Territorial Force War Medal with BWM Pair. Middlesex Regiment. Bellinger. Elementary School Head Master. Burnley.

Correctly named 1715 Pte ST Bellinger Midd’x R

Silas Theodore Bellinger was born in Cockermouth, Cumberland in 1894 to Frederick and Lydia.

In 1901, we find the family living at 135 Harrington Road, Workington. By 1911, they had moved to 21 Darcy St Workington.

He served in the military from 1914 until 1919 and the medal pair is his confirmed award.

He served with the 1/10 Bn Middlesex Regiment. At the start of the First World War the four territorial battalions were sent off to their war stations: the 1/7th and 1/8th, who went to France to serve on the Western Front, and the 1/9th and 1/10th, who went to India to relieve regular troops and remained there for the entirety of the War.
The 1/10th were disbanded in 1921.

We see in 1921, Silas is working as an elementary school teacher working for Burnley Education Authority. By now, he is living at 78 Albion Street, Burnley.

His CV tells us he was working as assistant master at Victoria Council Boys School in Burnley 1912-13.
After his wartime service he worked at St Peters School, Burnley, from 1919 until 1930.
1930-1931 he was temporary headmaster at Lane Head National School in Burnley.
From 1931-1934, he worked at St Andrews in Burnley as headmaster followed by a return to St Peters as headmaster from 1934.

He married Mabel Annie Hargreaves in 1922.

In 1939 we find them living at 339 Brunshaw Road in Burnley where he lived until his death in 1963.

During our research, we were lucky to find an image of Silas in uniform.

Both medals have modern replacement ribbons.