Plan to restore private French memorial to Wirral war hero

Houston Stewart Hamilton Wallace was born in Birkenhead in 1893, he was the only child of William Hamilton and Emily Constance (nee Heap), of the Nook, Shrewsbury Road, Birkenhead.

William was a J.P. for the borough, Emily was the daughter of Joshua Heap. HSH Wallace was educated at Fettes College, Edinburgh 1906 to 1912 and then at Merton College, Oxford.

He gained a commission into the 10th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment and went to France August 1, 1915.

Both his parents had died by 1914, his father in a tragic accident in 1912. After playing golf at Wallasey, he returned home and had to post a letter. On returning the gate to his drive was jammed, he stepped up on to a ledge leaning over attempting to release it from the opposite side, slipped and impaled his arm on one of the railings, it severed an artery and he died shortly after from the loss of blood.

Emily passed away in April 1914, in North Wales and both are buried at Flaybrick Cemetery in Birkenhead.

Wallace headstone at Flaybrick (Image: Stephen Benson)

Houston was killed in action July 22, 1916. His battalion, 10 Worcestershire Regiment had orders to capture a German machine gun post but during the attacks he was killed.

What is the restoration plan?

Stephen Benson, from Cheshire Roll of Honour, has launched a restoration plan to restore Houston's private First World War Memorial back to a pristine state.

Houston's memorial (Image: Stephen Benson)

The Cheshire Roll Of Honour was originally started to remember all those who lost their lives in the Great War of 1914-1918 who came from the county of Cheshire.

However, Stephen and the team are committed to restoring Houston's memorial as Wirral was part of Cheshire when he was alive.

Stephen said: "The restoration plan includes a new plaque and will also enhance the location to make it more accessible by having a few steps added and then a levelled area with an information board about Houston and his story.

"Materials will be sourced locally and kept low-key in line with the local area."

The memorial needs 'urgent work' (Image: Stephen Benson)

As both of Houston's parents had passed away his aunt Beatrice was listed as his next of kin.

After the war, Beatrice searched for the location of Houston’s burial but sadly the location was lost.

However, she had received a letter from his CO, in which he stated that Houston was buried near a calvary at Bazentin in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.

Beatrice at the memorial in the early 1920's (Image: Stephen Benson)

She identified the location of where the calvary had been and had a replacement made and dedicated it to Houston. As Houston has no known grave he is named on Thiepval Memorial.

Stephen added: "In the early 1920s the then The Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC) took care of the memorial on an agreed 20-year plan where Beatrice paid them to maintain it. That took the maintenance up to the eve of WW2.

"In February 1940, Beatrice died age 83, and after the war care of the memorial discontinued.

"In the early 1990s the Western Front Association (WFA) started a project to identify private memorials. They asked historian Paul Reed to help and he found the stone cairn base location and then eventually after talking to local villagers found the original wooden calvary in a garage in the village.

"In 1994 with support from the WFA the memorial was restored and rededicated. Sadly, over the last twenty-nine years it has once again fallen into disrepair.

"During the past couple of months, the land in front of the memorial has been cleared.

"The plan is to clear and level the ground in front of the memorial, construct some steps up to it and have a stone-levelled area with a border and an information board about Houston and the fighting that took place there in 1916.

"This board will be written in English, French and German."

Where will the extra funds go?

The project will also support the cleaning and some minor repairs to a second memorial just a few hundred metres away.

This memorial is dedicated to nine Royal Engineers killed a week after Houston. The memorial requires the brickwork cleaning and some repointing. The lettering on the plaque requires a work and the base requires a new layer of chipping.

The second memorial (Image: Stephen Benson)

Any funds left over from the project will be donated to other First World War sites in the Somme area, in memory of Stephen's friend Marcel Gouw, who sadly passed away August 23 2023.

So far, the project has raised over £800 but the target is £5,500. To donate, click here.