Private Herbert Colley
King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, 10th Battalion, Service no. 21746 and 13036
Born: 18th September 1890. Died: 1971
Private Ernest Colley
Born: 3rd August 1887. Died: 1941
Story
Herbert and Ernest were two sons of eleven children born to Thomas Colley (1845-1931) and Ann Elizabeth Balance (1851-1933). Their younger brother Maurice also enlisted and was killed during the War on 20th September 1916. In 1911, the family were living on Station Road, and the men were all coal miners. Ernest married Ethel Huddlestone before the War on 12th May 1913 in Oulton, and had a son Harry on 2nd December 1914. He was reported as having enlisted but his service records have not been found, so he may have stayed in the reserves. After the War he moved to 6 Ramshead Avenue, Garforth, and was still a coal miner. He passed away in 1941.
Herbert enlisted on 6th September 1914. He was 5 ft 5 inches tall, and was living at 19 Glencoe Terrace at the time. In the event of his death, he wrote a letter instructing that all of his belongings should be passed to his mother. He was in fact hit by a shell in 1915, which injured his right shoulder, but he survived the War, and married Elizabeth Mary Howley in Leeds in 1918. By 1939, he was still a coal miner, and was living at 4 Hawthorn Villas, Kippax. Herbert passed away in 1976, aged 86.
Below: the K.O.Y.L.I’s resting on the way down from the trenches, near Wieltje, Ypres, 1 October 1917:
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