Source: Leicestershire War Memorials Project.
Although Harold was born in Horninghold, his family was Hallaton through and through. His father George was a carter though sometimes he called himself a “coal dealer” and no doubt was a frequent caller at Hallaton station collecting his wares. Harold would have attended Hallaton School, walking every day there and back unless he could hitch a lift with his father if he were coming in this direction. Sometime before 1911 the family moved to Kettering and Harold was now working as a carter. He was an early enthusiastic recruit on the declaration of war and joined the 6th Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment in early September with service number 14401. After initial infantry training in Colchester he went to France on 26th July 1915. They moved north and had their first experience in the trenches on August 18th. They also had to learn fast following the experience of being surprised by a large German patrol and having 20 men taken prisoner. Christmas Day was spent in the front line at Morlancourt but young Harold had found time to send this little memento home. By March they were east of Amiens on the Somme and it was obvious that by June something “big” was coming. All heavy kit was sent to the rear and out of the line the men were occupied with burying telephone cables. Everything had been rehearsed in great detail over full size models of the German trench system. On 1st July 1916 the fateful hour came with the attack on Montauban and the objective Caterpillar Wood. The theory was the heavy bombardment would have flattened the German wire and obliterated their dugouts. Reality was otherwise. The war diary states “… The battalion advanced as steadily as if they were on the parade ground.” They came under a heavy barrage of artillery fire almost immediately “…but continued to move forward with admirable coolness.” The tally of casualties was awful. Killed 29; wounded 123; missing 4; shellshock 1. Consolidation of the trenches captured was made and sometime that night of 1st – 2nd July 1916, among the dead was Private Harold Wright Simkin who was 14 days short of his 21st birthday. He is buried at Dantzig Alley Cemetery and honoured on Hallaton and Kettering War Memorials.

Information (including photograph) kindly provided by Dennis Kenyon.