Arthur Shaw

Private 204170. 1"/4th Battalion. Duke of Wellington's West Riding Regiment.

Born 1883.

Address: 57 Town End, Golcar, previously in 1911, 23 Slades Rd. Golcar.

Married in the summer of 1904 to Rhoda Bullas.

Father of Frank (10), Harry (8), Kathleen (4) and one child under 3 years. (Ages given at time of Arthur's death.)

Occupation: Pattern Weaver at Pearson Bros, Victoria Mill, Golcar.

Enlisted: 23 September 1916

Killed in Action: 9th August 1917. Aged 34.

Buried at Coxyde Military Cemetery, West-Flanderen, Belgium. 11. F. 11.

Arthur's wife received a letter from a Chaplain and also his lieutenant saying he had been killed in action. He was a member of Golcar Socialist Club and Scapegoat Hill Band Room. He was also connected to Golcar Cricket and Bowling Club.

The cemetery at Coxyde (now Koksijde) is 500 metres beyond the village. In June 1917 Commonwealth forces relieved the French forces on 6km of front line from the sea to a point south of Nieuport (now Nieupoort) and held this sector for six months.

Koksijde was about 10km behind the front line and was used for rest billets. It was occasionally shelled, but the cemetery which had been begun by the French was found to be reasonably safe. It became the most important cemetery on the Belgian coast and was used at night for the burial of the dead brought back from the front line.