NEWEY, Joseph

Joseph Newey (Jonah on the church memorial) was born in Birmingham and had enlisted as a pre-war regular soldier in the 2nd Battalion of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment. They were in the 5th Division which joined the British Expeditionary Force in France on the 16th August and then proceeded into Belgium as far as Mons. The invading German forces far outnumbered the British but the BEF was determined to fight. The Wellingtons were in reserve on the 23rd but in the front line near Elouges on the morning of the 24th. The order to retreat had been made but did not immediately reach them. They suffered 400 casualties but held up six enemy battalions. Among those killed in action was Lance Corporal Joseph Newey, the first Lye man to be killed in the Great War. He was 31 years of age and is buried in Hautrage Cemetery (I D 2) near Mons. He is commemorated on the Lye and Wollescote and Lye church Memorials.