THE SON of a Keighley church minister died with all his comrades when Germans attacked his trench from both sides.
Norman Fidoe was an old boy of Keighley Boys Grammar School and was serving with the Leicestershire Regiment when he died in France in March 1918.
He had only returned to France four months earlier as a newly-promoted 2nd lieutenant following a long period convalescing in England from a 1916 wound.
Norman was born in 1893 at Kirkby Moorside, but by 1905 he was living in Keighley where his father William was a Primitive Methodist minister.
As a young teenager Norman moved to York to study at Archbishop Holgate’s Grammar School and by 17 was a bank clerk in Grimsby. He joined the army in 1915.
In his letter sent that Norman’s parents following the 24-year soldier’s death, Norman’s captain wrote: “Norman, with a few men, was holding a strong point which the enemy attacked in overwhelming numbers from both front and rear.
“Your son was killed while in a short trench with two or three men and a Lewis gun.
“His men, the few that are left, wish to express their sympathy. He died a most glorious death.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here