Those who gave their lives from Yarm ______________________________________

Bolton William Coulter Pte 478911 Royal Canadian Regiment

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William's mother Mary Ann Coulter was born in Longnewton in 1837 to William Coulter and his wife Dorothy. By 1851 the family had moved to Burdon where her father had become a farmer. She married a farmer, Thomas Bolton aged 18 and moved into Thristley House Farm in Burdon where they started their family. Charles W Bollton was born in 1856, Isabella Dorothy Bolton in 1858, Mary Bolton in 1860, Margaret Ann Bolton in 1862, Thomas Bolton in 1864, William Coulter Bolton in 1866 and Dorothy Coulter Bolton in 1869.
The family move to Hilton House Farm, Hilton neat Yarm. Florence Violetta is born in 1879. His father died on 4th June 1885 aged 57 at Middle Warren Farm near Hartlepool. His wife Mary Ann was left the farm at Hiltonin his will. He is buried in St Peter cemetery, Hilton. The family then broke up. His mother moved to Greatham with William's sister Dorothy who married William Coates Judson in 1891. Florence went to boarding School in Norton near Stockton. Mary married a farmer, William Crowe and lived with her sister Margaret in Hart near Hartlepool. The whereabouts of William has not been traced as he did not live with his mother, a brother or sister. Mary Ann died on 21st April 1897 at Homelands park, North Sunderland.

The ship's manifest for the passenger ship 'Dominion' indicates that a farmer called William Bolton sailed to Canada out of Liverpool on 5th November 1910. The Canadian govenment had been trying to encourage farmers to emigrate to Canada by offering them free land. See the posters of 1893 (left) and 1900 (middle) below. Migration did not take off until 1905 and was going well until 1914 as the graph below indicates. As many British migrants did at the outbreal of WW1, William signed up to help his mother country by joining the Royal Canadian Regiment on 20th October 1914. He was based at Workpoint Barracks until 1st March 1916 when he enlisted in the Canadian Oversees Expeditionary Force and left for France. He shaved 5 years off his age by claiming he was born on 24th June 1871. He did record his brother Charles Bolton of Sunderland England as his next of kin and that he had not married. He died on Sunday 8th October 1916 during the Battle of the Ancre Heights and is remembered on the Vimy Memorial.

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Yarm 1914 Research ________________

The Yarm 1914 Commemoration Group is carrying out research on the soldiers listed. We are finding where they lived in Yarm and will represent the findings in a wall of poppies presentation. More details will be posted on Facebook, Twitter and this web site. If you have any information please contact us. Left click on the picture below.