Haymes, Arthur Francis (Arthur)
Mentioned in Despatches (twice)
Company Sergeant Major
No. 7686, 1st Battalion, Norfolk Regiment
Died of disease on Sunday 17 December 1916 (aged 32)
Buried:
Blackburn Cemetery, Lancashire, England (Grave E. C. E. 3607)
Commemorated:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Victoria Masonic Lodge Holywood No. 254
BIOGRAPHY
Arthur Francis Haymes was born on 9 April 1884 at 9 Centenary Row, Cork, and he was a son of Arthur and Ellen Haymes (nee Driscoll) who sometime later lived at 24 Walter Street, Blackburn, Lancashire.
Arthur Hayes Senior and Ellen Driscoll were married on 7 June 1882 in St Luke’s Parish Church of Ireland Church, Cork. Arthur Haymes, a Sub-Constable in the Royal Irish Constabulary from Roskeen, Co Tipperary, was a son of Francis Haymes, a watchmaker. He had previous military service. Ellen Driscoll, a minor from 9 Barrack Row, Cork was a daughter of Timothy Driscoll, a pensioner. In their 1911 census return they declared that they had had ten children born alive, six were still living, and four had died. Their ten children included:
Arthur Francis (born 9 April 1884 at 9 Centenary Row, Cork)
Florence Ellen (born around 1888 at London)
Margaret (born 20 December 1890 at 9 Centenary Row, Cork)
Walter (born 9 September 1892 at Victoria Barracks, Belfast)
Winnifred (born around 1894 at Winchester)
John Frederick (born around 1896 at Coventry)
Nellie Edith (born around 1900 at Coventry)
Arthur Francis Haymes enlisted in February 1902 at Coventry, and he declared that he was 18 years 10 months old; he was in fact 17 years 10 months old. It was noted that he was 5 feet 9 inches tall with a fresh complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. Arthur Francis Haymes served in France from August 1914 to October 1915. He was
wounded in September 1914, sustaining gunshot wounds to his right shoulder, arm and face. Thereafter, he was entitled to wear a wound stripe. In October 1914 he was Mentioned in Despatches for gallant and distinguished conduct in the field, and he was Mentioned in Despatches again in June 1915.
Company Sergeant Major Arthur Haymes served with the 1st Battalion Norfolk Regiment and whilst stationed in Holywood he was a member of Victoria Masonic Lodge No. 254.
In January 1916 he was transferred from ‘D’ Block (the psychiatric wing), Netley Hospital, Hampshire to Cork Asylum, and in February 1916 he was declared to be no longer physically fit for war service.
Company Sergeant Major Arthur Haymes died on 17 December 1916 in Cork Asylum. His sole legatee was his mother Ellen, and he was buried in Blackburn Cemetery alongside his father who had died in service on 30 September 1915. There is an inscription on his CWGC headstone:
AT REST
Arthur Haymes Senior (No. 9098), who was 57 when he died, served as a Company Sergeant Major with the 17th Battalion Manchester Regiment and, like his son, is commemorated on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Debt of Honour Website. Arthur Haymes Senior of 79 Dickens Street, Blackburn died from angina pectoris on 30 September 1915 at Netheravon Military Hospital, Wiltshire.
During the Great War Arthur Francis Haymes’s brother, John Frederick Haymes, also served. Guardsman John Frederick Haymes (No. 18341) enlisted on 10 January 1916 and served with the Coldstream Guards. He survived the war and was discharged in February 1919.