Harry (John) Woolfries

Story:
Harry Woolfries, known in the military records and some electoral registers as John, was born in Farnham, Dorset, on 30th January 1891 and baptised there on 19th April 1891, the son of Francis and Elizabeth Anne Woolfries. Right up until the outbreak of war he lived with his parents in Farnham. He enlisted as a Driver and Shoeing Smith in the Royal Field Artillery on 29th March 1915 (Service No. 98228). He served with both the 19th (Reserve) Battery and the 17th Battery in France. He was demobilized on 27th May 1919 and was awarded the Victory and British War medals as well as the 1915 Star. He married Ellen Lydia Bailey during 1919 and had at least one child. They settled in Tarrant Hinton, where he worked as the village blacksmith and landlord of the public house. The featured photograph shows him standing in front of the pub in 1928, between his friends David Williams and Percy Bourton. The 1939 Register shows that he was still living at Tarrant Hinton, Dorset, and working as a Licencee. He died on 17th December 1957 and is buried at St. Lawrence Church, Farnham, Dorset. Harry had three brothers who served in the war: Arthur Eldred (b.1892) who served in a number of different regiments, Charles Woolfries who served with the Dorset (Queen;s Own) Yeomanry and Edwin who sadly died at Gallipoli while serving with the Dorsetshire Regiment. Source: Based on previous research by Ken Baxter.