William Churcher was believed to be the first Customs Officer to be killed in World War One.
In 1989, I began my own journey of tracing the Churcher family tree. I was eventually to be introduced to Minnie Maryan who was approaching her 100th birthday. Minnie’s life had been overwhelmed by two world wars. She lost her second husband in the Second World War and two of her daughters lost their husbands too. This wasn’t her first trauma; she was left with four children after her first husband was killed during the bombardment of Hartlepool on the 16th December; ie, 100 years ago today.
William Churcher (my Grandfather’s brother) was the second of four brothers. The eldest, Laurence died in 1907, whilst way on service with the navy. He was 19 years old. William’s two younger brothers survived the war, but not without the effects of TB and gas poisoning.
William’s brother Henry Ashwell Churcher, Contracted TB and survived the war (my Grandfather)
It was William’s death though, which had the most impact on the family. Minnie was a native of Teeside and with four young children under the age of five, needed support. William’s mother and father offered the support she needed and she moved to Dovercourt in Essex, village located just next to Harwich. The problem with this move was that William’s parents had struggles of their own. The father had been a local councillor and held a steady job on the railways, but this had come to an end when he ‘blackballed’ by local employers for attempting to start a local union. He had been left to picking up odd jobs at Harwich docks. However, support for Minnie and the four babies was forthcoming from the extended family.
So what do we know of William’s loss during the bombing of Hartlepool? Here we obtain a mix of newspaper coverage and family memories. It seems William had a letter to post and was walking along the sea front starting a new shift and having just replaced one of his fellow customs officers.
A letter written in 1990 to a local newspaper. William’s loss was badly felt by his colleagues.
Once the bombing started William ran to take shelter under a pier which sadly was hit and the concrete debris landed on William breaking his back. He was eventually taken into hospital where he died a few days later. He was 26 years old.
His widow Minnie as said, moved to Essex and there she met William Maryan and had a further four children. He was a merchant seaman and was killed during the second war. Minnie was left with another four young children to care for. Her eldest daughter from the Churcher marriage married Leslie Warman RN who was killed during the North Atlantic runs. Her brother Harold Churcher died on the football field and he left behind two young children. Harold’s death was an accident (he choked) but what this exemplifies is that amongst all the deaths from war, there were still the losses which came from illness and mishap. My Grandfather lost four brothers through infant mortality, service and war and saw his sister lose both sons killed in WW2.
Minnie Churcher with three of her children who lost their father from the bombing. Minnie lost her second husband in WW2.
I know just how hard my family was hit by war and feel unspeakably privileged to be able to live a life which has been unaffected in the ways my ancestors were during the twentieth century. If there is one message here; find out about your family and what happened to them these past 100 years, do not let them be forgotten.
Mike Churcher
Laurence was William’s elder brother. He was killed during service for the Royal Navy in 1907. He was 19 years old.
Bertie was William’s youngest brother. He survived the war, but not without the debilitating effects of gas poisoning.
Elsie was William’s sister. She lost both her sons in World War Two.
My grandfather was Reginald Edward Churcher and he was adopted by the Waller family in the early 1900’s. He was born in 1903. Not sure if there is a connection here but thought I would check. Any info would be appreciated.
Hi Jeffrey. William (killed West Hartlepool 1914) was born in Dovercourt Essex, second son of William and Rebecca. William senior was born in Lambeth 1858; his family were Battersea bred since around 1800. Prior to that they were from Sussex in the 1700’s. I don’t know of your Reginald’s side I’m afraid, but there were some large Churcher families in this London line. The majority of Churchers came from Hampshire (Wickham) and Sussex from the 1500’s. Not sure if this helps. Cheers, Mike
Such tragedy.
Minnie was my wife’s greatgrandfathers cousin.