Lives of the First World War

Private 40907 Clares Milton Hitchen - 8th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment 2 Rose Place Luddendenfoot One of four children of Wiliam and Mary Hitchen. The family homes were at 8 Silver Street, Brearley (1891), Bethel Terrace, Brearley (1901to 1911) and 2 Rose Place, Luddendenfoot . Milton attended the Brearley Baptist Chapel and Sunday School and was known to have sung in the choir there. He also played in St James Luddendenfoot, Concertina Band and worked for Levi Harwood, Brearley. He was engaged to be married to Beatrice Sutcliffe of 42 Burnley Road, Mytholmroyd. Having been a reservist in the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment he was called up in August 1914, and re-enlisted in West Yorkshire Regiment before being transferred to the Leicestershire Regiment and saw service during the Easter Rising in Ireland in 1916. By August he was in France. He was reported missing on the 3rd of May 1917. It wasn’t until June that the family received the official notification. Sadly this was a double blow as Milton’s younger brother Selwyn was killed by shellfire in April 1917. Milton has no known grave and is remembered on the Arras Memorial to the Missing.Locally he is remembered on the war memorial in Holmes Park, Luddendenfoot, The Brearley Baptist Sunday School Memorial and the Mytholmroyd UDC memorial in St Michael’s church hall.

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