THE IMPACT OF WAR ON SEFTON COMMUNITIES
The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War One was over 37 million. There were over 17 million deaths and 20 million wounded, ranking it amongst the deadliest conflicts in human history.
The total number of deaths includes approx 10 million military personnel and 7 million civilians.
To try and illustrate how the death toll would have affected the residents of Sefton, local historians Marie McQuade and Jo McCann looked at Antonio Street, a small street of terraced houses near Bedford Road Primary in Bootle. Eighteen men were killed in action, from this small street of 72 houses.
Brothers John & Frederick Palethorpe
Cousins Joseph Sloey & Joseph Kane
Frederick Goodwin
No. 4
At number 4 – George and Elizabeth Palethorpe lost two sons in World War One.
John George was 30 years of age, married with two small children, when he was killed at the first battle of Ypres.
His younger brother Frederick was in the navy. He died age 22, when his ship HMS Laurentic struck a mine off Ireland in January 1917.
No. 19
Two family members were also lost at number 19, when cousins Joseph Sloey and Joseph Kane were both killed.
Joseph Sloey died at the age of 22 when he was shot in the stomach at Arrowhead Copse, Guillemont, part of the Somme offensive. Joseph Kane, 24, was a member of the Machine Gun Corps when he was killed in action on 4th March 1917. Prior to the war both cousins had been merchant seamen, sailing out of Liverpool.
No. 84
Frederick Goodwin lived at 84 Antonio Street and was one of the oldest in the street to be killed in action.
He was 33 when he was killed at Ypres. He left behind a widow and three children; the youngest, Lilian was born on 24th June, 22 days after her father’s death.
Previously Frederick had served with the South Lancashire Regiment during the Boer War, from 1900 to 1902.
All the men on Antonio Street who lost their lives during World War One:
No. 4 John George Palethorpe
Died 24th April 1915
No. 4 Frederick Palethorpe
Died 25th January 1917
No. 9 Henry Bernard Brown
Died 3rd September 1916
No. 17 James Seddon
Died 8th August 1916
No. 19 Joseph William Sloey
Died 4th August 1916
No. 19 Joseph Kane
Died 4th March 1917
No. 21 Sidney Buck
Died 8th August 1916
No. 27 Edward Francis Smith
Died 21st December 1917
No. 31 John Hamilton Beggs
Died 8th November 1917
No. 31 Ernest Green
Died 22nd March 1918
No. 43 Malcolm Shaw
Died 26th July 1918
No. 44 Thomas Stephen Corkhill
Died 5th April 1918
No. 46 William Sutton
Died 31st August 1918
No. 46 Robert Sutton
TBC
No. 58 George Lake
Died 22nd November 1916
No. 62 John Gregory
Died 17th January 1919
No. 72 Edward Jones
Died 20th February 1918
No. 84 Frederick Goodwin
Died 2nd June 1915
