Henry Ellis Hoad

[desperance]

Damn. This is further to my last:

arkessian checked the 1901 census, and found a Henry E Hoad born in Westgate in 1897: exactly the right age, exactly the right location. Hurrah!

Prompted by papersky, I checked records of soldiers killed in the First World War.

And found a record of one Henry Ellis Hoad, of Newcastle on Tyne. The site wouldn't tell me anything more without I paid up money, which I am reluctant to do; but even so...

Sigh.

Comments

[athenais.livejournal.com]

I am appalled that a battle where they lost 16,000 men was considered a success just because the opposition lost 25,000. Poor Harry Hoad.

ETA: Well, not "just." It was successfully planned and executed. But the scale of those casualties is almost unimaginable to me.

[jeremy-m.livejournal.com]

Success in the war of attrition sense: you win by bearing the unbearable for longer than the other side can.

The particular horribleness of that war still shows up in games, since wargamers will tackle most of the grimmer bits of history but there's almost nothing on the First World War. It's just too awful even compared to other wars.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

I didn't know that. I am, I think, surprised. And encouraged.

[timill]

I'd have said it was a success because they took all their objectives and held them.