Hartas Foxton
Hartas Foxton was born in 1897 the younger brother of William Foxton of Manot Farm, Skeltonand
Charles Foxton of Kirby Hill.
Hartas Foxton: Summary
Hartas Foxton (1897-1960) was the son of Christopher (b1863)and Sarah Annie Foxton. One of
Christophers’s brothers was John Foxton (b1858). John, a farmer, married Frances Alice and one of
their sons was also christened Hartas Foxton, b1889.
Hartas Foxton, son of Christopher and Sarah enlisted in WW1 as 10678 Private Foxton in the Royal
Fusiliers, going to France in August 1916. He transferred to the Machine Gun Corps at some point
(the MGC were formed in October 1915), and was given a new service number of 123397 before
being commissioned into the new Tank Corps as a Second Lieutenant on 30 April 1918. The Tank
Corps had been formed on 27 July 1917 from the Heavy Branch of the MGC so it is very possible that
Hartas would have served in the Heavy Branch, MGC and been transferred to the Tank Corps on its
formation, as did many others. As a Second Lieutenant, he would have been in command of his tank
and which had a crew of eight men in total, including himself. Many tanks seemed to have been
named; for example, those in ‘C’ Company would have had a name commencing with ‘C’.
The home address on his medal card (c1922) is ‘Ryecroft, Severus Avenue, Acomb, York’. None of his
other service records have survived; some 60% of all service records from WW1 were destroyed in
the London blitz.
WW1 tank: Tanks were first used on the battlefield by the British in September 1916, during the
Battle of the Somme, when they greatly assisted the capture of the villages of Flers and Courcelette.
His medal card shows that he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He married
Mary Day in 1926.
In the early 1920s, Hartas Foxton started a small garage, taxi and bus business in York which he
proceeded to build up by acquiring other businesses, principally coaches which became the York
Pullman Bus Company. His garage in Piccadilly, York, was requisitioned in WW2 although he had by
then also developed other sites for his business around the city. He became a Controller in the
Observer Corps and in 1941 was elected to the Board of directors at York City FC. The war increased
the demand for business, because of the restrictions on private motoring but also because of the
construction of large airfields at Rawcliffe, Linton, Melbourne, Holme and Elvington, which may have
been the reason why he sold off his taxi and funeral business in 1943. York Pullman was also
fortunate in that none of its fleet was requisitioned for war work.
Hartas Foxton died in 1960, his wife having predeceased him earlier in the year. His business passed
jointly to six of his nephews and nieces who became administrative directors of the company.
Cousin: Hartas Foxton
Hartas Foxton, son of John and Frances, is shown in the 1911 census as a medical student, living with
his parents at Warter, York. He served in WW1 in the Royal Army Medical Corps, being
commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 2nd West Riding Field Ambulance on 1 January 1915 (London
Gazette 23 January 1915). He was promoted to Captain on 1 July 1915 (LG 22 September 1915) and
subsequently promoted to the acting rank of Major on 4 January 1918 (LG 20 April 1918), a rank he
relinquished on 31 January 1919 (LG 24 July 1919).
He went to France with the RAMC on 14 April 1915. The home address recorded on his medal card
(c1922) is 20 Carter Street Uttoxeter, in Staffordshire. Whilst on active service, he was wounded and
Mentioned in Despatches (London Gazette 29 May 1917). He was also awarded the Military Cross in
1918, when he was a Captain in the RAMC:
'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when in charge of the collection of wounded. He
personally directed and visited all the Regimental Posts many times a day, often under heavy fire. By
his energy he kept the Bearers working, though exhausted, until completion of the evacuation'
(London Gazette 23.4.1918 refers).
It is not clear where this all took place. Although the citation was published by the London Gazette in
April 1918, the original notice that he had been awarded the MC appeared in December 1917 (LG 17
December 1917) so the action would have taken place late in 1917..
None of his other service records have survived. He married Gertrude Cheesman on 23 June 1917.
Foxton was recalled to the Colours in the Second World War, attained the rank of LieutenantColonel, R.A.M.C. and was lost aboard the Hospital Ship Newfoundland off Salerno on 13.9.1943:
The Steamship Newfoundland, in service as a Hospital Ship, was bombed and set on fire by German
aircraft on 13 September 1943, off the Salerno beaches during the Allied landings in Italy. After
burning for two days she was sunk by gunfire. Four of her crew, five Doctors, six Nurses and six Army
Medical Staff were killed. Fortunately only two patients were on board at the time.
In addition to the MC, he was also awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory
Medal for his WW1 service. The latter would have been worn with a bronze emblem of an oak leaf
on the ribbon to show he had been mentioned in despatches. He would however have been
awarded (posthumously) other medals for his WW2 service.
Letters home from the front.