SAPPER ALFRED LIST WR/278254, 118th RAILWAY OPERATING DIVISION, ROYAL ENGINEERS

Alfred’s parents were Alfred and Emily List from Nottingham. Alfred was the eldest of six children, five of which survived.

In the 1911 census, Alfred senior is working as a Lace Maker and living in Long Eaton. At this time, Alfred had married Lilian Sheppard on Christmas Day 1909 at St George’s Church, Nottingham, and they would go on to have four children, the first two dying in infancy. In 1911 he is living with a cousin in Carlton Road, Nottingham and working as a joiner.

Alfred began work as a labourer at the Great Northern Railway's main engineering works in Doncaster, known as the Plant, and would go on to become a machineman in the new Erecting Shops. He and Lilian made their home at 37 Bridge Street, Doncaster.

Some members of the family had emigrated to America and a brother was in France serving with the American artillery whilst a younger brother, aged 14 was doing patrol work with the American Boy Scouts.

Alfred had long been a noted wrestler winning many medals and prizes, He was gymnastic instructor for the Boy Scouts troop attached to a lace factory in Nottingham and within a week of starting his military training at Borden Camp, he had carried off a wrestling prize. A few weeks before his death he had won a military wrestling contest by overcoming a Canadian champion.

He enlisted on December the 12th, 1915 but placed on reserve and returned to his work and home.

Alfred was called up for active service on the 29th of October 1917 and spent two months training. He travelled to France on joining the 118th Railway Company on the 31st of December 1917.

Sadly, no war diary seems to exist for the 118th Railway Company, but they would have operated the standard gauge railways in France and Belgium. It is more likely that Alfred would have been involved on the maintenance side of the railways rather than on the trains themselves.

He developed influenza and pneumonia and was moved to the 35th General Hospital based at Calais. Here, sadly, he died on October the 24th 1918, less than three weeks before the Armistice came into effect.

He is buried in Les Baraques Military Cemetery, Sangatte, just outside Calais.

Lilian, his wife, received a letter from his major saying:

“I am sending in a party of his mates to pay their last respects to their comrade and will personally attend if my military duties permit. Sapper List was our champion athlete and endeared himself to us all by his quiet unassuming ways”.

Lilian was paid his back pay of £3 19s 11d and his War Gratuity of £3. She also received a widow’s and dependants’ pension of £1 5s 5d a week for herself and her two sons, Percy (born 14 June 1916) and Eric (born 6 November 1917). She remarried in late 1920 to James Meakin who, in the 1921 census, was an out of work coal miner living close to the old family home at 34 Bridge Street. James later became a pumpsman and acid tester. They had at least two children and later moved to live at 5 Morley Road.