Joshua Lumsdale

12275 Private Joshua Lumsdale served with the 10th Battalion Durham Light Infantry, landing in France on 21st May 1915.

In September 1915 his actions won him the award of a Military Medal.

Contemporary newspaper reports tells us that he was a stretcher bearer who, on 25th September 1915, "dressed and carried out of the trenches the last wounded man of his regiment" during a heavy bombardment on the Ypre-Menin Road. "There were some men of a Yorkshire Regiment lying wounded on the road, and (Private Lumsdale) dressed their wounds and carried them to safety under the heavy shell fire". Reports were published in The Newcastle Daily Journal of 4th October 1917 and "The Newcastle Daily Chronicle" of the same date.

The London Gazette of 11th November 1916 published his award of his Military Medal but, in common with many MM awards, there was no citation.

Though Medal entitlement documents exist there are no Service Papers extant so we can now find out little of his personal war experience. We know, though, that he was reported as `Wounded¿ on 2nd April 1916 and, thereafter entitled to wear a wound stripe. The 10th Bn War Diary places the battalion in the St. Jan-ter-Biezen/Pilckem Road area in Belgium at that time. Enemy artillery and Machine Gun fire was "notably less active" but Lt. Darrell, out with a wiring party, was mistaken for the enemy and shot and killed by one of our sentries. It is not known whether or not Pte Lumsdale was wounded at that time or by a chance German bullet.

Medal Rolls show that Joshua Lumsdale was entitled to the 1914-15 Star, The British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Joshua's older brother, John, who served with the Yorkshire Regiment (numbered 13598) and the 2/5th Bn Duke of Wellington's Regiment (numbered 34447) was also awarded the Military Medal. The London Gazette listed his award in 13th September 1918. The details are not known but his name also appeared in a listing in The Newcastle Daily Journal of 17th September 1918.