It would be nice to find out more about Private Heath (this letter may be all he will be remembered for!). This blog will record our attempts to find him. If you can help, please get in touch (Alan Cleaver).

Did he survive the war? If he was fighting as early in 1914, the odds of him surviving the whole war were not good. A search of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database reveals three contenders:

1 HEATH, FREDERICK WILLIAM Private 2498 13/10/1915 19 North Staffordshire Regiment United Kingdom Panel 103 to 105. LOOS MEMORIAL
2 HEATH, F W Corporal 33541 07/08/1917 22 Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry United Kingdom LI. B. 20. POELCAPELLE BRITISH CEMETERY
3 HEATH, FREDERICK WILLIAM Private S/43638 24/10/1918 Unknown Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) United Kingdom Panel 7. VIS-EN-ARTOIS MEMORIAL

The last Private Heath is the most likely given the coverage of the North Mail. If so, it will be dreadfully sad that he died just two weeks before the end of the war. The full details about this Private Heath are:

Name: HEATH, FREDERICK WILLIAM
Initials: F W
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Private
Regiment/Service: Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)
Unit Text: 6th Bn.
Date of Death: 24/10/1918
Service No: S/43638
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 7.
Memorial: VIS-EN-ARTOIS MEMORIAL

Hopefully, with the help of his service number we can find out where this Private Heath lived and find a fuller obituary about him in his local paper. One assumes he was a writer by occupation but he may have just had a natural talent.

27 APRIL 2007: There are at least three possible Frederick W Heaths that need investigating:
The Queens Regiment Reg no: 51843
Royal Warwickshrie Reg no: 266399
North Staffs Reg no: 2498

12 NOVEMBER 2007: A chance encounter with a military historian on Remembrance Sunday rekindled my interest in finding Private Heath. He had access to a database of "Soldiers who Died in the Great War". This found the same three contender as above but added some more information. It struck me that we know which units were involved in the truce ( see 1914-1918.net) so I checked which of the three men were in units directly involved in the Truce. There was only one: Pte Frederick William Heath of the North Staffs). The North Staffs are listed as being at Frelinghien and Houplines. Interestingly the Heath letter ambiguously says: "How far this unofficial truce extended along the lines I do not know, but I do know that what I have written here applies to the -- on our side and the 158th German Brigade, composed of Westphalians." The blanked out unit was probably his own so is he suggesting that their truce was with the 158th German Brigade. If so it appears from 1914-1918.net that the North Staffs were opposite the 158th just west of Lille. The 158th are listed as being at Fromelles and on Rue des Bois Blancs. So the North Staffs Private Heath was seemingly in the right place to write the letter. If we can find out more about him and even trace his family/descendants that might help confirm he was the one who wrote the letter.

Private Frederick William Heath is listed as being born at Fenton, Staffs, enlisted at Stoke-on-Trent, resident at Fenton, number is 2498, killed in action at France and Flanders on 13 October 1915, serving with Prince of Wales's North Staffordshire Regiment 1/5 Battalion. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission further adds that he was 19 at the time of his death and was the son of Joseph and Eliza Ann Heath, of 15, Mill St., Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent.

1st February 2008: A trip to Stoke on Trent city archives only added to the mystery. I was hoping to find an obituary for Private Heath which would reveal if he was an educated man or talented writer. The War Graves Commission lists his death as 13 October 1915. This was a battle at The Hohenzollern Redoubt which the North Staffs took part in. Hundreds were killed but Pte Heath is only reported as missing "by a friend" on October 25th 1915. Ploughing through the daily paper for more news revealed an update on 10 December 1915 (page 2): He is now listed as "now wounded and missing". I went through to April 1 but there was no more news. So how long before he was officially declared dead. Or did he indeed survive and the War Graves Commission has his details wrong? Sadly I ran out of time to research further.

2nd February 2008: A check on the 1901 census shows the Heath family not living in Mill Street but Keary Street, Stoke on Trent. The full family are:

Joseph Heath, 26, Coal miner (C Hewer), Employer, born Stoke on Trent
Eliza A, 24, born Stoke on Trent
Frederick W, 4, born Stoke on Trent
Gladys M, 3, born Stoke on Trent

The parents' names fit with the War Graves Commission data but the parish of birth is given as Stoke on Trent not Fenton.

3rd February 2008: A stroke of luck while surfing the net. I found this reference to a memorial inscription at Hartshill, Staffs Holy Trinity churchyard and the war graves and Hartshill Cemetery: B123 - Pte Kenneth Adams, East Yorks Regt, died from wounds, 11 July 1944, 21. His brother, Gunner (4040317) Alf Adams, RA died from wounds 18 Sept 1944, 24. Sons of William Henry and Gladys Maud of Fenton. Joseph, h/o Eliza Ann Heath, 3 Sept 1949, 75. Eliza Ann, the above, 6 Oct 1955, 80.

The names and dates with the Heath family in the 1901 census so would appear to be the family of Frederick W Heath's sister, Gladys. She married a William Henry Adams; two or their sons died in World War II. Her parents died in 1949 and 1955. Perhaps I can now find the death of William and Gladys and thereby find living relatives who may know more about this family tree and specifically Frederick W Heath the possible writer of the truce letter.

22 June 2008

I've been unable to return to Stoke on Trent but I am very grateful to a John Krijnen for emailing me about the search for Private Heath. He points out:

Regimental numbers in 1914 were arranged (per regiment) as follows:

• - a Regular series, started in 1882, which generally on the outbreak of war had reached about 12500 for two-battalion regiments. Four-battalion regiments of course had reached higher numbers. On average some 350 men would join each year.
• - a TF series, separate from the Regular series. Ranges on the outbreak of war were 1000 to 5000 on average with lower numbers for older NCOs. In bad recruiting areas, numbers would be lower. Numbers were sometimes prefixed T/ or n/ where n is the TF battalion number. The DLI for example used the n/ system. Apparently regiments were free do choose
  their own way of doing things.
• - a Special Reserve series about which little is known. Possibly SR members were renumbered on transfer to a Regular Bn.

Volunteers after the outbreak of war (the New Armies) were allotted in batches allowing 'slack' for normal recruiting, in other words, would begin at a nice round number such as 200000. Some egiments allotted a new batch to each new Service bn, for example 200000 for the first Service bn, 300000 for the next one, and so on. Sometimes prefixed S/.

And John made another good suggestion : "You might try older papers. it was not unusual, especially where the Territorials were concerned, to publish photos under the heading "These men have gone to France".

Some excellent help - thank you John.

15th December 2008: Some potentially very exciting news - a descendant of the likely Pte Heath candidate has got in touch. Maria Levey's letter in full is: " I am currently researching my mother's (Heath) family. My grandfather was Norman Heath (b. 22 December 1886), the youngest of thirteen children who were all born in the Stoke-on-Trent area. Norman Heath had five sisters: Emma, Charlotte, Hannah, Ada, Grace, and seven brothers: William, John, Robert, James, Arthur Herbert, Ernest Albert, Joseph (I don't think all are in correct order of birth). All are children of WILLIAM HEATH (Builder) and HANNAH HUTSBY (m.1864 Edensor). Norman's eldest brother, by tradition, was named William (b.18 January 1865) after his father and grandfather. I have a photograph of another WILLIAM Heath (taken by J.S. Simnett, Guild Street, Burton on Trent), described by my mother as son of ROBERT Heath (brother to Joseph and Norman). William is wearing spectacles and full uniform with badge of the North Staffordshire Regiment to cap and lapels. I know that he was killed in action during the 1914-18 war but I do not know when. I do not have his number or battalion. According to family information ROBERT Heath was born in LONGTON, in or around 1869. I do not have a date of birth for Joseph Heath but I do know that he came after Robert. At this stage I do not know the name of Robert's wife or whether William had any siblings. Similarly I do not know the names of Joseph's wife or their children. I am guessing that William Heath was the eldest son of Robert Heath because of the naming tradition. At age 15, Robert Heath enlisted in the 12th Lancers but was invalided out. He joined the police force in 1887 and was eventually appointed Chief Superintendent of Staffordshire. He was Superintendent at Burton on Trent during and beyond 1915 which would explain why his son's photograph was taken in Burton on Trent. The photograph was not taken earlier as Robert Heath did not move to Burton until some time in 1915. Before moving to Burton on Trent, Robert Heath was stationed at Leek, Cheadle, Stone, Eccleshall, Oulton, Tipton, Rushall, Stafford, Tamworth and Tettenhall (latter 1914). I do not know if our Joseph Heath is father to your Frederick William Heath but it might take your research in another direction, and with it, mine too!"

I will analyse the information after Christmas and add more to this blog.

11th July 2009: A likely candidate for the author of the Private Heath Christmas Truce letter is Private Frederick William Heath. He is listed as being born at Fenton, Staffs, enlisted at Stoke-on-Trent, resident at Fenton, number is 2498. Last month Lesley and I visited the Newcastle Library (on Day One of the new building's opening which may explain why they claimed not to have the 1914 copies of The North Journal - the paper that originally featured the Heath Letter). We were able to access the military records through ancestry.co.uk and Private Heath's records give this information:

Father Joseph Heath Mother: Eliza Ann
Brothers: Joseph aged 15, Edward aged 8 and Arthur aged 4
Address: 15 Mill Street, Fenton Sisters: Gladys aged 21, Kate aged 17 and Annie aged 13.
Occupation: Sadly we couldn't make out the handwriting (or get a print out of it) but it seemed to say something like Sawer.
Enlisted: 7.4. 1914
Reported missing in action on 13 October 1915. Reported killed in action 4th September 1916.

It is interesting to see that it took nearly a year from the report of him being missing until the date of his death - what a dreadful time it must have been for his family. I will log on again to ancestry.co.uk and check for more information and the occupation but hopefully there are some useful bits here.