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Private Joseph “Joe” Dale, 1st/6th Battalion Sherwood Foresters (the Notts & Derbys Regiment)

04/09/2026
First World War Army United Kingdom BOULOGNE EASTERN CEMETERY
By Keith Mason
Rank
Private
Name
JOSEPH DALE
Regiment
Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment)
Date of Death
Died 20 May 1917
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“WINSTER SOLDIER’S DEATH”

The following appeared under the above headline in the ‘Derbyshire Times’ of 2 June 1917: “The Winster relatives of Pte. Joe Dale of the Sherwoods have just received notification of the death of this young man, reported wounded in France in these columns a few weeks ago. Amputation of the leg was necessary, and he succumbed to the operation. The brave fellow, who was 23 years of age, was of fine build and physique. He was the son of the late Mr John Dale, of Gratton Lodge. Elton, gamekeeper on the Stanton Estate.”

PARENTS IDENTIFIED BY CWGC
His Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) entry confirms that 241134 Private Joseph “Joe” Dale of the 1st/6th Battalion Sherwood Foresters (the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was the: “son of John and Elizabeth Dale of Gratton Moor, Elton, Winster, Matlock.”
PARENTAGE AND BIRTH
Joe Dale was born in Winster, near Matlock, Derbyshire in 1893. His parents were John Dale (born Elton, near Matlock 1865) and Elizabeth Dale nee Bunting (born Bonsall, near Matlock 1871). They had married at the church of St James the Apostle, Bonsall, in 1890.
1901 CENSUS - SIBLINGS
The 1901 census found the 8-year-old Joe at home with his parents and siblings at West Bank, Winster, with his father employed as a Lead [metal] Miner. Joe Dale’s siblings were: John (born 1891); Richard (1894); Alfred (1897); and George Edward (1902).
DEATH OF MOTHER AND 1911 CENSUS - JOSEPH DALE
Joe’s mother, Elizabeth Dale nee Bunting, died, aged 39, in 1910. Joe would have been aged 17 when his mother died. The 1911 census located Joe aged 18 employed as a Cowman on a Farm in Winster, owned by Frank Wright (born Hawhill, near Matlock 1856) with his wife Esther Ann Wright (born Bonsall 1871).
1911 CENSUS - JOSEPH DALE’S FATHER
In the 1911 census, Joe’s father, the recent widower John Dale, aged 48, was at Dale Top, Elton, near Matlock employed as a Gamekeeper.
DEATH OF FATHER
Joe’s father, John Dale, died, aged 49, in 1915. Joe would have been aged 22 when his father died.
ENLISTMENT

Four pages of Joseph Dale’s service record have survived. Combining data in those with that from the publication ‘Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919’ and his medal card, confirms that, he enlisted with the 1st/6th Battalion Sherwood Foresters in Matlock, on 9 November 1914, and was allocated service number 3578. (241134 would have been allocated when service numbers were rationalised in 1917).

When he voluntarily signed up, Joe was 21 years and 9 months old, 5 feet 9.5 inches tall, with grey eyes, brown hair, and a fresh complexion. He had a 36 inch chest at full expansion, with a 3 inch expansion / contraction range. He was of the Protestant faith. (Unfortunately, the denomination he belonged to is unreadable).

GREAT WAR SERVICE AND FATE

Joe served on the Home Front from 9 November 1914 to 10 June 1916, and at the Western Front from 11 June 1916 to the 20 May 1917 until the date of his death from wounds (a total of 2 years 193 days).

On 23 April 1917 he received a gunshot wound to his left knee joint. His death occurred 27 days later at No.13 General Hospital, in Boulogne, France.

Both parents having died, Joe’s brother George acted as his next of kin.

GRAVE
CWGC records that, when he died on 20 May 1917, Joseph Dale was 24 years of age, and confirms that his remains are interred in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery: “Boulogne-sur-Mer [being] a large Channel port. Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, one of the town cemeteries, lies in the district of St Martin Boulogne, Pas De Calais, France.”

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