Lewis's Story.
EARLY LIFE
Lewis Millward was born on 11 September 1889 and baptised (as Louis Millward) on 4 February 1891 at Christ Church, Macclesfield, the son of Rebecca and James Millward, a shoemaker of 43 Oxford Road, Macclesfield. Rebecca died soon after the birth of her son.
In the 1891 census, one-year-old Lewis was recorded at 109 Mill Street, Macclesfield with his widowed father and siblings Mary (21), Elizabeth (19), Emma (16), Sarah (15) and Pauline (10); he was also listed as a nurse child at 43-45 Oxford Rd, the home of Elizabeth and Philip Mottershead and their family. By 1901 James Millward had married Sarah Massey and the family had moved to 3 Old Mill Lane, Macclesfield.
In 1909 Lewis married Edith McDonald and by 1911 the couple lived at 5 Old Mill Lane. Lewis followed his father into the shoemaking business. A daughter, Edith May, was born in 1914.
WW1 SERVICE
News of the death of Lewis Millward was printed in the Macclesfield Times on 1 March 1918:
KILLED IN ITALY
Mrs Millward, 5 Old Mill Lane, Macclesfield, has received news that her husband, Dispatch Rider Lew Millward, Heavy Artillery Group, was accidentally killed whilst carrying a dispatch in Italy on February 17th...
More information about the circumstances of his death was printed in the Macclesfield Times three weeks later, on 22 March 1918:
DESPATCH RIDER'S TERRIBLE FATE - MACCLESFIELD SOLDIER RUN OVER
Mrs Millward, 5 Old Mill Lane, Macclesfield, has received official confirmation of the news that her husband, Despatch Rider Lewis Millward, Heavy Artillery Group, was accidentally killed in Italy on February 17th. A letter from the Major states: "Your husband was carrying a despatch when he was run into by a lorry, which smashed his cycle to bits and ran over him... your husband was a splendid fellow, always cheerful and ready to turn out at any time of the day or night..." Lieut. F Allen Hughes and a Macclesfield soldier named A Brees, who formerly carried on a business as a jeweller in Sunderland Street, have also written sympathetic letters to Mrs Millward.
Despatch Rider Millward was twenty-eight years of age, and was formerly in business as a boot repairer. He enlisted on March 16th 1916 and was drafted out to Italy about three months ago. He leaves one child.
COMMEMORATION
Private Lewis Millward is buried in Grave Ref. Plot 2. Row C. Grave 3. in the Giavera British Cemetery, Italy. His widow asked for the inscription “GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN R.I.P.” to be added to his headstone. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission holds casualty details for Private Lewis Millward, and he is listed on the Imperial War Museum’s Lives of the First World War website.
In Macclesfield, Private Lewis Millward is commemorated on the Park Green, Town Hall, St Michael's Church, St George's Church and St Alban's Church war memorials. He is also remembered on a family grave in Macclesfield Cemetery, plot no. J.8824.
The floral tributes laid when the Macclesfield Park Green War Memorial was unveiled on 21st September 1921 included one with the words “In loving memory of Lewis Millward.”
SOURCES
GRO (England & Wales) Index: Births, Marriages
Macclesfield Parish Baptism Registers (FindMyPast)
Macclesfield Non-Conformist Marriage Registers (FindMyPast)
Census (England & Wales): 1891, 1901, 1911
Family History Society of Cheshire (FHSC): Macclesfield Cemetery Monumental Inscriptions
Commonwealth War Graves Commission website
Macclesfield Times: 1 and 22 March 1918, 23 September 1921 (photo supplement)
Research by Rosie Rowley, Macclesfield.