Private Joseph Potts, 2/7th Bttn., Cheshire Regiment, is buried in St Leonard's churchyard, Old Warden, near Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. His is the only war grave there from the Great War.     Joseph was born in 1898 in Kerridge, near Macclesfield, Cheshire. At the age of 7 he and his brothers and sisters were orphaned. Joseph and his brother, William (5) were taken in by a family living only a few doors away, Mr.and Mrs. Sigley, who also had children of their own. The sisters and another brother found other foster homes.

In March 1915, at the age of 17, Joseph enlisted into the Cheshire Regiment, and was posted to the 2/7th Bn, which was being re-formed at a training camp at Southill Park, an estate near Old Warden, Bedfordshire. Other units of 'The Cheshires' were in action in the Somme offensive which began on 1st July 1916, but the 2/7th were due to embark for France and reinforce the line.  By Thursday 19th July they were almost battle ready. The afternoon was hot, the soldiers had been training or working in the camp, and now had time to rest. A few of them decided to bathe in the lake. They were fit, strong and well trained. Joseph, who was in the water with a comrade, swam out to the middle of the lake, where the water was about 11 feet deep. The weeds were long and dense, but he was apparently a strong and confident swimmer. No one knows how Joseph got into difficulties, or why he wasn't able to swim clear of the weeds. Perhaps his friends saw him thrashing, but in the spirit of any group of young men, they assumed he was having fun. Eventually, Corporal J H Keith realised that Joseph was in danger, and swam to his aid. It is reported that the corporal '...made five gallant attempts to rescue him', but within minutes, Joseph Potts was dead.

Joseph's death and funeral were reported in the Macclesfield Express, dated 28th July 1916, under the headline 'Kerridge Soldier drowned'. He was given a full military funeral, complete with firing party, and there were '...many hundreds of soldiers lined up in the meadow adjoining the churchyard, in addition to the great gathering within'.

'Army Form B.104-82', the letter then used to notify next of kin of all deaths, is brutally concise.  It was a printed form with spaces in which personal details were added by hand. This one, to Joe's adopted mother, is addressed 'Sir, Madam,  It is my painful duty to inform you...' etc, and shows  'The cause of death was - Accidentally drowned'.

Joseph's brief story has a sad postscipt. He died on 19th July 1916, and his adopted mother was notified by a letter dated 25th July. About a week later, a similar Army form dated 31st July 1916, notified her of the death of her natural son, Albert, who had '...died of disease...' on 17th July, two days before Joseph. At the time of his death, Albert was serving with The Welch Regiment in Mesopotamia.

Joseph's brother, William, joined the Royal Navy in 1917 and served until the end of the war. Having become a skilled engineer, from 1940 to 1945 he was a civilian in charge of a military aircraft salvage unit, performing valuable and dangerous work at the scenes of military air crashes in Northern England. William died in 1961. His son, Bob lived in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and hissdaughter, Joan, in Higher Blackley, Greater Manchester.

We are very grateful to the late Bob Potts and his sister, Joan Dickson for so willingly sharing their family history with us.