Charles Oswald Hopcraft, known as Oswald, was born in Ilkeston in 1893. His parents were Albert James (a railway signalman) and Annie (nee Greatorex). His brother Alfred Douglas Hopcraft was born five years later. By the 1911 census Oswald was described as a lace maker, while Alfred was still at school. Their parents lived on Sudbury Avenue, Ilkeston.
Both joined the Army, with Oswald in the Northumberland Fusiliers after initially volunteering for the local 1/5 Sherwood Foresters Regiment. Alfred served with the West Yorkshire (Prince of Wales’s Own) Regiment.
Oswald was killed during the Battle of the Somme on 15th September 1916 aged 23. His body was never identified, and he is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial along with 72,149 other missing casualties. His brother Alfred was killed on 28th March (not 28th April as stated on his photo) 1918 aged 19. His body was not identified either and he is remembered on the Pozieres Memorial in the Somme.
Both appear in several of the marvellous family photographs from an album kindly loaned to us for copy by Chris Henshaw. This belonged originally to the late Jim Coy, who was the baby shown in one of the images.
