HODSON, Cyril [of Warsop]

Mr & Mrs Hodson, photographed in 1970.

Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 8th Btn.

Born c.1897 Died _____

Mr Hodson was born at Thimble Hall in Warsop in c.1897.  At the age of just 15 he enlisted in the 8th Btn Royal Welsh Fusiliers, just prior to the outbreak of the First World War.  When war broke out he was serving in India, after which his unit was quickly transferred to France.

Mr Hodson was wounded on three occasions during the war, each necessitating a period in hospital, and after each occasion found himself posted to a different area of operations.  

During the retreat from Mons he was wounded in the knee leading to hospitalisation in England.

He was then posted to the Dardanelles where he took part in the landings at Suvlar Bay at Gallipoli.  He remained there until the evacuation in December 1915. 

He was then sent to the Somme where he was hit in the arm (left elbow) by shrapnel, warranting a second stay in hospital whilst a steel plate was inserted.

Following discahrge from hospital he was posted to Salonica where advancing British troops met Serbian and Montenegrin refugees being driven back by the Bulgars.

He was wounded in action once again - this time in the head - and had a second steel plate inserted. 

Mr Hodson left the army after nine years' service in c.1922.

Family Background

Mr Hodson was born at Thimble Hall in Warsop, Notts, before moving at an early age with his parents to Bolsover just over the border in Derbyshire.  When the family returned to Notts, he attended Oxclose Lane School in Mansfield Woodhouse.

He began his working life aged 13 as a door-trapper at Warsop Main Colliery where he was paid a shilling a day.

Upon leaving the army he worked again in the mining industry, at Warsop Main, Pleasley, Glapwell and Sherwood collieries. During the Second World War he served in the Home Guard at Sherwood Colliery.  Altogether Mr Hodson spent 46 years in the mining industry, retiring when he was 68.

He married Agnes Stevenson in c.1920.  Mrs Hodson recalled that they met at Michaelmas Fair in Mansfield Market Place and were married three months later.  They had two sons and two daughters surviving.  At the time of their Golden Wedding anniversary in February 1970, Mr & Mrs Hodson were living at Ladybrook Lane, Mansfield. 

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