Road named after Blesma’s Wilf

Road named after Blesma’s Wilf Whitfield

The legend of WWI veteran, social campaigner and Blesma Member Wilf Whitfield lives on after a road was named in his honour in his home town of Middlesbrough.

Wilfred Whitfield Way stands on the site of a former iron works where Wilf got his first job as a 14 year old before volunteering for duty and losing his right arm at the Battle of the Somme which ended in November in 1916.

Wilf, who was only 18 when he was injured, fought for workers’ rights and social justice after the war. He was vital in establishing the teesside Branch of Blesma and fighting for the 40,000 WWI amputees who came home to discover that only about 10 per cent of them could regain employment.

Both his service and civilian life were documented in a revelatory diary he kept that was discovered by his grandchildren and published as Wasted Effort, A Journal of the First World War.

Middlesbrough Council chose Wilf because of his unique connection to the site and his inspirational role as a campaigner.

“It was fantastic and very emotional when they told us they were naming a road after Wilf,” said granddaughter Alison Fellows.

“I am sure Wilf would have been delighted as he was passionate about Middlesbrough and the area. It is fitting as he started his working life in the blast furnaces on that site when they would have been hellish places to work. He came back from the war disabled but that didn’t stop him fighting for other veterans and starting the local branch of Blesma.

“I hope more people will learn about our grandfather and what he stood for when they hear about Wilfred Whitfield Way. The road name is a lovely tribute to him.”

Wilf, who served as a Lieutenant in the 4th Yorks Battalion, the Green Howards, died in 1958, aged 62.