiment.    The British were gearing themselves up for
the forthcoming Battle of the Somme, so were not involved in any major
engagements on that day.    The French were under tremendous pressure at
Verdun (the reason for the Somme offensive), but that is nowhere near where
Harold was. Perhaps it was just "trench wastage" that killed him - the term
given for the daily loss of life from the odd shell or sniper's bullet, etc
and, of course, the inevitable accidents.     The fact that  he died in a
Field Ambulance rather than a base hospital suggests that he died fairly
soon after being wounded.

Listed in the Guardian Year Book - Roll of Honour for 1917.         M.I. -
"He died that others might live".