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James Cockerill

James Henry Cockerill was the second child of Robert John and Sarah (nee Crozier)Cockerill who married in the second quarter of 1885 in the Malton area. James was born in the last quarter of 1887 and his birth registered in Malton. In 1891 they were living on Westgate in Old Malton.


1891 Census resident at Westgate, St Marys, Old Malton

COCKERILL, Robert J, Head, Married, M, 29, Bricklayer, Malton, Yorkshire

COCKERLL, Sarah, Wife, Married, F, 26, Birdsall, Yorkshire,

COCKERILL, James H, Son, , M, 3, Old Malton, Yorkshire,

COCKERILL, Alice A, Daughter, F, 5, Scholar, Old Malton, Yorkshire,


After Sarah’s death, probably in 1895, Robert married her youngest sister Alice. They were the daughters of Henry Crozier who was Gamekeeper at Birdsall in 1871 and at Scampston in 1881.  After Robert’s second marriage they continued to live at 10 Westgate  


1901 census – resident at 10 Westgate Old Malton
COCKERILL, Robert John, Head, Married, M, 39, Bricklayer, Malton, Yorkshire
COCKERILL, Alice, Wife, Married, F, 24, Scampston, Yorkshire
COCKERILL, Alice A, Daughter, Single, F, 15, Malton, Yorkshire
COCKERILL, James H, Son, , M, 13, Malton, Yorkshire
COCKERILL, Dorothy M, Daughter, F, 3, Malton, Yorkshire  
COCKERILL, Walter, Son, M, 1, Malton, Yorkshire  


By 1911 James had joined his father working as a bricklayer.


1911 census – resident at 10 Westgate Old Malton
COCKERILL, Robert John, Head, Married, M, 49, Bricklayer, Yorkshire Malton.
COCKERILL, Alice, Wife, Married 14 years, F, 34, Yorkshire Scampston.
COCKERILL, James Henry, Son, Single, M, 23, Bricklayer, Yorkshire Old Malton.
COCKERILL, Dorothy, Daughter, , F, 13, School, Yorkshire Old Malton.
COCKERILL, Walter, Son, , M, 11, School, Yorkshire Old Malton.
COCKERILL, Winifred, Daughter, , F, 7, 1904, , Yorkshire Old Malton.
COCKERILL, Robert, Son, , M, 5, 1906, , Yorkshire Old Malton


In 1914 James enlisted in 1/5th Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment in Malton.  This Territorial battalion was raised in August 1914, in Scarborough and was part of the York & Durham Brigade, Northumbrian Division. In 1915 the Battalion landed at Boulogne and became part of 150th Brigade, 50th (Northumbrian) Division. They fought on the Somme and at Ypres.  In July 1918 the battalion was reduced to cadre strength and moved to Lines of Communication until it was demobilised on 6 November 1918.  How long James was with them remains uncertain. He does not appear to have been killed in action or died of wounds and his burial at Cologne Southern Cemetery suggests he was probably a prisoner of war at the time of his death and he is listed as one on a website devoted to the 4th and 5th Battalions of the Yorkshire Regiment . The date of his death is recorded as 5th October 1918.


Cologne was entered by Commonwealth forces on 6 December 1918 and occupied under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles until January 1926.


Cologne Southern Cemetery was used during the war for the burial of more than 1,000 Allied prisoners, as well as German servicemen. After the Armistice it was used by the occupying garrison.  


In 1922 it was decided that the graves of Commonwealth servicemen who had died all over Germany should be brought together into four permanent cemeteries. Cologne Southern was one of those chosen and the following year, graves were brought in from 183 burial grounds in Hanover, Hesse, the Rhine and Westphalia.


The following cemeteries are among those from which graves were brought to Cologne:
Bonn (Poppelsdorf) Cemetery, (133 service and one civilian burial, all of 1919. The 47th General Hospital and the 21st Casualty Clearing Station were posted at Bonn), Buderich (Fort Blucher) Prisoners Of War Cemetery, (39 burials of 1914-1919), Coblenz French Military Cemetery, Karthause, (59 burials of 1915-1918. Coblenz was occupied by United States troops in December 1918.), Dortmund South-Western Cemetery, (53 burials of 1914-1918.), Duisburg Town Cemetery, (35 burials of 1914-1919.), Dulmen Prisoners Of War Cemetery, (96 burials of 1915-1918.), Dusseldorf North Cemetery, (24 burials of 1915-1918.), Essen South-Western Cemetery, ( 21 burials of 1917-1918.), Euskirchen New Town Cemetery, (75 service and one civilian burials of 1918-1919. The 42nd Stationary Hospital and the 47th Casualty Clearing Station were posted at Euskirchen.), Friedrichsfeld Prisoners Of War Cemetery, (70 burials of 1916-1918.), Friemersheim Cemetery, (20 burials of 1918.), Gelsenkirchen West Cemetery, (21 burials of 1917-1918.), Gerolstein Military Cemetery, (25 burials of 1918.), Julich Military, (39 burials of 1915-1918.), Mulheim-Am-Ruhr Old Town Cemetery, (49 burials of 1915-1918.), Munster (Hauspital) Prisoners Of War Cemetery, (161 burials of 1914-1918.), Recklinghausen Protestant, Catholic And South Cemeteries, (26 burials of 1916-1918.) and Trier Town Cemetery, (48 burials of 1917-1918.)