{"id":327,"date":"2014-11-02T21:36:55","date_gmt":"2014-11-02T21:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/plattwarmemorial.org\/?page_id=327"},"modified":"2024-05-22T14:37:37","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T14:37:37","slug":"joseph-baldwin-1884-1921","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/world-war-one\/joseph-baldwin-1884-1921\/","title":{"rendered":"Joseph Baldwin (1884 &#8211; 1918)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last\" style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><style type=\"text\/css\"><\/style><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-1 fusion-sep-none fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-three\" style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:31px;margin-left:0px;\"><h3 class=\"title-heading-left fusion-responsive-typography-calculated\" style=\"margin:0;--fontSize:24;line-height:1.5;\">Pte Joseph Baldwin (1884 &#8211; 1918)<\/h3><\/div><span class=\" fusion-imageframe imageframe-dropshadow imageframe-1 hover-type-zoomin\" style=\"-webkit-box-shadow: 3px 3px 7px rgba(0,0,0,0.3);box-shadow: 3px 3px 7px rgba(0,0,0,0.3);margin-right:25px;float:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/joseph_baldwin.jpg\" class=\"fusion-lightbox\" data-rel=\"iLightbox[2a586ed24b866ee4dad]\" data-title=\"Joseph Baldwin\" title=\"Joseph Baldwin\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"222\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/joseph_baldwin-222x300.jpg\" alt class=\"img-responsive wp-image-333\" srcset=\"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/joseph_baldwin-222x300.jpg 222w, http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/joseph_baldwin-640x862.jpg 640w, http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/joseph_baldwin.jpg 742w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 222px) 100vw, 222px\" \/><\/a><\/span><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Joseph Baldwin was born in Sevenoaks on Christmas Eve 1884, and one of nine children of a carpenter from Wrotham named William George Baldwin and his wife, Mary Ann Streeter. In 1891, the Baldwin family lived at 10 Grove Road in Sevenoaks with six of their children (William, Frank, Mary, Rose, Daisy and John), although Joseph, who was six, resided at his grandparents\u2019 house on Plaxtol High Street. Joseph\u2019s father died in 1896, and by 1901 he had left home and was working as a grocer\u2019s assistant at William Norrington\u2019s shop on St. John\u2019s Hill.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">On\u00a017 February\u00a01903, Joseph visited the Army recruiting office in Maidstone and signed up with the Royal West Kent Regiment for 12 years. At the time of his enlistment, he was recorded in an Army Medical as being 5\u2019 3 \u00be\u201d in height, weighing 112 lbs, with a fresh complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair. The eighteen-year-old was passed fit for military service and sent to join the 1st Battalion of the Regiment at Shorncliffe the following May.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Queen\u2019s Own remained in the UK until 6 April 1904, when they boarded the\u00a0<\/span><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">SS Soudan<\/span><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0at Southampton and sailed for Malta. Nine days later, the men disembarked and were placed under canvas at Pembroke and Mellieha for about a month before moving to Floriana Barracks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Private Baldwin remained in Malta for over a year &#8211; returning to England on 22 October 1905 and subsequently based at Dover until February 1906, when he was transferred into the (First Class) Army Reserve, having served his three years in the Regular Army.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">On 2 January 1909, Joseph married Katie Baldock at St. Michael\u2019s Church in Maidstone. The couple lived at 25 Greatness Road in Sevenoaks and had two daughters named Phyllis and Ada. Before the war, Joseph worked as a postman. However, in August 1914, he was called back to the Colours as one of 320 Reservists who arrived at the Regimental Depot in Maidstone within a day or so of mobilisation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Joseph was dispatched immediately to Dublin, where he rejoined the battalion and sailed with them for France on board the SS\u00a0<\/span><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Gloucestershire<\/span><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0on 13 August. Two days later, the West Kents disembarked in Le Havre, and following an uncomfortable night sleeping in sheds situated on the quay, they made their way to a rest camp five miles out of town. The streets lined with cheering crowds prompted an officer to write in his diary:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The whole journey was a\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">sort of<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0triumphal progress.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0At every\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">station<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0there were crowds of people with cigarettes, little flags, sweets and flowers for the men. Great cheering,\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">hand shaking<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, kissing of hands. Many shouted \u2018Guillaume\u2019 (meaning the German Emperor) and then pretended to cut their throats.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In the\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">towns<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0the windows were full of people for half a mile on each side of the railway waving flags and\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">handkerchiefs,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0and shouting \u2018hip, hip, hurrah, Vive l\u2019Angleterre!\u2019<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">A week after the excitement of their arrival in France, Joseph\u2019s unit found themselves marching towards Mons with heavy packs across cobble-stoned roads in the stifling heat of late summer. Joseph was\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">batman<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0(personal servant) to a commissioned officer &#8211; a position he retained throughout his time at the Western Front.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The battalion\u2019s first engagement with the enemy occurred on 23 August near Mons at the village of Tetre; however, faced with overwhelming numbers of German infantry and superior artillery, the West Kents were forced to retire under cover of darkness. During the Allied retreat into France, the battalion saw action at the Battles of Le Cateau, the Marne, the Aisne, La Bass\u00e9e and Messines and Neuve Chapelle. Joseph was likely involved in some or all of these actions and spent Christmas 1914 based in the Wulverghem sector on the Ypres salient. Conditions in the trenches during this period were particularly squalid, with life described as a \u2018dreary monotony\u2019 and heavy rain making conditions worse.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In April 1915, Joseph fought at the Capture of Hill 60 south of Ypres and returned to England on 9 February 1916 when he was discharged from duty on 2 March, having served his twelve years with an exemplary record. His wife and children had moved to 17 Whatcote Cottages in Platt, and Joseph returned to his old job with the postal service after receiving his discharge papers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Incredibly, given his service record, Joseph was summoned before the Wrotham Military Service Tribunal on 12 July 1916. However, after the chairman read details of his entire military career aloud, he was given a three-month exemption, and it appears he was \u2018left alone\u2019 after that. Still keen to do his bit, Joseph joined the British Red Cross on 7 January 1918 and went to Mesopotamia (Iraq), serving as an engineer transporting the sick and wounded by motor launch. He died on 16th July 1918 from erysipelas, which was a skin infection that, if spread into the blood or lymphatic systems, could prove fatal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">An officer wrote to his wife:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">You will have received an official notification of the sad news of your husband\u2019s death.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Permit<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0me to add\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">to it<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0my deepest sympathy\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">in<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">great<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0loss you have sustained. Your husband has done splendid service\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">while he was<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0in Mesopotamia in transporting the sick and wounded. He died in a\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">very<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0noble cause and has added yet another name to the long, long roll of honour of those who have died for their country in the hour of its greatest peril. Do not be over-wrought with grief, and think of him as one who nobly died.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Joseph is buried in the Baghdad War Cemetery, although the current condition of his grave is unknown. In October 1915, his brother John\u00a0died of wounds while serving with the 9th Lancers and was given a full military funeral in Sevenoaks. According to a newspaper article, Joseph had been among the mourners present.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":53,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-327","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=327"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10229,"href":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/327\/revisions\/10229"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/53"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}