Harold Edward Stimpson

Born: 1893

Died: 3 May 1916

Rank and Regiment: Private 8533 in the 2nd Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment

Resting Place: body unrecovered

Memorial: St. Mary’s, Whinburgh, United Kingdom and; Basra War Memorial, Iraq

Harold’s parents, John and Anna Stimpson (nee Stevenson), had married in the latter part of 1889 in Mitford, Norfolk. Shortly after, on 6 January 1890, they left England for Queensland aboard HMAT Dacca. Around a year later, they had their first child, a daughter named Bertha in Mackay. Harold was also born in Mackay in 1893.

6 years later, the Stimpsons left Australia. The incoming passenger list from the Duke of Devonshire documented their trip on 3rd May 1899 from Brisbane to London; John is listed as a miner travelling with his wife, Anna, and his two children, Harold and Bertha.

On the night of the 1901 Census, Harold was staying at a boarding house in Alfred Road, Cromer, with his older sister Bertha; the house was run by Herbert Fox and his family. John and Anna Stimpson were living in Brisley, where John is described as a cowman on a farm. Separation of families was common where parents were financially unable to look after the children. Instead, they would often pay an appropriate family to care for them.

However, the family were reunited in 1911. They lived in Whinburgh were Harold and his father both worked as farm labourers.

In November 1911, Harold enlisted in the Norfolk Regiment. His enlistment papers survive, and evidently he was asked “Where are you from?” and replied “Whinburgh”, only for the enlisting officer to have to amend the form in manuscript when he made it clear that he had, in fact, been born in Mackay, Australia. He stood 5 ft 6 in tall and weighed 118 lb (8 st 6 lb). He had light grey eyes and brown hair.

Harold had an exemplary military record save for one incident in 1912 where he committed the offence of “carelessness” on the Rifle Range for shooting at the wrong target. Nonetheless, on 31st July 1914, his assessor found him to be “good, reliable, honest and painstaking”.

As a serving soldier, he was of course one of the first into the front line, and was entitled to the 1914-1915 Star; his medal record notes a date of disembarkation of 15 November 1914.

On 14 April 1915, Harold was wounded in action after having received a slight would to his right thigh whilst serving at Shaiba. His father, John, wrote two letters to the War Office asking for updates on Harold’s condition. He writes:

“Dear Sir, Can you inform me of the nature of Private Harold Stimpson no 8533 wound's and if he is [...] as we are his parents and are anxious to know. Hr was wounded at Karra in Persian Gulf in April on the 15th April. If you can give me any information about him I should be very glad. [...] I am yours truly, John Stimpson.”

On 1st March 1918, the Ottoman Red Crescent released (via the Netherlands Legation) a list of current allied prisoners-of-war. Harold’s name appeared on said list, indicating that he had been taken captive on 29th April 1916 and interned at Noussaybin, Kut-al-Amara (near the modern border between Syria and Turkey).

However, shortly after his being taken captive, a fellow prisoner-of-war interned at Angora named Lance Corporal A. White (7853, 2nd Battalion, Norfolk Regiment), stated in a letter that Harold had died at Shumran Camp on 3rd May 1916. This would be accurate as following their capture at Kut-al-Amara, British and Indian prisoners were assembled at Shumran where it is reported over 100 died in the first 24 hours of captivity due to Cholera and dysentery. The overall death toll is thought to be over 300 POWs within one week. The British officers were then separated and placed on a boat to Baghdad, meanwhile their men were forced to march 1,200 miles across the Syrian Desert from Shumran to Aleppo. The journey took 11 days and of the 2500 British soldiers that left Shumran, only 837 survived with the rest succumbing to starvation, thirst, disease and exhaustion.

Needless to say, Harold Stimpson has no known resting place, yet he is one of over 40,000 men commemorated on the Basra Memorial in Iraq. He is also commemorated on the Whinburgh War Memorial.

Harold’s effects amounting to £2 19s 7d were paid out to his father. John also wrote two letters to the War Office asking for updates on Harold’s condition, a photo of this letters can be found below.