On February 19th 1915 “D” Company 4th Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry had gone to a field north of Morton to practice raft building and crossing water.
The training exercise turned into a tragedy with seven young soldiers drowned and Gainsborough and Morton in a deep state of shock.
The seven servicemen who died were:
Private William Atheron – aged 20 – buried in Wakefield Cemetery
Private Edmund Battye – aged 22 – buried in Batley Cemetery
Private Alfred Bruce – aged 22 – buried in Harrogate Cemetery
Private Ernest Cockell – aged 20 – buried in Wakefield Cemetery
Private Fred Cooke – aged 33 – buried in East Ardsely Chuchyard, near Wakefield
Private William Dent – aged 21 – buried in Morley Cemetery, near Leeds
Private John Myers – aged 21 – buried in Dewsbury Cemetery
The late Peter Bradshaw created a booklet about the tragedy and the servicemen who died as part of a commemoration service held in 2015.
The booklet can be downloaded here, it is in PDF format.