SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: As we approach Remembrance Day next month, DAVID MORGAN outlines details of the life of one of the names on Croydon Minster’s Roll of Honour
We will remember them: Croydon’s war memorial, outside the Town Hall
For the casual visitor, the list of names of soldiers on the Roll of Honour hanging in Croydon Minster reminds them of the degree of sadness and sacrifice suffered in the borough during the Great War, from 1914 to 1918.
For the onomatologist, someone who studies names, there is another level of interpretation. They are looking at the names to discover their meanings and origins.
While surnames such as Turner or Wright might suggest an historical trade, there are surnames for which a meaning isn’t so obvious. One of these is Pightling.
A pightle, it turns out, is the dialect name given to a small piece of land, an enclosure or a field. It is a word that is used in many parts of the country, especially in Norfolk and Suffolk.
The surname Pightling, therefore, refers to someone who owned or lived “in the pightle”.
In 1866 there was a Pightling family living in Croydon. The directory of that year listed a J Pightling, chimney sweep, living in Matthew’s Yard, off Surrey Street. The various trade directories didn’t always spell the name the same way, however, as the same chimney sweep in Matthew’s Yard in 1872 was spelt Plightly.
The Plightling on the Croydon Roll of Honour from World War I is James Pightling, who died on January 22 1916. He was 26 years old.
James Pightling was born September 5 1889. Using the dates and information on his attestation papers to piece together his time in Croydon, he spent six years in the 4th Battalion Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment, probably between 1905 and 1911 – so he was a full-time soldier.
Signing up: James Pightling signed up with the Canadian Army in November 1914
Having completed his time soldiering, Pightling emigrated to Canada in 1911. He settled in Toronto and found work as a labourer. When war broke out, he answered the call and joined up early in November 1914.
He informed the Canadian authorities that his next of kin was George Pightling, although the space on the form where the relationship between the two men should be stated was left blank. The address given for George was 14, Church Road, Croydon, Surrey. This was same address to which later correspondence was sent to his mother, Mrs H Truncheon. It is a reasonable assumption that George was his brother, but we cannot say with any certainty.
Exhibition marching: Canadian recruits were mustered at the Exhibition Grounds in Toronto
On joining up with the Canadian Army, James Pightling was put into the 13th Hamilton Regiment before being drafted into the 19th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
He was accommodated in the Exhibition Camp in Toronto, the Canada National Exhibition situated by Lake Ontario. This was one of the few sites in Toronto able, at short notice in a war-time emergency, to house thousands of troops.
In November 1914 the Toronto Daily Star published an article about Exhibition Camp. “It was trim, plain and wholesome. No luxuries, but luxuries are not in the training of men who are eager for the nearing day, when hardy and hearty, they are off to the front.
“The bigger and loftier buildings were used as drill halls, owing to the difficulty of heating them. The brick buildings were heated with coal stoves.”
With years of experience as a regular in the British Army behind him, Pightling would have undergone training here until his unit was ready to be sent to the battlefields of Europe. His battalion sailed from Montreal on the SS Scandinavian on May 13 1915. Thanks to letters written by other soldiers on the same voyage, it is possible to discover some of the events of the journey.
The embarkation itself must have been quite a spectacle and not without incident: “We were marched from the train right into the boat. There was a fair crowd at the dock to see us off and one girl got so excited that she missed her footing and fell off the dock onto a raft below. It was quite a high fall but she was not hurt very much for she waited around to see us off a couple of hours after she was lifted up again.
Death notice: the Canadian newspaper report of the death of Croydn-born James Pightling
“The boys threw her all kinds of badges and buttons, enough to start a shop. When we at last got started, every boat and locomotive whistle around started to blow and salute, over and over again.”
After six days, the Scandinavian reached a point 80 miles south of Land’s End. From the St Lawrence seaway, the ship had taken a course across the Atlantic intended to avoid German U-boats.
Disembarked in England on May 22, Pightling and the Canadian troops were taken to Shorncliffe barracks, on the outskirts of Folkestone.
Another extract from a letter written in July 1915 gave a description of life and duties while in the camp. “About all it amounts to is trench digging, instructions and long marches. We did an 18-mile march on Tuesday and quite a few of the fellows had sore feet after it, me for one. I had five blisters on one foot and two on the other.
“About three weeks ago the 4th Brigade held a day of Sports. Lord Brookes, the Brigade Commander, gave a cup for the battalion with the most points. The 19th won it easily.”
The 19th Battalion were marched into Folkestone on September 14, where they embarked for France. Pightling wasn’t among them because he was recovering in hospital from an infection. He left the camp on October 26, six weeks after the others, arriving with his unit in France a day later.
The 19th Battalion first entered the trenches east of Wulverghem in Belgium on September 20 and 21. The Battalion Diary stated that “the next day casualties came trickling in, mainly due to inexperience and carelessness”.
Service record: James Pightling’s time in the Canadian Army, summarised in just a few, brief, hand-written lines and ending with the fatal shot on January 23, 1916
In October, they moved into lines in Vierstraat, south-west of Ypres. It was here that Pightling would have rejoined his colleagues. It was not a pleasant time, as conditions were exceptionally difficult. The battalion spent the next four and a half months alternating spells in the frontline trenches with brief rest periods in reserve positions.
In another letter written by a 19th Battalion soldier, we get an idea of one of the deadly difficulties faced by the Canadians in the trenches. “Those German snipers certainly must be great shots, too, from stories we have heard from men who have been there. I think the man who exposes himself without cause does no good for the country or himself either.”
Pightling was on duty in a trench on the evening of Saturday January 22, 1916. He had been at the front for almost three months. On his service card was written: “Shot through head and immediately killed whilst observing over parapet at 9.30pm.”
One of those crack German snipers had found their target. It would have been dark. Was it a lucky shot, or did Pightling take an unnecessary risk? Either way, it cost him his life.
James Pightling, regimental number 557773, was buried in the Ridge Wood Military Cemetery, West Vlaanderen. He was interred next to other Canadian infantrymen who lost their lives in the January of that year.
The rarity of his surname means that he is the only person with the surname Pightling on the Commonwealth War Graves Index for World War I.
In death, he lies in his own little patch of earth, his pightle.
If you would like a group tour of Croydon Minster or want to book a school visit, then ring the Minster Office on 020 688 8104 or go to the website on www.croydonminster.org and use the contact page
Some previous articles by David Morgan:
- 180-year-old business that’s still ticking over in Croydon today
- Croydon churchwarden’s outstanding service in war and peace
- Brewer’s business empire that flowed with the River Wandle
- The church fire that consumed a thousand years of history
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