Born on the 19th August 1920, the birth being
registered during the September quarter 1920 in
the Toxteth Park R.D. - ref: 8b/329, the son of
James & Edith Mabel Hodgson (nee Bird).

1939 National Registration - 38 Wilnecote Grove,
Birmingham.    James Hodgson - Married - born: 4th
March 1896 - occ: Factory Police & Fireman.  
Edith Hodgson - Married - born: 27th August 1893 -
occ: Housewife.   James B. Hodgson - Single -
born: 19th August 1920 - occ: Dispatch Clerk -
Non-ferrous Metals.

One of 12 Royal Engineers from 1 Engineer, Supply
Base Depot killed when a H.E. bomb landed on the
Royal Artillery Officers Mess on Hyde Road,
Ardwick where they were billeted.  Eleven of them
were killed outright, but the 12th survived, only
to be killed when he went back into the building
to search for his buddies when the remains of the
building collapsed onto him.  His body was not
recovered until the following day.

In total only nine bodies were recovered, but the
remains of three of them were never found and, in
consequence they have no known graves - their
deaths were not registered until September 1941.

Death registered during the March quarter 1941 in
the Manchester R.D.- ref: 8d/558 - aged: 20.

CWGC - Son of James and Edith Mabel Hodgson, of
Perry Bar, Birmingham.

His mother - Edith Mabel Hodgson died on the 24th
July 1961, aged: 67 and his father - James Hodgson
died on the 6th September 1964, aged: 68 and are
buried in the same grave as James.


Due to the military losses, the war-time Censors
did a fine job with this incident and it was
'hushed up' at the time.  So fine a job did the
authorities do, that until recently the local
studies libraries had no knowledge of the
incident, not even the Royal Engineers Museum at
Chatham knew anything about it.   Their names were
as follows:-

Due to the military losses, the war-time Censors
did a fine job with this incident and it was
'hushed up' at the time.  So fine a job did the
authorities do, that until recently the local
studies libraries had no knowledge of the
incident, not even the Royal Engineers Museum at
Chatham knew anything about it.   Their names were
as follows:-

Benjamin Harry BROUGHTON
Eric John Berkley CLAYTON
Leslie DANES
William Reginald DEAKIN
George Wilfred HIMBURY
James Bird HODGSON
Charles C. HOLMAN
William Hugh MILLER
Isaiah MOSS
Henry William Abram ROBERTS
Jack Edward SHELDRAKE
Dennis Henry Wilfred THAYER

I am most grateful to Lynn Stead, Bereavement
Officer, Birmingham (Witton) Cemetery for kindly
sending me photographs of James' grave.