One of my great uncles, Joseph Binch, formerly a Sapper in the Inland Water Department of the Royal Engineers, died in Hucknall on 6th January 1922.
One of my great uncles, Joseph Binch, formerly a Sapper in the Inland Water Department of the Royal Engineers, died in Hucknall on 6th January 1922. His death was attributed by the family to his being gassed during the war. Buried in Newstead Old Cemetery, he was the 25 year-old son of Eva and the late John Binch. On the outbreak of war, he was living with his family at Hagg Nook Cottages, Newstead, moving to 12 Hazel Grove, Hucknall, after the death of his father in 1916. He enlisted on 12th September 1917 and, being a bargeman, he was soon in France with the I.W.D., Royal Engineers, landing in France on 6th October 1917. He survived the war and was transferred to Class Z, Army Reserve on 1st April 1920. The Ministry of Pensions refused his mother's application for support. He is, however, commemorated on Hucknall's war memorial; the last man to die and be is commemorated there.