Corporal 106321 D.C.M., 188th Company Royal Engineers. John Midgley was born in Bradford on 17th June 1890. He was the third of five children born to Samuel and Henrietta (nee Tomlinson) Midgley, and their eldest surviving son. Samuel described himself as a Professor of Music, although his earliest recorded employment at the age of eleven was working underground as a ‘hurrier’ in a coal mine in Bierley, south Bradford. Henrietta was a vocalist and singing teacher, and together they ran a music school at a large house on Oak Avenue, Manningham, for more than three decades. Their son John attended the Bradford Grammar School from 1900, when he was ten, until 1907. He left no impression in the pages of the Bradfordian, either as a scholar or a sportsman. He studied Chemistry at Bradford Technical College, before he became Works Chemist for J.R. Denison & Sons, dyers, of Bradford, and he was seconded for two months to the Baiers Company in Eberfeld, Germany. He was a good botanist who wrote for local weekly newspapers and delivered lectures. In the term after leaving BGS, Midgley presented to the Photographic Society there ‘an exceedingly interesting lecture on “Walks around Bradford” …  demonstrated by lantern slides from his own photographs’ 

When war broke out, John was quick to enlist in the Bradford Pals battalion (16th West Yorkshire), and his name was among the ‘First Thousand’ published by the Bradford Daily Telegraph on 6th November 1914. Following the first use of poisonous chlorine gas by the Germans in April 1915, the War Office decided to follow suit and circulated a letter appealing for men with experience in Chemistry to form special companies of the Royal Engineers. All who joined were given the rank of Corporal—among them was Midgley, and he was sent to France on 27th July 1915 where he joined 188th Company.

After a period of relative quiet on the Western Front, the French commander Joffre planned a joint Franco-British offensive in Champagne and Artois. The British 1st Army, commanded by General Sir Douglas Haig would deliver the British attack at Loos, an area of slagheaps and mining villages. As the B.E.F. was still desperately short of heavy artillery, and of shells of all calibres, chlorine gas was used to effect a breakthrough. Midgley’s Company was one of two responsible for installing five thousand cylinders in the front line and releasing the gas on 25th September, with mixed results. Sir John French prolonged the attacks through October, and there was a second British gas attack on the 13th. For his actions that day Midgley would be awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. His company commander wrote ‘Corpl. Midgley, J.G., carried out his duties with coolness and perfect success, despite an intense bombardment and many serious difficulties … some of the infantry went over the parapet, were stopped by their own wire, and retired, leaving a wounded Private of the Black Watch in front of the bay where Corpl. Midgley was working. Immediately Corpl. Midgley climbed over the parapet to bring the Highlander into the trench, but was unfortunately hit in the thigh and had to retire.’  Another engineer, inspired by the example, rescued the man, who was saved from being gassed or left to bleed to death. Midgley was evacuated to Britain to the Red Cross Hospital at Cirencester, Gloucestershire, where he died of his wound on 7th November. His officer wrote that ‘it would have been some consolation to his relatives and friends … to know … that he gave his life for his friend.’ His body was brought to Bradford by his family for burial at Scholemoor Cemetery. He was unmarried.

 

Nick Hooper