Harrogate Herald - 14th March 1917
Roll of Honour
Corporal G C Sawbridge, West Yorks,
son-in-law of Mr J Mann, 20 Skipton Street, Harrogate, has been
wounded in six places in the leg. He has undergone two operations,
and is progressing as well as can be expected. He was employed at
Messrs Croft & Plowes, tailors, James Street, Harrogate, up to
enlisting. He has now been removed to Urmston Hospital, Blackwater
Road, Eastbourne.
Harrogate Herald - 25th April 1917
W H Breare letter
I am anxious to assist in getting Corporal
Sawbridge, who has been wounded. Transferred to Harrogate. I am
writing to Mr Titley again to ask his good offices.
Harrogate Herald - 2nd May 1917
Wednesday Gossip
Corporal G W Sawbridge, who is in hospital at
Old Hastings House, Hastings, has written acknowledging receipt of
mouth organ. We sent it out to him in France, but he was wounded,
and never reached him. After some months it was returned to the
donor, who sent it on to us, and, as indicated above, has now
reached the soldier.
Harrogate Herald - 30th May 1917
Wednesday Gossip
A curious coincidence is associated with the local
casualties. Sergeant G W Sawbridge was on his way from a
hospital in the South of England to one of the Grand Duchess's in
Harrogate, when the first person he met on arrival was a comrade who
was wounded with the same shell as struck him. Whilst Sawbridge
had been laid up, however, his comrade had recovered, and been back
to France, and returned to England again.
Harrogate Herald - 6th June 1917
W H Breare letter
I had a visit on Monday from Corporal G W
Sawbridge, who is at St George's Hospital. He is making good
progress. Whilst lying at the Casualty Clearing Station he saw
Albert Duncan, who was the stage manager at the Kursaal, attending
to the electric light. Other Harrogate men he came across were Joe
Gibson, out porter; Petch, fruiterer; Hartley, who worked at Mr
Hunter's Cambridge Street shop; and "Micky" Harrison,
painter, he spied at the entrance of a dug-out as
he was coming out of the line. He also saw Sergeant
Morrison and Malthouse, of Knaresborough; Tom Saville, E Sherwood,
the St Luke's cricketer. This recalled pleasant memories, as
Sawbridge was also a player with this club. My visitor was only half
a mile from his brother Frank, who was wounded the day after Sawbridge, and subsequently died.
He recovered from that wound, but had only been back
a day when he got hit again on Easter Monday. A younger brother was
also wounded the same day as Frank. He is having ten days' leave
before returning to a training centre. Harrogate was brought
prominently to mind on one occasion by the display of a large poster
in a YMCA hut, with the invitation, "Visit Harrogate for health",
and a view of the Prospect Hill and Stray. He speaks highly of the
attention received in hospital. He has put on three stone since
arriving in England.
Harrogate Herald - 11th July 1917
W H Breare letter
Private W Borrill I had not much space to write
about last week. His home address is 9 Skipton Road, Harrogate. He
has been twelve years in the Army, mostly in the Indian Army
Reserve. He went to France the first week in September, 1914, but is
now transferred to the RFC, with Pioneer-Sergeant F Cumberland.
Cumberland's father is an old friend of mine - in fact, he was my
gardener for some years, before I came to live in Herald Buildings.
By the way, Borrill met George Sawbridge before that soldier was
wounded, and when he came home on leave the other day, he saw him on
the Sunday. Sawbridge is at one of the Grand Duchess's hospitals,
and jolly comfortable.
Harrogate Herald - 14th November 1917
W H Breare letter
Corporal G C Sawbridge called Monday when on last
leave. He has quite recovered from his wound that brought him to St
George's, by a fortunate transfer, and is looking really well. He
hopes to get back to his old unit amongst his good comrades. In the
camp at home where he has been lately were Noddings and Mickey
Dawson. Noddings has been in hospital with nephritis and will not be
going out yet. It will be Dawson's first trip out when he goes.
Sawbridge sends his remembrances to his friends at the Front.
Harrogate Herald - 21st November 1917
W H Breare letter
Last week I put the cart before the horse. I
mentioned Corporal Sawbridge as calling on me, and referred to
Noddings and Micky Dawson. It was Dawson who had been in hospital
and was in France from December, 1916, until May. Noddings has not
been out yet.
Harrogate Herald - 16th January 1918
Letters
W T ???, RGA, writes : I enjoy your letter and all letters from
the boys. There are not many Harrogate chaps near us. I never meet
any. I see by the Herald G W Sawbridge has got back to the line. He
seems to be amongst the Harrogate lads. Jack Whitehead, he mentions,
will be my cousin, I think, of the ASC. Jim Whitehead is in England.
We had some reinforcements to our battery and one chap belongs to
Starbeck, so I hand the Herald to him. His name is Hawke, and his
father is a driver on the NER. I was glad to read in your letter
that L Ferguson had been over and was well. I knew him and his
brother when they had the fruit shop near your works.
