Wetherby War Memorial - The Great War 1914 - 1918

Private Hubert William Kelly

Introduction
Gunter, R B N
Durrant, C M
Weston, C G
Kelly, K G
Armitage, G J
Durrant, H M L
Hargreaves, J P
March, G
Dukes, W
Fowler, R
Westerman, H
Kirk, J C
Wiggins, T A
Telford, G
Harper, J W
Alexander, H W
Mason, T F
Wilkinson, W
Brown, C
Adkin, J
Barton, F
Hobman, A
Webster, A E
March, E A
Miller, G
Hannan, E
Utley, G
Walker, F
Bygrave, E W
Chapman, E
Varley, N W
Bowen, F J
Byrom, F
Backhouse, S
Dalby, M
Crossland, A
Crossley, J S
Dean, R
Frost, A E
Hodgson, F H
Holt, J
Hood, W H
Hill, W
Kitchen, T
Linfoot, E
Metcalfe, J C
Marsden, J
Pawson, W
Precious, G
Scutt, T G
Shields,P
Wiggins, J
Walker, E
Wood, A
Young, T
Pratt, W
Taylor, H
Dawson, G W
Lister, J
Binge, T
Atack, G
Durham, E F
Precious, G R
Wheelhouse Smith, W
Backhouse, H
Swann, J W
Burnsides, G A
Coles, W
Kelly, H W
Miles, J G
Tapsell, K
Acknowledgements
Dardanelles

2688
54th Battalion, Australian Infrantry, A.I.F.
Died 4th May 1918, age 22

Cemetery : Stourbridge Cemetery, Worcestershire, England
Grave Reference or Panel Number : D.803

Born in 1896 at Appleby-in-Westmorland, Hubert was the son of George William Calver Kelly and Margaret Douglas Kelly, the 1901 Census recording that the family were residing in premises located in Pembroke Street. One of three children, his father describes his occupation at this juncture as that of a Land Agent and Surveyor (Own Account). At some point after 1901, the family relocated to Wetherby, possibly in the year of 1903, taking up residence in a property described in the Electoral Roll as "Broomhill," this being located in Deighton Road, Wetherby.
George W.C. Kelly subsequently took up employment as a Land Agents Assistant on the Montagu Estate, his employer being one Mr. Rowland Francis Meyrick of Hall Orchards, Wetherby, who had been appointed to manage the estate in the year of 1901. A veteran of the Second Boer War, Meyrick had served as a Lieutenant in the 2nd Brigade of the Rhodesian Field Force, one brother, Captain St John Meyrick Meyrick, being killed in action during the war whilst serving with the 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders. 
 
Ingmanthorpe Hall: A Short History Of The Late 19th And Early 20th Centuries
 
Encompassing the lands that surrounded Ingmanthorpe Hall, the lands of the estate stretched from the boundaries of York to the east and to Wetherby in the west, a distance of almost thirteen miles. Upon the death of Mr. Andrew Montagu in 1895, his estates were bequeathed, in trust, to his nephew, Frederick James Osbaldeston Montagu. The estate was then let the following year by the trustees to one Mr. Frederick Brent Grotrian, a newspaper owner and all round businessman. Claims were made in the following years against the trustees of the estate as to monies owned by Andrew Montagu but in February 1903, Frederick Montagu inherited the Montagu estates in both Yorkshire and the Midlands upon attaining his twenty-fifth birthday. A large celebration was held at the Hall in June of that year whereupon a silver bowl was presented, this being purchased by the farmers and tenants of the estate, the bowl, mounted on a silver stand and weighing seventy ounces, being presented by Mr. Edward Peter Burrell, a Farmer of Street House, Kirk Deighton. In April 1905, Frederick Grotrian died at the Hall aged 67 years, an end to a happy family association with Ingmanthorpe and the estate. Interred at Kirk Deighton, his widow, Elizabeth, departed the estate and went to reside at their other family home, "West Hill House," Hessle, Hull. When Elizabeth bade farewell to Ingmanthorpe Hall is not precisely known however the tenancy passed in 1908 to one Major James Edward Platt, J.P.
 
A horse and cattle breeder, Platt had also served in the military with the Yeomanry Cavalry and was appointed a Justice of the Peace in the Barkston Ash district in June 1908. A divorced man of what was described as "considerable means," he married once again to one Elise Castelli in 1901 in London. An active member of the Bramham Moor Hunt, the Major enjoyed a 'sporting life' to the full and indulged in shooting, horse racing amongst other activities. This was confirmed to his tenants at a dinner held at the Angel Hotel, Wetherby, in February 1908 upon him taking the tenancy of Ingmanthorpe, most of those who farmed and worked on the estate being present. After toasting the health of Mr. Montagu to which Mr. Meyrick replied, Mr. John Henry Hoole, a Farmer of Moorside, Cowthorpe, proposed a toast to Major Platt. The Major stated, as per the terms of his tenancy, that he did not want many rabbits at Ingmanthorpe, but, he wished to see an increase in the amount of hares on the estate for sporting activities. The subject of partridges, pheasants and foxes was also discussed, the evening, as the Skyrack Courier reported, resolving itself into a "convivial meeting, conjuring being performed and songs sung".          
 

Major James Edward Platt JP
PlattDMG.JPG
Downham Market Gazette Dated The 11th of December 1909

In the year of 1908, the Kelly family had relocated from "Broomhill" to premises located in St. James Street. The family had also been blessed with the birth of another son, Arnold Douglas Kelly, who had been born in April of the previous year. The year of 1909 would also prove to be a memorable year for Major Platt. With political aspirations, he was adopted as a prospective candidate for the Borough of Great Yarmouth Borough in December, his manifesto including free trade, votes for women and unemployment amongst others. A Liberal, which went against the grain of the majority of the landed gentry in the Barkston Ash district, he was defeated for the seat by Mr. Arthur Fell in January 1910. His expenditure on the campaign may explain why the Major gave up the shooting lease for the estate in the following March, all the Gamekeepers appliances and effects for the rearing of pheasants and other game being sold at an auction held by Messrs. Thomlinson & Son held on the estate. In September of 1911, Ingmanthorpe Hall came up for let once again. Advertised as an unfurnished mansion with twenty-three bedrooms, the hall also had good stabling, gardens, and comprised of seventeen acres of land. The Hall was lit by electric light, and shooting rites were advertised over five thousand acres of land. Mr. Meyrick was the point of call for any would be landowner at the Ainsty Estate Office, Wetherby.
 
Commemoration Under Construction