Private Lawrence Ashton

The Ashton family would have been well known community figures in the early 1900s and Lawrence’s (sometimes Laurence) service would surely have been revered. He was born in Langtree in 1879. He was the son of a farmer, originally from Woolsery, who had passed the Lawrence name down to his son. Between his father and mother, Selina (Pillman), born in Hartland, they had eight children. We pick up the family’s story on a farm called 'Lower Lambert' in Langtree, Devon in 1881. As well as seven of the Ashton children living in the property at that time, Lawrence’s sister and Selina’s father also lived in the household. On top of these were also two servants, all born in the surrounding area. Lawrence senior was listed as the farmer of 200 acres.

The family would move often and Merton was their next stop. Lawrence enrolled at Merton Church of England School in 1894. The building of the school still stands in Merton square, although it is now houses, having previously being used as the village hall in the meantime. They were still in the village by the 1891 census although Lawrence senior had passed away by this time in 1893. Selina was now the head of the household and also registered as a farmer. Lawrence, now aged 11 was resident with five siblings and two servants, although the servants were not the same as the previous property but still acted as farm hands. Extracts from Alfred Chapman’s diary, obtained from the Merton history project, includes references to the Ashton family, with specific mentions of Ursula, Eliza and their father.

By 1901 the family had moved into Great Torrington and were living at the Old Inn, which they were operating as a business. The inn was also referred to as Ashton’s Old Inn or the Ashton Hotel. Today the tavern is gone, but the history is remembered as the housing estate that has since sprung up is called ‘Old Inn Mews’. Lawrence’s mother, Selina, was noted as the “licensed victualler” in the census, meaning that she was licensed to sell alcohol; his sister, Edith, was the “licensed victualler assistant”. The Old Inn was a well known feature of the town, regularly advertising their business and often being noted as a meeting place for the town’s various organisations. As an example, the North Devon Journal of 21 December 1911 reports that this was the venue of the Royal North Devon Hussars’ D Squadron annual dinner, which included the likes of the town mayor and the outfit’s ‘top brass’ [1]. As well as the permanent residents, visitors or hotel guest are also recorded in the census.

The rest of the family, however, had occupations unrelated to the business including “game dealer”,” dress maker’s assistant” and, for Lawrence, a “grocer’s assistant”. At this time to the point where he left for war, Lawrence was in the employment of Great Torrington grocer Snow & Co. who were based in South Street and he would eventually hold over twenty years of service with them. By 1911, it was business as usual at the Old Inn with Selina still the landlady of the hotel, although other members of the family are also taking an active role making this a real family venture. Sidney is the ‘bar assistant’, Ursula the cook and Edith a waitress. Lawrence remains in the employment of Snow & Co. Again, we can see the visitors are also recorded, this time Thomas Jones, a sanitary engineer, and John Cridge, a draughtsman.

The two visitors from the 1911 census would play an important part in the family's future as they both marry Lawrence’s sisters; Thomas to Emily and John to Edith. The former couple would move to Exeter, but would have no children; the latter couple would be married in 1912 but John Cridge would die by his own hand just days after their wedding day. His mysterious disappearance would soon be explained at the discovery of his body locked in his Bideford office. Tragedy for the family continued, in 1913 Selina Ashton passed away leaving the business to her son, Sidney. As testament to her character a large gathering assembled for her funeral.

Lawrence Ashton enlisted for service on 3rd September 1914 joining the 1st Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment; records show his enlistment place as Exeter. Having first been put on office work duties, he expressed a wish to join the fighting ranks and move to France and fight on the frontline [2]. His wishes were granted and he was moved to France a few months later in December.

The 1st Devons were a regular army unit and at the time of the outbreak of the war were stationed in Jersey. They were originally deployed to France as 'Lines of Communication' troops in August 1914 and attached to the 8th Brigade of 3rd Division the following month. As greater numbers of regiments entered France, as well as the changing priorities of war, it was common for units to be reassigned. This was the case with 1st Devons as they were again transferred to 14th Brigade 5th Division on 1st October 1914. The battalion were often used of the frontline given their experience and training and would see much action. It was noted that Lawrence “saw a great deal of fighting and was in the engagement on Hill 60” [3].

1st Devonshire Battalion at Hill 60

Hill 60 was a high mound, strategically valuable as its height and location acted as an excellent artillery spotting position of the Ypres battlefield for whomever had tenure. The hill had originally been stormed by the by 1st Royal West Kents on 17th April immediately following mine detonations under the German fortifications. Relentless German counter attacks since showed their determination in retaking this valuable asset. The 1st Devons’ job was to move in and act as relief and hold the hill and by 21st April at around 6.40am they were in place with C and D platoons of the left and right flanks respectively.

From the first moments the Devons came under heavy fire, particularly on the left side where the Germans had established a cover position leading to close quarter fighting. The German effort was also supported by heavy bombardment from their artillery. As the battle wore on the situation became desperate and reinforcements were called in, they arrived in the nick of time as C Company had been reduced to a dozen unwounded men. The line held.

At 1pm, thinking the bombardment had been effective, the Germans charged the fortifications, only to be met with a hail of rifle fire, which halted the advance. Virtually every enemy soldier who had made the charge were killed. D Company of the right flank was also holding out at this stage and the Germans had effectively been kept at bay. By 3pm ‘all quiet’ was reported and the counter attacks had been stemmed. As night fell there was the opportunity to bring forward ammunition and rations and return the injured. The following day saw less impetuous in the enemy attacks and the Devons were able to hold their position. The day after saw them being relieved, which gave them two days of respite; by this time they had suffered 120 casualties. Indeed, the remainder of April saw a pattern of the Devons circulated from holding Hill 60 and back to the reserve trenches for rest. By this time the casualties had risen to 200.

However, it was the Devons’ acts of bravery on 1st May that would be etched in history. Being held reserve after being reprieved by the 1st Dorsets who had taken over command of Hill 60. At around 7pm the Germans launched a massive artillery bombardment on the hill followed by a gas attack. Without order and under their officers’ own initiative the Devons pushed forward to the front. They arrived and found the defending men immobilised from the gas and in various degrees of choking and vomiting, the Germans were about to start their subsequent infantry attack. With the Dorsets out of action a four hundred yard gap had opened in the line. Manning the defences and machine guns they opened fire on the advancing horde. Artillery support was called in immediately, which shredded the attacking ranks and pushed the enemy back. A favourably change in wind direction also acted as a game-changer for the Devons and carried the gas back into the Germans' faces. The relatively low casualty count was almost irrelevant to the rout that the line was spared by the quick action. General Maude, when he returned a few days later, was delighted to find what was being said about "my Devons." "Everyone says they have been magnificent," he wrote; "their promptitude saved the situation." [4]

Notwithstanding the bravery of the Devons, the hill would eventually be lost to enemy hands in the coming days. Lawrence Ashton escaped injury from the battle even with the high casualties inflicted on his platoon. In December 1915 he was granted leave, which he spent with his family and friends in Great Torrington. Lawrence returned to the front and returned to action soon after. He was reported to have taken part in the “great push” of July 1916 where, at the Battle of Guillemont, he was shot and killed. He was operating as a stretcher bearer at the time. Because of the high profile of the family business as well as his own employment, it is easy to imagine that he would have been a well known local face. “He was, therefore, widely known, and he was greatly respected, his death being deeply lamented by a large circle of friends.” [5]

Tracing family relatives for Lawrence proved difficult. Lawrence never married, so there was no immediate family line to follow. Similarly, his brothers and sisters either had shortened lives, which are not obviously explained in information available at the time, or did not have any children.

Private Lawrence Ashton (centre)

[1] North Devon Journal, December 21st 1911. ‘Dinner at Torrington’.

[2] North Devon Journal. January 11th 1917. ‘Torrington Soldier Killed In Action’.

[3] North Devon Journal. January 11th 1917. ‘Torrington Soldier Killed In Action’.

[4] The-Devonshire-Regiment-1914-1918

[5] North Devon Journal. January 11th 1917. ‘Torrington Soldier Killed In Action’.