Great Ayton History Society
Notes on some of the men from Great Ayton who served in the Great War
William Ord (1891-1915)
1 William's parents John and Jane Ord
William's father, John Ord, was born in 1864 at Skelton-in-Cleveland. John Ord started working at
Cotman Farm, Liverton, and it was probably in Liverton where he met his future wife, Jane Charlton
from Hutton Rudby. Jane seems to have had been related to the Raw family in Liverton. John and
Jane were married on 28 November 1887 at Marton, suggesting that by this time John had moved
from Liverton and was perhaps already working as a stockman at Ryehill Farm, off Brass Castle Lane,
since the 1891 census records him at Nunthorpe and the 1901 census at Ryehill Farm, Nunthorpe.
Ryehill Farm was adjacent to Ryehill House, which was part of the Grey Towers estate, at that time
owned by William Innes Hopkins.
'Grey Towers' had been built by William Innes Hopkins in 1865, but he fell on hard times after the
Tay Bridge disaster and the house was purchased by Arthur Dorman in 1895. Arthur Dorman, later
Sir Arthur Dorman, established the Dorman Long iron and steel business with Albert Long in 1876
and became very wealthy.
John and Jane Ord went on to have eight children: two sons, John and William, followed by six
daughters, Ethel, Elsie, Mary, Annie, Elizabeth and Frances. Sadly both sons were killed in the Great
War, William in 1915 and John just eighteen days before the armistice was signed in 1918. Towards
the end of the war it would seem that John senior hoped to retire from Ryehill Farm since he placed
an advertisement in the local press for an experienced hind or farm manager in 1916.
2 William grew up on the farm but obtained a position of chauffeur
William was born in December 1891 and lived at Ryehill Farm with his parents, elder brother John,
and an increasing number of younger sisters. Young William would have gone to school in
Nunthorpe, leaving at the age of thirteen. He may well have helped his father on the farm, but at
some stage he became a chauffeur. The 1911 census records him as a 'motor driver, domestic'. This
was probably for Arthur John Dorman at 'Grey Towers' in Nunthorpe, who was probably the only
man in the locality to have motor cars and a chauffeur at this time. He owned the registration plate
AJ5.
In the 1911 census, William’s elder sister, Ethel Ord, was a laundry maid at 'Grey Towers' where she
lived in the servants' quarters. She was one of fourteen resident servants at 'Grey Towers' attending
Arthur John Dorman and his family. Ethel was probably instrumental in obtaining the chauffeur
position at 'Grey Towers' for William.
3 William enlists and arrives in France in April 1915
Like so many young men, William was caught up in the wave of patriotic enthusiasm for King and
Country in the months following the declaration of war. He enlisted at Northallerton, joining the 4th
Battalion of Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment) usually known as the Green
Howards, as Private Ord 2470. The 4th Battalion was established at the start of the war as a
territorial battalion to supplement the 1st Battalion of regular soldiers. The 4th Battalion were
occupied with intensive training for the rest of 1914 and into 1915, when they were in the Newcastle
area. On 17 April they left for Folkestone and arrived in Boulogne at 2:00am the following day. They
joined up with other Battalions to form the 150th Brigade of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division and
started the normal training for new recruits to the Western Front.
Their training was cut short by the German offensive on 22 April 1915 which became the Second
Battle of Ypres. This German onslaught began with a release of chlorine gas along the north-east
edge of the Ypres Salient, defended by French Colonial troops who were in some disarray. Canadian
troops to the right of the French heroically prevented a German breakthrough, but it became
imperative for British troops to push forward to fill gaps in the line. So Private Ord and his fellow
soldiers were thrown into battle within a week of sailing from England.
4 William's first experience of battle
They were taken by bus to Poperinghe, from where they marched to a camp near the front line. In
the early hours of 24 April, in steady rain, they marched past gaping shell holes and broken-down
wagons to arrive at the Yser Canal, near Ypres, just before dawn. Under German artillery fire they
crossed the canal by pontoon bridge to meet up with the beleaguered Canadians, who had suffered
a second chlorine gas attack. From here the 4th Battalion and the 4th East Yorkshires made a gallant
attack which held up the German advance at St Julien. They suffered many fatalities, including
Quarter Master Sergeant Frederick Barr from Nunthorpe who must have been well-known to
William Ord.
After their attack on St Julien the 4th Battalion had two days rest behind the front line, but were then
sent to the trenches near Passchendaele. On the way they passed piles of dead animals and the
utterly destroyed village of St Jean, reaching the front line at the end of April. During the following
five days they lost many men.
5 A brief respite and then death in Battle of Bellewaerde
The Battalion then had a quiet few days in billets away from the front line, then into huts on the
west side of Ypres, where they stayed until 23 May. They then moved up to the front line again,
marching through Ypres, where many houses were on fire. Positions were taken up on the Menin
Road, in an area known as Bellewaerde, with the 9th Lancers. During these first three weeks of May
the German offensive reduced in intensity, but any thoughts of quieter times ahead were shattered
at dawn on Whit Monday, 24 May. Artillery, machine gun and rifle fire rained down on William Ord
colleagues, followed by a chlorine gas release. This heavy bombardment did not dislodge the Green
Howards and 9th Lancers, but at a cost of 23 lives from the 4th Battalion, mainly from Middlesbrough
and Cleveland. Private William Ord was one of these fatalities. It is not known how he died,
whether from artillery rounds, machine gun or rifle fire, or chlorine gas.
Today Bellewaerde is home to a large theme park.
6 Remembering Private William Ord
William Ord's name is on the war memorials at Christ Church, Great Ayton and at Nunthorpe, to the
west of the Parish Church of St Mary's. William Ord's name is among more than 54,000 names of
men with no known grave, commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres.
Acknowledgements
Original research by George Heron, Dave and Ernie Taylor of the Great Ayton History Society.
References
Census returns for 1871 to 1911
Nunthorpe in 1933
Halcyone Purvis
Nunthorpe History Group Newsletter No.7, July 2013
Refers to Mrs Charles Dorman, the widow of Sir Arthur John Dorman's son Arthur Charles Dorman,
living at Ryehill House and having the car registration AJ5
1/4th Battalion, Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment
Website at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bandl.danby/001BnIndex.html
Detailed diary of the activities of the Battalion during the Great War.
Situations vacant
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, Middlesbrough, 9 October 1916, page 1
John Ord's advertisement for a hind.