This man is a candidate for addition to Keighley’s Supplementary Volume under the proposal to add further names in 2024. Click here to go to the Main page
Supported by the National Lottery’s Heritage Lottery Fund, our project intends to submit about 120 names for peer review to add them to the book which is kept at Keighley Library. The unveiling of the book with it’s new names is planned for November 2024, 100 years after the unveiling of the original war memorial.

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Lance Corporal. D Company, 1/4th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment. Service no. 2673.

Early life:

Norman was born in Monmouthshire and his birth was registered in the first quarter of 1894 at Bedwelty, 19 miles North of Cardiff. His parents were William Henry Bright and Amelia Bright née Sleep. William was a Wesleyan Methodist Minister and had entered the ministry in 1881.
In 1901 they were living at The Manse at Oxenhope near Keighley and Norman was seven years old. He had an older brother Edgar Morley Martyn aged 14 and an older sister Winifred Amelia aged 12. Also living with them was their widowed maternal grandmother Susannah T. Sleep aged 77, and Mary White, a 21 year old domestic servant.

The electoral rolls for Keighley show that their father William had been registered for two years at The Manse in Oxenhope in 1903 and 1904.

This was followed by William being registered on the electoral roll for two years at ‘Devonshire Park,’ which refers to the Methodist Church, Manse and Sunday School on Vernon Street in Keighley, which has since been demolished. The church was directly opposite the Devonshire Park gates off Spring Gardens Lane in Keighley.

The family, including Norman, lived at Devonshire Park Church in Keighley in 1905 and 1906 and possibly some of 1907, this would have been when Norman attended Keighley Boys Grammar School. He would have left the school at around twelve or thirteen years of age and moved to West Leeds High School, which opened on 7th September 1907.

By 1911 they had moved to West Park Street in Dewsbury, William and Amelia recorded that they had been married for 24 years and had produced four children, one of whom had died.
Norman was 17 and a bank clerk with the Union of London and Smith’s Bank. His sister Winifred was an artist. Their grandmother Susannah aged 87, was still living with them and Elizabeth Cassidy aged 19 was their domestic servant.

War service:

There is no Army service record available for Norman, but from other sources we can ascertain some of his experiences in the war. He left his job as a clerk with the Lincoln Smith’s bank at Lincoln and joined the Army at Luton in September 1914 with the Lincolnshire Regiment, giving his residence as Worksop.
We know he arrived in France on 3rd March 1915 as indicated in his medal records.

Overseas service:

The 1/4th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment had been split into a left half and a right half for transportation overseas. The left half arrived at Le Havre on 1st March and the right half (including Norman) arrived at Le Havre on the SS Duchess of Argyll at 12.55 am on the 3rd March. They disembarked at 7 am and and went to shed no. 6 Pondicherry till 3 pm.
The whole battalion entrained at 3.30 pm and the train left at 6.20 pm, arriving at ARNEKE at 2.30 pm on 4th March. They detrained and marched four miles to ZUYTPEENE where they went into billets and stayed there until 9th March. The moved to various places in this month, all the time carrying out route marches and training for what was to come. They were at STRAZEELE, SAILLY SUR LA LYS, STEENWERCK and LEKIRLEM and then to PLOEGSTEERT where they were attached to the 11th Infantry Brigade and the Somerset Light Infantry for training in trench duties but were not yet in the front line. Toward the end of the month all ranks were employed under the Royal Engineers supervision digging trench systems, making barbed wire entanglements etc., then they were back in their billets at LEKIRLEM from the 31st March, moving to BAILLEUL and later, DANOUTRE. On the 9th April they relieved the 5th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment in the Right Sector, completing the relief by 11.15 pm. ‘D’ Company (including Norman) were at COOKER FARM. This position is about 150 metres North of WULVERGHEM.
Map reference: https://maps.nls.uk/view/101464939 Sheet: 28.SW.N.34.b. to 35.c. Scale: 1:20000 Edition: 3D Published: 1916. Trenches corrected to 22 June 1916.

WO-95/2691/1/1
War diary entry for the 1/4th Lincolnshire Regiment:
HESDIGNEUL 12 Oct 1915:
Companies paraded in fighting order for inspection by Company officers. At 3 pm the Battalion joined the 5th Leicesters & marched to a field 500 yards S. of “Sailly Labourse” via VAUDRICOURT & LABOURSE, arriving 6 pm. Here the Battalion had tea, collected rations for the 13th, also 6 sandbags per man & 100 extra rounds ammunition. At 7.10 the Battalion moved to VERMELLES & collected bombs, shovels etc, thence proceeding to the trenches opposite the HOHENZOLLERN REDOUT. Relief completed 2 pm. Relieved the 23rd Grenadier Guards in 2nd line trenches.
13th October:
Our artillery bombarded HOHENZOLLERN REDOUT & trenches in support to 5 Lincs & 4 Leic, crossed over the front line trenches and went forward to the REDOUT, in four lines 1/2 A & 1/2 B 1st line; remainder of A & B 2nd line; 1/2 C & D 3rd line, remainder of C & D fourth line. The H.Q. party including bombers and machine gun section followed the fourth line. REDOUT taken, but at heavy cost. Incessant bombing, machine gun & rifle fire all evening, also shelling. Gas & smoke was used to cover advance, but apparently with little damage to enemy. Major Cooper wounded 12.50 pm (both arms broken).
Total casualties 10 officers , four killed, six wounded. 385 other ranks killed wounded or missing.
14th October:
Battalion withdrawn from REDOUT & relieved by Notts & Derbys. Battalion reformed in original second line trench. 215 O.R. with the C.O., Adjt. and 2 Lt Challenor. 2nd Lt Gooch arrived later. Shelled in trenches all afternoon. Battalion relieved in 2nd line by 5th Notts and Derbys at 9.30 pm & went to LANCASHIRE TRENCH for night. This is behind the railway line near VERMELLES.
15th October:
Battalion returned to HESDIGNEUL by motor lorry at 12 noon. draft of 39 O.R. Arrived.

[Norman was wounded in the fighting leading up to their relief on the 14th October. He was evacuated to No. 1, Casualty Clearing Station at Chocques, where he died of his wounds on the 15th.]

WO-95/250/1
War diary entry for No. 1 Casualty Clearing Station indicating when Norman may have been admitted to the CCS:
14th October: Admitted 20 officers and 103 other ranks.
15th October: During day. Admitted 5 officers and 95 other ranks. Deaths, 1 officer (Lt. Blunt 5 Lincs) & 6 other ranks (we presume one of these six was Norman.)

Remembrance and post war:

Norman is buried in grave 39, row G of plot I at Chocques Military Cemetery near Nethune in France. He was 21 years of age when he died.
He is named on the Union of London & Smiths Bank head office war memorial at The Nat West City of London Office.
He is also named on the Worksop Cenotaph and Nottinghamshire County Council roll of honour.
He is also named on the West Leeds High Scool war memorial.
He is believed to be the N. Bright named on the Dewsbury Cenotaph.
The wide range of memorials above may be a reflection of his father being employed as a Methodist Minister in these places.

His family William received Norman’s outstanding Army pay of £2, 8 shillings and 9 pence on 27th January 1916. He also received a war gratuity payment of £4 on 24th July 1919.
In the 1921 census William and Amelia were living with their daughter Winifred (Scott) and her family at 190, Colwick Road, Nottingham. Winifred’s son was named Norman, possibly after his uncle.

Norman was posthumously awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal and these would have been sent to his parents in 1920 or 1921 and probably a memorial plaque and a King’s Certificate bearing Norman’s name. They would also have received his personal effects.

Norman’s father William died aged 72 on 20th July 1931 at Basford, Nottinghamshire.
Amelia was living at 6, Crosby Road, West Bridgeford, Nottinghamshire with her daughter Winifred’s family in 1939 and she died aged 88 in 1947, also at Basford.
Basford and West Bridgeford are districts of the city of Nottingham and just seven miles apart.

Information sources:

England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915
1891 England Census
1901 England Census
1911 England Census
West Yorkshire, England, Electoral Registers, 1840-1962
Gro War Death Army Other Ranks (1914 To 1921)
British Armed Forces And Overseas Deaths And Burials
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929
Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919
British Army World War I Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920
World War I Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920
World War I Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923
WO-95/2691/1/1 – War diary entry for the 1/4th Lincolnshire Regiment
WO-95-250-1 – War diary entry for No. 1 Casualty Clearing Station
Nat West Bank – Union of London & Smith’s Bank war memorial: www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/53818
Dewsbury War Memorial: https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/29119
1921 Census Of England & Wales
1939 register
England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007
Craven’s Part in the Great War
British Newspaper Archive
National Library of Scotland.