Ramsey Town Commissioners, in partnership with the Ramsey branch of the British Royal Legion, held a short ceremony on Saturday October 1 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the loss of Ramsey serviceman Private Robert Harold Martin Caley, aged 21.

The son of Robert and Mary-Ann Caley of Waterloo Road, Ramsey, Private Caley was born in Liverpool but later moved to the island before enlisting with the 23rd Battalion, Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex Regiment). Records indicate he was reported missing, subsequently presumed killed in action, and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme in France.

Relatives of Private Caley, together with members and officers of Ramsey Town Commission and representatives from the town’s branch of the Royal British Legion, gathered at the cenotaph in Ramsey’s Courthouse Gardens, Parliament Street to pay their respects and observe a minute’s silence. Private Caley’s nephew, Martin Caley, laid a simple cross on the cenotaph, while other relatives left floral tributes in his memory.

Among those attending was Gillian Culshaw who explained that Private Caley was her grandmother’s (Hilda Mary Elizabeth Magill nee Caley) brother.

Mrs Culshaw generously shared some of her memories of her grandmother. ‘My gran was born on a very snowy evening in March 1909 to Robert and Mary-Anne Caley of 62 Waterloo Road, Ramsey. She was the youngest of five. Robert “Harold” was the eldest, followed by Leonard, followed by Ethel, followed by Sidney and then finally my gran, Hilda.

‘After meeting and falling in love with a Boy Scout, Ernie, who had been camping in a field at the bottom of Glen Auldyn, she moved to Belfast when she was 21. They went on to have three children, Brian, Hilary and Margaret. I am the daughter of Hilary.

‘Growing up, I was blessed to live right next door to my gran. My grandpa had died before I was born so I was very close to my gran. Every night without fail I would be in with her, either singing, playing Patience or watching Miss Marple! Usually I ended up sleeping in there, too. Gran had me spoiled; I didn’t get lemonade for breakfast in my own house!

‘But it was during these evenings that gran would sit and regale me with tales of her Ramsey days…I grew up believing Ramsey and the rest of the Isle of Man was a truly magical place where almost anything was possible!

‘She would often speak of her brother Harold who had fought and died during World War One at the Battle of the Somme. She had loved him dearly and remembered him coming to collect her from school. They would walk back home holding hands, except that his hand was too big for hers so she would just hold onto his little finger.

‘Gran remembered a few stories from those days. Soldiers were billeted in houses all along Waterloo Road. Gran’s house was no different, they had a few young soldiers who stayed there and one even started to call her “mum” too. They also looked after the regiment’s mascot, an Irish wolfhound. He was a huge fella and would fall asleep at night in the parlour in front of the fire with their own wee dog fast asleep in between its legs.

‘The soldiers who stayed in the various houses along Waterloo Road were still expected to abide by military rules. The soldiers were under a 22:00 hours curfew. Every night at 22:00 hours the military police would come along the road, checking each house for hats on the hat stand. Every house they went to never failed to have the correct number of army hats on the hat stand. But little did they know that once that hat stand had been checked, a soldier would have grabbed the hats and run next door along the back alley and place the correct number of hats onto the stand so the military police could account for the right number of soldiers there. I always wonder what mischief they were actually getting up to, to have been staying out so late!

‘Then came the day when Harold got called up to go to war. He and the other members of the regiment marched all the way through Ramsey town to the Queen’s Pier. They must have looked so smart, but when they got to the pier they were told not to march as this would cause the pier to sway and shake!

‘When the soldiers went, the mascot had to go too. Now it seemed that the big wolfhound had grown to like staying at number 62 and didn’t want to leave. He especially did not want to walk along the pier to the awaiting boat, when the captain of the regiment threatened to shoot the dog dead, Gran’s brother Leonard, who had grown very fond of the dog, managed to lead him along the pier to the ship. I often wonder what happened to the dog. I like to believe that at some point he was able to be a comfort to the young boys and men who had been deployed far from home.

‘Gran would have been seven when her mother got the news of Harold’s death. Gran remembered playing in her friend’s house a few doors up from theirs, when the mother of the house came up to gran and took of her coloured ribbon from her dress and replaced it with a black one. It was only when gran went home that she found out the horrible news.

‘She recalled one time not long after Harold’s death that her mum had become very upset. Her mum had received a letter which had started “Dear Mum…” Automatically she thought it was from her Harold and that there had been a mistake, but it was actually from the other young soldier who she had taken under her wing who had started calling her mum. She obviously was happy that he had thought so much of her that he had written, but it just reminded her of her loss.

‘Gran had many more tales to tell of Ramsey. She would make me scream when she told me about the old man in the market place who lived on the coast road who, amongst other things, would quite happily dock puppy dogs’ tails- with his teeth!

‘She loved the Pierrots and we spent many a night singing their songs. “Two little girls in blue”, “Goodbye Dolly Gray”, “It’s a long way to Tipperary”, “Pack up your troubles”, “Hey! Ho! Come to the fair” and numerous others.

‘Her best friend was May Kewley. Along with playing in Mooragh Park, they would spend their days by the shore and dive from the pier, then go and get a poke of peas (yes, the garden variety) from the chip shop and have them with salt and vinegar.

‘My gran’s grand-parents were the second people to have the licence for the cafe at the end of the pier. It was a very posh place and the plates were even embossed with gold!’

Ramsey Town Commissioners, in partnership with the Ramsey branch of the Royal British Legion, hold similar ceremonies on the 100th anniversary of the loss of each local serviceman, details of which are posted on the Commission’s Facebook page and website, ramsey.gov.im.

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