Episode Synopsis
Hugh Dennis lives in East Sussex with his wife and two children. He grew up in London, the younger son of
John Dennis, a Bishop, and
Dorothy Hinnalls. His parents met each other at Cambridge. Both of Hugh's grandfathers fought in the First World War.
John's father was
Hubert Ronald Dennis, known as Ronald. He was born in 1899 in the village of Wales, near Sheffield. His parents were
John Dennis, a miner, and his wife
Edith. The 1901 census of Wales and Kiveton Park shows John and Edith with their two sons
John W age 3 and Hubert R age 2.
1901 census entry on ancestry
1911 census on ancestry
Hugh visited Wales Primary School where he saw his grandfather's name on the Honours Board showing that he received a scholarship to grammar school in 1910. The grammar school was Woodhouse Grammar School which opened in 1909, and Ronald's elder brother John (known as Jack) also went there.
In 1917 Ronald joined the army. He joined as a Private but was recommended as an officer cadet and went through officer training at Cambridge, at St John's College which Hugh later attended as a student.
Hugh visited the Imperial War Museum to meet a military historian who showed him Ronald's army record. This showed that he arrived in France on the 12th Oct 1918, i.e. very close to the end of the war. He led a battalion who captured the village of Futoy, losing a lot of men. Ronald was wounded by fragments of a shell and was sent home. After the war he became a secondary school teacher. He died in 1990 aged 91.
Hugh then found out about the wartime experiences of his other grandfather,
Godfrey Parker Hinnalls. Hugh's aunt
Margaret gave him some information and showed him some photos, including one of Godfrey's brother
Frank who died at Gallipolli age 17. Hugh had a look at Godfrey's service record online, and then went to France and Belgium to visit the battlefields. Godfrey served in the Suffolk Regiment when they were sent to Arras to bury the bodies of those who died in the battle there. His battalion were then involved in attacking the Hindenburg Line and in the battle of Passchaendale, where a lot of men died. He spent the winter at Popperinge where there is now the Talbot House Museum, which Hugh visited. In 1918 Godfrey served in the Lincolnshire Regiment and took part in defending the village of Wytschaete against the German attack. Only 86 men survived out of 400 in Godfrey's battalion.
After the war, Godfrey returned to his home town of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, where he got married and spent the rest of his life. He died in 1974.