Oscar Cohen – East Lancashire Regiment

Private Oscar Cohen – East Lancashire Regiment

Oscar Cohen was born in 1888 in Salford, Lancashire, the son of Marks Cohen and Rachel Lotinga, who married in 1877 in Durham. The Cohen family belonged to the commercial and industrial communities of Manchester and Salford, shaped by migration, trade, and the growth of Jewish families across the north of England during the late Victorian period.

Family Life

1901 Census

The 1901 Census records the Cohen family living at 56 Warwick Street, Manchester, where Marks Cohen, aged 49 and employed as a Pawnbroker’s Manager, resided with his wife Rachel, aged 48 and also born in Durham. Their household included their sons Moses, aged 21 and working as a Traveller (Bundles of chips), and Oscar, aged 13. The census presents a picture of a modest, industrious Manchester household rooted in the commercial life of the city.

Military Service

Oscar later enlisted in the East Lancashire Regiment, serving as a Private. The regiment drew heavily from the industrial towns of Lancashire and saw extensive service during the First World War. Although Oscar’s surviving military records are limited, his enlistment places him among the thousands of men from the region who stepped forward during the conflict.

Oscar Cohen
Swansea Jewish Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Death and Burial

Oscar Cohen was accidentally killed on 18 April 1918 at Port Talbot, a reminder that wartime service carried risks far beyond the battlefield. Many soldiers were engaged in training, transport, and logistical duties across Britain, and accidents were tragically common during the intense wartime mobilisation.

Oscar was laid to rest in the Swansea Jewish Cemetery, where his grave remains part of the wider story of the Jewish servicemen who contributed to Britain’s war effort. His name, preserved in military and burial records, stands among those whose service ended not in combat but in the hazardous conditions of wartime Britain.