Bicknell, Albert Victor. Died 21st Mar 1918

Albert Victor Bicknell was born in late 1887 to Arthur Bicknell and his wife Sarah Ann née Wright.

Arthur and Sarah were both born in about 1852 in Warwickshire in Bulkington and Barnacle respectively, and their marriage was registered at Foleshill in the last quarter of 1873.  In 1881 Arthur was a coal miner and the family including Elizabeth Wright, Arthur’s mother-in-law, was living in Bulkington.

The family then, and certainly later, were much involved with brass bands, and indeed there was a Bicknell Brass Band,[1] founded by Albert’s grandfather, George Bicknell, which would by 1901 become the Bulkington Brass Band.[2]

There were four children: Thomas E was born about 1875 in Barnacle, Warwickshire; Amy was born in 1877; Clara A in 1878; and Albert Victor in 1887.  Before early 1891, indeed probably before 1887, the family had moved to live at 60 Oxford Street, Rugby.  Albert was baptised on 10 November 1887 at St. Andrew’s church, Rugby; Arthur was now a labourer, and in 1891, Arthur’s mother-in-law who had been with them in Bulkington, was still living with them, as well as some lodgers.  They were still in Oxford Street in 1901, when Albert was three years old and his grandmother was 90; the house was now numbered 123, which may represent the Post Office renumbering rather than any change of residence.

Albert’s marriage with Sarah Ellen Beer was registered in Rugby in the second quarter of 1907.  She was about a year younger than Albert and had been born in about 1888/89 in New Bilton.

The family had moved to Coventry before 1911, and Albert was a ‘General Labourer, Engineer Machine Works’ and they were then living at 74 Thomas Street.  Albert and Sarah already had two children: Elsie, 1908-1954; and [Kathleen] Olive, 1910-1972.  George Thomas Arthur, 1912-1965, was born the next year.  After a five year gap, some whilst Albert was in France, the youngest child, Frances Lillian, 1917-1991, was born.  Her father probably never saw her.

 

Very soon after war was declared, Albert enlisted in Birmingham as No.8031 in the 10^th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment.  A family photograph showed him looking very young and ‘pink cheeked’.  His number suggests that he enlisted in early September 1914, when the 10^th (Service) Battalion was raised at Warwick as part of the second of Kitchener’s new armies.

The battalion was assigned to the 57^th Brigade in the 19^th Division training on Salisbury Plain.  In December 1914 the Battalion was in billets for the winter and in March 1915 concentrated with its division around Tidworth.  Whilst some records suggest that the Battalion embarked for France and Flanders on 17 May 1915, other records have the division landed in France on 17 July 1915.  Albert’s medal card recorded that he went to France on 18 July 1915, which would support the later date.

During the Battle of the Somme in 1916, the Battalion was in the operational area between 1 July and 7 August and between 7 October and until the end of that battle on 18 November 1916.

Family recollections are indeed that he served in the first battle of the Somme in 1916.  It would also appear that he had leave in UK – or perhaps he had been wounded – sometime at the end of that year or early in 1917, after the Somme.

A portrait photograph (copyright restricted by owner)  It was said to have been taken ‘after the battle’ in 1916, presumably in the UK.  This tends to be confirmed by the birth of his fourth child the next year on 26 September 1917.

He was promoted to Lance Corporal at some date, possibly after he returned to France.

The history of 19^th (Western) Division[4] shows that it was involved in 1917 in the following actions:
-The Battle of Messines
-The Third Battles of Ypres
– The Battle of the Menin Road Ridge
– The Battle of Polygon Wood
– The Battle of Broodseinde
– The Battle of Poelcapelle
– First Battle of Passchendaele
– The Second Battle of Passchendaele

The following year, on 21 March 1918, the Germans launched a major offensive, Operation Michael, against the British Fifth Army, and the right wing of the British Third Army.  The artillery bombardment began at 4.40am on 21 March 1918, and hit targets over an area of 150 square miles, the biggest barrage of the entire war.  Over 1,100,000 shells were fired in five hours.

The formation for the British order of battle for that period which was also known as the Battle of St Quentin (21-23 March 1918), included 10^th Warwickshires which were near St. Quentin with the 19^th (Western) Division and the 57^th Brigade in the Third Army (under Byng).  The Battalion was in action east of Beaumetz facing Doignies.[5]

Because of the intensity of the battle, and as the Germans were moving forward, many of those killed could not be identified.  Albert was killed on the first day of the action on 21 March 1918.

The Battalion War Diary for 21 March 1918 includes the following.

– 5am – The Battn. was in rest camp in BARASTRE when the alarm was given by intense artillery fire; orders were given to stand to arms and extra S.A.A., bombs, rifle grenades, rations etc were issued; the Battn was ready to move by 5-45.am.  Breakfasts were then served.

– 11.50am – Orders to move to assembly positions were received … The following officers were present … B Coy:  A/Capt. H. A. Hewett, in Command.  2^nd. Lt. E. T. Wilson[6] …

– 3.20am – The Battn. was ordered to move into position for a Brigade counter-attack on DOIGNIES; for this Battn. was in Brigade Reserve …

– 6.40pm – The remainder of the Brigade … launched counter-attack.

– 7.45pm – The line dug roughly followed the 120 contour …

Some three days later the War Diary quoted,

‘Casualties were:- … Other Ranks: killed – 33; Wounded – 191; Missing – 83.’

Albert was one of those killed during the actions on that initial day of the German attack.  His body was found and identified and was buried initially in Barastre Communal Cemetery (Extension), row G, E, 5.  The cemetery was probably then behind German lines and contained 284 German graves, 46 French, and the graves of 39 from the United Kingdom, four from New Zealand and one from Australia.

Some time after Albert’s death, the allies held the advance which had badly weakened the Germans and their supply lines, and they fought back.  The 10^th Battalion ended the war in the same formations on 11 November 1918, well to the east, just west of Bavay, France.

The British graves at Barastre were later concentrated [moved] some 10km north to the H.A.C. Cemetery, Ecoust-St Mein.  Ecoust-St.Mein is a village between Arras, Cambrai and Bapaume.  H.A.C. Cemetery is about 800 metres south of the village on the west side of the D956 road to Beugenatre.  Albert was reburied in Plot VIII. C. 26.  On the Burial Return[7] his name was spelled ‘Bricknell’, (it was correct on the Barastre Cemetery list) and identification was confirmed by his ‘service dress, G S buttons, boots, cross’.  The name was correct on the official memorial stone,⁵ however, there was no additional wording requested by the family, and no family details appear in the Graves Register.

His Medal Card showed that he was awarded the British War Medal, the Victory Medal, and the 1914-15 Star.

After the war, Sarah E Bicknell remarried with Robert W Knight; the marriage was registered at Rugby [6d, 1457] in the fourth quarter of 1921.

 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

 

Thanks to Angela Pain who visited the RFHG stand on a Heritage Day, 2014, and provided background information and put the author in contact with her cousin Clive Rodgers who has provided information and images which were posted on the Ancestry website.  In due course, it is intended that an updated – and corrected – version of this biography will be provided by Clive Rodgers, which will hopefully include the presently withheld images.

 

[1]      The Bicknell Band was founded by George Bicknell and initially only included Bicknell family members from the Bulkington area, Warwickshire. In the 20^th Century, the name changed to the Bulkington Silver Band. The last conductor who was a member of the Bicknell family was in charge in the 1970s.

[2]      A photograph can be seen at http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/55005900/person/13871891414/media/8e425e94-3f51-4111-a6a2-6a49c64de6c2?pg=32768&pgpl=pid.

[3]      http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/55005900/person/13871891865.

[4]      Information from ‘The Long Long Trail’.

[5]      Copyright withheld for the present by the family.

[6]      See Rugby Remembers, 23 March 1918.

[7]      Burial Return, 10 February 1926, CWGC.  The returns are lists of individuals who have been exhumed from their original burial location and reburied in a particular cemetery.  They provide basic details of the individual, but may include information as to their original burial location and occasionally some details of how they were identified. These additional details would have been omitted if the individual was reburied in the same cemetery or identified using normal methods, for example, via a service tag.

Hardman, William John. Died 27 Oct 1917

William John Hardman was born in Rugby in 1897. He was baptised on 7th Feb 1899 at St Matthews Church, Rugby, together with his sister Nellie, born in late 1898. His parents were James Hardman and Elizabeth née Giles and they were married at St Matthews on 19th Oct 1890.

To start with the family lived at 3 Vine Place, but by 1901, when William was 3, they had moved to Overslade. Father James was a Domestic Groom.

By 1911 James and Elizabeth Hardman had 7 children, William was the fourth son. There was another younger so and two younger daughters. They lived at 36 Union Street Rugby and William was a shop assistant. Before he signed up he was employed by Mr W Elliott, of Dunchurch Road. (Probably at the Mineral Water Factory.)

He joined the 15th Bn., Royal Warwickshire Regiment in May 1916. By this time the family were living at 9 James Street, Rugby.

William John Hardman died of wounds on 27th Oct 1917. The regiment had taken part in the Second Battle of Passchendaele, which started on the 26th.

He was buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery. Lijssenthoek was the location for a number of casualty clearing stations during the First World War. The village was situated on the main communication line between the Allied military bases in the rear and the Ypres battlefields. Close to the Front, but out of the extreme range of most German field artillery, it became a natural place to establish casualty clearing stations.

His elder brother Walter had died in 1915. Another brother, Charles Henry, James and Elizabeth’s oldest son, was to die in 1918.

Mr Hardman would assist in the opening of the Rugby Memorial Gates, in 1921.

 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

Williams, Harry Cecil. Died 26th Oct 1917

Whilst an ‘H C Williams’ is on the Rugby Memorial Gates and it must be presumed that the H C Williams on the BTH Memorial is the same man – there was initially insufficient ‘checkable’ information as to exactly whom he might be.

However, among the many soldiers named H or H C Williams on the Commonwealth War Graves data-base is a Harry Cecil Williams who was born in about 1897 and was the son of Harry and Florence Williams of 1, Market Street, Rugby.  This provided a man with a connection to the town.

Census data seemed to have no obvious records of either of these two Harry Williams in Rugby, and there was no place of birth to make searching easier.  However, searching the various pre- and post-war Rugby Directories suggested that a Henry Williams, an ‘Engraver’ came to Rugby in about 1908, and in the 1909 Directory was living at 9 Lawford Road, Rugby.  Before 1911 he had moved to 66 Pennington Street, Rugby, and by 1913 onwards he was listed at 1 Market Street, Rugby, the address that was given on the CWGC site.

However, with no obvious birthplace to search, neither he nor his son appeared to be listed by the 1911 census!  Fortunately searching for Harry’s mother, Florence, produced better results!

In 1901, the family had been at 8 Houston Road, Whiston, Lancashire.  Harry senior was a ‘watch engraver’ which also provided a ‘match’ to his occupation in Rugby.  The children, Florence E and Harry C were five and four respectively and were both born in Prescott, Lancashire.  Harry senior was born in Coventry [b.c.1871] so there was a connection with the area and his wife was from Norwich [b.c.1877].  Harry junior was born on 29 April 1897 and his birth was registered in Q2 1897.  He was baptised as Harry Cecil on 7 July 1897 in Prescot, Lancashire, and his father was then also a ‘Watch Engraver’.

A 1911 census entry could now be found.  The family had indeed moved to Rugby and were now in a four room house at 66 Pennington Street, Rugby, which fits with one of the earlier Directory entries.  Harry senior was now working as an ‘Electric Meter Repairer, Engineer Works’, although the Directories still listed him as an engraver throughout the war – there may not have been staff to check – but he was still living in Market Street until at least 1920.  In 1911, Harry Cecil was 13 and still at school, and his elder sister, Florence Eva was 15 and worked in the ‘Electric Insulating Dept., Engineer Works’.

It seems that Harry Junior would go on to serve an apprenticeship and then work at BTH – and that was probably the ‘engineer works’ where his father and sister were working in 1911.

There are no extant military Service Records for Harry Cecil Williams, except for Medal Cards – but once again there is some confusion.

The Harry Williams with parents in Rugby is listed by the Commonwealth War Graves data-base as being in the 1^st Battalion, the Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) with a Number G/23882.

However, from the Medal Cards, the Harry Cecil Williams who was born in about 1897 with the number G/23882 would appear to be in the Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex) Regiment, however there is no indication of his Battalion which makes tracing his movements during the war virtually impossible.

There is also a Harry Williams who was indeed in the 1^st Battalion, the Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) in the CWGC database.  However, he had the number S/173, went to France on 27 December 1914 and died on 12 March 1915 and is buried in Enclosure No.2. IV. A. 46., in the Bedford House Cemetery having been concentrated [moved] from the Asylum Cemetery – both in the Ypres area.

Regimental numbers were not unique, indeed the CWGC database includes five soldiers who had the number 23882, from five different Regiments, as well as a Harry Williams.  Soldiers could be renumbered when they were posted to a different Regiment as happened when losses in action had reduced a Battalion to insufficient fighting strength.

In tracing ‘our’ Rugby ‘Harry Williams’, one has to make a decision as to likelihoods.  The Army was in contact with his parents, so his date of death was likely to have been correct, and probably also his Regiment.  He may have had more than one number – and perhaps that is the least important fact, and is less crucial to finding his story, in the absence of any Service Records.  So what is the story of the 1^st Bn, the Queen’s Own (Royal West Kents)?

The 1^st Battalion was in Dublin in August 1914 as part of the 13^th Brigade in the 5^th Division and on

15 August 1914 they landed at Le Havre.  During 1914 they took part in the Battle of Mons and the subsequent retreat; the Battle of Le Cateau; the Battle of the Marne; the Battle of the Aisne; the Battles of La Bassee and Messines 1914 and the First Battle of Ypres.  During 1915 they were engaged in the Second Battle of Ypres; and the Capture of Hill 60.

When Harry joined up is unknown, it was probably not until he was 18 in 1915.  When he went to France and joined his battalion is also unknown, but there is no record of him receiving the 1915 Star, so it was probably not until sometime in 1916, by which time he would have received some training in UK, and he would have reached the age of 18 or 19.  In 1916 the Battalion participated in the Attacks on High Wood; the Battle of Guillemont; the Battle of Flers-Courcelette; the Battle of Morval and the Battle of Le Transloy.

During 1917 the Battalion was in the Battle of Vimy; the Attack on La Coulotte; and the Third Battle of the Scarpe, which was part of the Battle of Arras.  They were then involved in several actions of the 3^rd Battle of Ypres: the Battle of Polygon Wood; the Battle of Broodseinde; the Battle of Poelcapelle and the Second Battle of Passchendaele.

The 1^st Bn. Royal West Kents were involved in an assault on 26 October 1917, on the first day of the Second Battle of Passchendale in the Gheluvelt area.  In this southern area, X Corps supported the operation by attacking Gheluvelt which was almost due east of southern Ypres, to secure Tower Hamlets ridge, east of the Bassevillebeek as a diversion.

The Battalion War Diary[1] describes the attack on that first day: After withdrawing slightly to allow battery fire on the enemy positions, the enemy retaliated and shelled the areas behind the previous British positions causing heavy casualties.  That day the War Diary noted that 2 officers were killed, 10 wounded and one was missing; and that 14 men were killed; 111 wounded and that 211 were missing.  The writer of the reports stated: ‘The large number shown as “missing” are accounted for by the following facts: 1. Heavy shelling which must have buried many men.  2. Condition of ground which made it impossible to search ground properly for dead and wounded.  3. Complete lack of information from two assaulting Coys after zero hour.’  The report was on notebook pages, and written by the Lt. Col., whose papers and diaries had been sent back with a lance-corporal who was now missing presumed killed.

The CWGC records some 117 men of the Royal West Kents who died on that day, 26 October 1917.  Some were buried in small burial grounds and later moved [concentrated] to the Hooge Crater Cemetery, but the majority have no known grave and are commemorated at Tyne Cot.

It is assumed that sometime during that costly assault on 26 October 1917, Harry C Williams was first reported ‘missing’ and later was deemed to have been ‘Killed in Action’.

He was probably one of the many reported ‘missing’ and his body was either never found or not identified.  He is remembered on one of the Panels 106 to 108 of the Tyne Cot Memorial.  The Tyne Cot Memorial is one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders which cover the area known as the Ypres Salient.  Whereas those who died before 16 August 1917 are remembered on the Menin Gate, the United Kingdom servicemen who died after that date are named on the memorial at Tyne Cot.

It was not until nearly a year later that his parents received a communication from the War Office,
An intimation has been received by Mr & Mrs Williams, of 1 Market Street, Rugby, from the War Office, stating that their son, Harry Cecil Williams, of the 1st Royal West Kent Regiment, who was reported missing on October 26th last, is now believed to have been killed in action on that date.[2]

Later the Rugby Advertiser noted:
Pte H C Williams, 1st Royal West Kent Regiment – formerly an apprentice in the B.T.H Drawing Office—who was reported missing on October 26th last, is now presumed to have been killed on that date.[3]

Harry Cecil Williams is also commemorated on the Rugby Memorial Gates in Hillmorton Road, Rugby; on the BTH List of ‘Employees Who Served’; and on the BTH War Memorial.[4]

Harry was awarded the British War and Victory Medals.

His father’s death at 71 was registered in Rugby in Q1 1943.

 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

– – – – – –

 

This article on Harry Cecil WILLIAMS was researched and written for the Rugby Family History Group [RFHG] project, by John P H Frearson and is © John P H Frearson and the RFHG, July 2017.

 

[1]      The National Archives, WWI War Diaries (France, Belgium and Germany), 1914-1920, 5^th Division, Piece 1555/1-2: 1 Battalion, Queen´s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment, July 1917 – April 1919.

[2]      Rugby Advertiser, 14 September 1918, also https://rugbyremembers.wordpress.com/2018/09/14/14th-sep-1918-rugby-volunteers-complimented/.

[3]      Rugby Advertiser, 12 October 1918, also https://rugbyremembers.wordpress.com/2018/10/12/12th-oct-1918-lord-denbigh-suspects-cunning-scheme/.

[4]      The List is that published in the Rugby Advertiser, 4 November 1921.

Collins, Arthur William. Died 26th Oct 1917

Arthur William Collins was born in 1888 in Bittesby, Leicestershire and baptised at Claybrooke on 22nd April, that year.

In 1891 the family was living in Willey where William, an agricultural labourer, had been born. Arthur’s mother, Jane (nee Loyde) came from Church Eaton in Shropshire. They were still there, at Cross in Hand Cottage, in 1901 where William was now a waggoner on a farm. No occupation was given for thirteen year old Arthur.

By 1911 they had moved to Rugby, Arthur William was 23, a cement loader. He lived with his parents at 128 New Street, New Bilton. William was also worked at the Cement Works, as a shunter.

Arthur William Collins enlisted with the 15th Bn., Royal Warwickshire Regiment (private 17406), probably sometime in 1916. In October that year he had returned home as the Rugby Advertiser of 21 October, 1916 reports :

AN ABSENTEE.—At the Rugby Police Court, on Thursday (before T Hunter, Esq), Pte Arthur Collins, of the R.W.R, 45 New Street, New Bilton, pleaded guilty to being an absentee from his Battalion since October 14th, and was remanded to await an escort.

In the report of his death, it states that he was wounded in September 1916, probably during the Somme Offensive. A few months earlier, in early July his younger brother Harry had been killed and it was reported then that the family had three other sons serving.

Arthur William Collins died on 26th October 1917, the first day of the Second Battle of Passchendaele, the final phase of the 3rd Battle of Ypres. His body was never found or identified and his name is listed on the Tyne Cot Memorial. He was 29 years of age.

His parents address was given as 45 New Street, New Bilton. He is also listed on the Croop Hill Memorial, Rugby.

 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

 

Wolfe, Sidney George. Died 22nd Oct 1917

Sidney George WOLFE was born in Rugby on 14 February 1890.  He was the son of George James Wolfe, an Engine Fireman, who was born in Shakerstone, Staffordshire, in about 1869, and Julie Mary (née Wing) Wolfe, who was born in Stretton-on-Dunsmore in the same year and whose marriage was registered in Rugby in 1889.

Sidney’s birth was registered in the first quarter of 1890 and he was baptised on 28 March 1890 at St Andrew’s church, Rugby.

In 1891 the family was living at 854 Old Station Square,[1] Rugby and they had a lodger, Walter Wing, an engine cleaner, who was Julie’s younger brother.

In 1901 the family had moved, or had possibly been renumbered, and was living at 809 Old Station Square, Rugby.  George J Wolfe was still a Loco Fireman, and that night they were putting up a two year old nephew, Raymond Wing.

In September 1902 at a Church Army tea and presentation, the young Sidney Wolfe gave a recitation which was encored,[2] then in July 1903 at the Cycling Club fete and sports, Sidney appeared in fancy dress as a footman.[3]  At the Elborow School concert and prize-giving in November 1903, Sidney obtained a ‘Drawing Certificate’ and also gave a recitation ‘The Amateur Photographer’ with E White.[4]

Sidney was ‘… successively a pupil, student teacher, and assistant master at Elborow School’, Rugby and was a ‘well-known Rugby, Coventry, and Midland Counties footballer … and was selected to play for the Midland Counties against the South Africans’.[5]

One source mentioned that he attended Saltley College – this was St Peter’s College, a teacher training establishment located in Saltley, Birmingham.  His name does indeed appear on their War Memorial.[6]

Between 1901 and 1911, Sidney’s parents moved to Coventry, and then in the third quarter of 1914, Sidney married Nellie May Smith, a blacksmith’s daughter, at Warwick.  She had been born on 12 May 1889 and baptised at St Paul’s Warwick on 2 March 1890.

It may be that Sidney and his wife also moved to Coventry before the war, as their two children were both born in Coventry: Roland Vernon, on 1 May 1916, and registered in Q2 1916 [6d, 1445], and Iris Madge, on 1 November 1917, and registered in Q4 1917 [6d, 1111].

It seems that he had moved on from Rugby to teach at Bablake School, Coventry as there is a large wooden memorial board in the school hall, dedicated to the 700 former pupils who served, and the 96 who died in the war.  The latter list of names includes Lieutenant Sidney George Wolfe.[7]

It is uncertain exactly when Sidney ‘joined up’, but he was initially in the South Midlands Divisional Cycling Company (Army Cyclist Corps).  All of the ‘new army’ divisions raised under Lord Kitchener’s instructions in 1914 included a cyclist company.  The primary roles of the cyclists were in reconnaissance and communications.  They were armed as infantry and could provide mobile firepower.  The units which went overseas during WW1 continued in these roles, but also carried out trench-holding duties and manual work.[8]

2nd Lt. S G Wolfe, Apr 1916

Sidney is pictured (left) in his uniform with the cap badge featuring the sphinx and ‘Egypt’ on the livesofthefirstworldwar.org website.[9]

Sidney’s Medal Roll Card shows that he went to France on 31 March 1915 and it was probably in France that he was promoted to Sergeant.  He seems to have proved to be a capable leader and ‘… after eighteen months service in the trenches …’,[10] he was commissioned on 30 April 1916 and transferred to the 18^th Battalion of the Royal Lancashire Fusiliers as a Lieutenant.

The 18^th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Lancashire Fusiliers (2^nd South-East Lancashire) was originally a ‘Bantam’ Battalion, with men who did not reach the normal height requirements.  The Battalion joined the 104^th Brigade of the 35^th Division and went to France, landing at Le Havre on 29 January 1916.

Sidney would have joined the Battalion at some date after the end of April, when the 18^th Battalion was at Croix Barbee, relieving the 17^th Battalion.

In May 1916 when he had ‘… only been with his new unit a week when he was caught by a German machine gun while he was helping to repair barbed wire entanglements in front of the firing line.  … He received two wounds in the neck and one in the face.’[11]

The Rugby Advertiser reported that he had been wounded,

WELL-KNOWN FOOTBALLER WOUNDED
Lieut S G Wolfe, of the Lancashire Fusiliers, the well-known Rugby, Coventry, and Midland Counties footballer, has been wounded at the front.  Lieut Wolfe gained a commission after eighteen months’ service in the trenches, and he had only been with his new unit a week when he was caught by a German machine gun while he was helping to repair barbed wire entanglements in front of the firing line.  The nature of his injuries are not known locally except that he received two wounds in the neck and one in the face.  Lieut Wolfe was successively a pupil, student teacher, and assistant master at Elborow School, and was selected to play for the Midland Counties against the South Africans.[12]

However, no mention has been found in the Battalion War Diary either of him joining the Battalion or being wounded.

The Battalion does not seem to have been involved with the initial actions on the Somme, but in mid-July they were in Trones Wood and Maltz Horn Farm trench in the Somme area.  By September 1916 they had moved to the Arras area and were there or in nearby trenches until the end of 1916.  In June 1917 the Battalion was at Villers-Guislain near Cambrai.  At the beginning of October 1917 the Battalion were training at Avesnes-le-Compte, and in the middle of the month moved to Proven and then Boisinghe.  On 20 October the Battalion prepared for an attack and bivouacked between Broombeek and Steenbeek, and on 21 October they prepared for the attack and moved off at 10.20pm.

The attack on 22 October 1917 is described in four pages of the Battalion Diary.  The Battalion formed up at 2.30am, and zero hour was at 5.35am and they moved forward close to the barrage, which was ragged and too slow and caused several casualties.  They encountered heavy machine gun fire, and later in the afternoon had to repulse a German counter attack which was done successfully.

That day, three officers were killed, including Lt. S G Wolfe, and 27 Other Ranks (ORs); one officer and 42 ORs were wounded and missing; and seven officers and 174 ORs were wounded.

‘He was leading a company into action and was unfortunately killed during the advance.  He had scarcely advanced more than 75 yards when an enemy shell fell close and he was killed instantaneously.’[13]

Lieutenant Sidney George WOLFE, 18^th Bn. Lancashire Fusiliers, was killed in action on 22 October 1917.[14]

His body was either not recovered or not identified.  Sidney is remembered on one of the Panels 54 to 60 and 163A of the Tyne Cot Memorial.  The Tyne Cot Memorial is one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders which cover the area known as the Ypres Salient.  Whereas those who died before 16 August 1917 are remembered on the Menin Gate, the United Kingdom servicemen who died after that date are named on the memorial at Tyne Cot.

The birth of his daughter was recorded in the same column of the newspaper[15] as notice of his death.

BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, AND DEATHS. 

BIRTH.  Wolfe. – On November 1^st, at Earlsdon to the wife of the late Lieut. S. G. Wolfe, a daughter.

DEATHS. Wolfe. – Killed in Action. Oct. 22^nd, Lieut. S. G. Wolfe, of the Lancashire Fusiliers, aged 27 years.  Leaves a wife and two children.

The dates of his two children’s births would suggest, naturally, that he must have been in UK in Coventry some nine months earlier than both occasions – in say August 1915 which was after he had gone to France and in February 1917 by which date he should have recovered from his wounds and have been back in France.  It would seem that as an officer he was able to get UK leave.

As well as at Tyne Cot, Sidney is commemorated on the Rugby Memorial Gates in Hillmorton Road, Rugby, and he is also remembered on the St Peter’s College, Coventry Memorial Tablet,[16]  and also on the Bablake School Memorial in Coundon Road, Coventry.

He was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal and also the 1915 Star.  His Medal Card and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records, confirm that he was ‘Killed in Action’ on 22 October 1917.  His widow is recorded as Mrs S G Wolfe, who at that later date, lived at 55 Berkeley Road Earlsdon, Coventry.  In the local newspaper on 1 November 1917 she and his parents placed an advertisement.[17]

THANKS – Mr and Mrs Wolfe and daughter, 45, Berkeley Road, Earlsdon, wish to thank all friends for their kind expressions of sympathy in their sad loss.

An ‘In Memoriam’ was published on the anniversary of his death.

WOLFE. – Killed in action in France on October 22, 1917, S. G. WOLFE (Lieut.), dearly beloved eldest grandson of Mr. & Mrs. W. Wolfe, 127 Newbold Road.
“Not dead to us, we love him still ;
Not lost, but gone before.
He lives with us in memory still,
And will for evermore.”
– From Grandma, Grandpap, Aunts and Uncles.[18]

His formal address when probate was awarded on 15 January 1918 at Birmingham was 157 Westwood Road, Coventry and probate awarded to his widow, Nellie Maud Wolfe, was in the sum of £101-10-6d.

 

 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

——————————–

This article on Sidney George WOLFE was researched and written for the Rugby Family History Group [RFHG] project, by Anne Rogers and John P H Frearson and is © Anne Rogers, John P H Frearson and the RFHG, October 2017.

Information about Elborow School Career is © Howard Trillo

 

[1]      Industrial Housing in Rugby – L.N.W.R. Railways – To operate and maintain a railway requires people to work at places spread all along the line, often far from existing settlements. At places where stations are built accommodation for many staff are needed from opening day.  People had to live within walking distance of work, and it was useful to the railway to be able to get hold of staff if something unexpected happened.  By providing houses for their staff, the railway solved all these problems and the London and Birmingham Railway built several hundred houses along the line for the opening.  The houses were each given a number and the earliest in Rugby were in the 700’s.  They were all near the new station in Newbold Road, on the west side both north and south of the railway.

[2]      Rugby Advertiser, Saturday, 13 September 1902.

[3]      Rugby Advertiser, Saturday, 4 July 1903.

[4]      Rugby Advertiser, Saturday, 28 November 1903.

[5]      Rugby Advertiser, 27 May 1916.

[6]      http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/names/listing/52012?page=7, St Peters College Memorial Tablet No 2, War Memorials reference: 52012, http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/names/listing/52012?page=7.

[7]      http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/topic/54635-2000-files-in-passchendaele-archives/, from ‘tharkin56’, 22 August 2007.

[8]      Chris Baker, at https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/content/100720.

[9]      https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/lifestory/4842770 – connected by George Coppock.

[10]     In fact he had only been in France for eleven months, so this may be his length of service, suggesting that he joined up in September 1914.

[11]     Rugby Advertiser, 27 May 1916.

[12]     Rugby Advertiser, 27 May 1916.

[13]     https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/lifestory/4842770.

[14]     Global, Find A Grave Index for Non-Burials, Burials at Sea, and other Select Burial Locations.

[15]     Coventry Evening Telegraph, Friday, 2 November 1917.

[16]     Following the closure of the college, the two WWI memorial tablets have been moved from St Peter’s College to St Saviour’s Church, St Saviour’s Road, Saltley, Birmingham  B8 1HW.

[17]     Coventry Evening Telegraph, Thursday, 1 November 1917.

[18]     Rugby Advertiser, 19 October 1918.

Cowley, Henry Moses. Died 19th Oct 1917

Henry Moses COWLEY was born in about 1883 in Rugby.  He was the son of Henry Walter [b.c.1863, Clifton] and Anne/ie [b.c.1859, Swinford], née Turland, Cowley.

Their marriage, in late 1882 or early 1883, was registered in Q1, 1883 in Lutterworth [7a, 17] and their first child, Annie E Cowley, was born at Swinford in 1883 – Annie had probably returned home for the first birth.  Henry Moses was born in Rugby, two years later, and was baptised on 12 October 1883 at St Andrew’s church, Rugby; his father was a joiner and they were living in South Street, Rugby.

In 1891 the family were living at 3 Alfred Street, Tamworth, probably Henry’s work as a carpenter had taken him there.  In 1901, when Henry was about 17 or 18, his father was still a ‘carpenter’; and they were back in Rugby, living at 48 Claremont Road.  Henry was a clerk for the railway, and his elder sister Annie was a clerk for the Cooperative Society.  By 1911, when Henry was 28, he was still single and an Engineering Clerk for an Electrical Manufacturer.  The family were now living at 46 Claremont Rd Rugby.  His father was listed as a ‘carpenter and joiner’.  His sister was not at home.

Henry’s Service Records survive among the ‘Burnt Records’, however, they are not all legible, but provide some details of the complexity of his military service.

He enlisted at Rugby, and took the oath of attestation at Rugby on 19 November 1915 and this was approved on 23 March 1916.  He was then 32 years and three months old, a clerk, and enlisted for ‘Garrison Duty’.  He was 5ft 5½ inches tall – and his service reckoned from 22 March 1916 when he now seemed to be 33 years and 90 days old!  He had shrunk somewhat and was now only 5ft 4½ inches tall and weighed 122 lbs.

His father, Henry Walter Cowley, is mentioned on Henry’s Service Record, and in 1915, he was nominated as Henry’s next of kin and was then living at 111a Clifton Road, Rugby.  However his father’s death, aged 53, was registered in Rugby [6d, 812] in Q4, 1916.

Henry seems to have had various numbers including No.5932 [or indeed No.5931] on forms from 5^th Bn., the Royal Warwickshire Regiment [RWarR] and there is also an Army Ordinance Corps document and a Royal Engineers form with Henry’s number as 503775, where he was recorded with ‘trade and special qualifications’ as ‘Proficient’ and a ‘Clerk’.  This posting to the Royal Engineers as 503775 is confirmed on his Medal Card.

He did not receive the 1915 Star, which also confirms that he did not go to France until 1916.  His Service Record shows that he went to France/Belgium with one of the RWarR Battalions, but the actual date of his embarkation at Southampton and of his subsequent disembarkation cannot be read, but he transferred to the 1^st/8^th Bn., RWarR on either 14 July 1916 or 31 July 1916.

He suffered some illness and on 25 November 1916 he was at 1/1 SMFA [probably South Midlands Field Ambulance] suffering from Diarrhoea having been admitted to 3CRS[1] on 22 November 1916.  He rejoined his unit on 1 December 1916.

He seems to have had a further medical problem and was at ‘CRS IFA’[2] on 6 April 1917 but was back ‘to Duty’ on 20 April 1917

On 7 June 1917 he was transferred to the 1^st/8^th Bn. RWarR, which had, on 13 May 1915, become part of the 143^rd Brigade in the 48^th (South Midland) Division and then on 7 September 1917 he was transferred again to 10^th Bn., RWarR, which was in the 57^th Brigade in the 19^th Division, and was his final Battalion, where he served as No.307605, and this number was used for issuing his medals.

The 10^th Bn. RWarR were involved in many of the actions in the 3^rd Battle of Ypres in 1917: the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge (20 – 25 September 1917); the Battle of Polygon Wood (26 September – 3 October 1917); the Battle of Broodseinde (4 October 1917); the Battle of Poelcapelle (9 October 1917) and the First Battle of Passchendaele on 12 October 1917.  Presumably Henry took part in and obviously survived all these.  There was then a period of comparative calm before the Second Battle of Passchendaele which started on 26 October 1917.

From 14 October 1917 over the last few days before he was killed, the Battalion had been in the trenches, but had had a quiet relief.  For the next few days they were in reserve and the days were ‘quiet’ – although ‘quiet’ typically meant that one or two men were wounded each day.

The 10^th Battalion War Diary[3] noted:

Thursday 18 October – the Battalion were again ‘in trenches’ and were ‘lightly shelled’ throughout the day and night.  ‘Posts & ground were generally in a very bad state.’

Friday 19 October – ‘At night the Battalion was relieved … Quiet but very slow.  Relief reported complete at 4.50am on 20^th.  On relief Coys. proceeded to camp … (Beggers Rest).

Casualties: 3 killed.

Saturday 20 October – ‘Boys had baths. … Working parties in afternoon & evening.’

It seems that Henry Cowley was one of the ‘3 killed’ from the 10^th Battalion on Friday 19 October.  He was 34.  The other two men were Private Carl Rudolf Wedekind, No.2536, aged 19, from Birmingham; and Private Arthur Morton, No.41676.

Their bodies were either never found or not identified.  Henry and his two comrades are remembered on Panels 23 to 28 and 163A of the Tyne Cot Memorial.  The Tyne Cot Memorial is one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders which cover the area known as the Ypres Salient.  Whereas those who died before 16 August 1917 are remembered on the Menin Gate, the United Kingdom servicemen who died after that date are named on the memorial at Tyne Cot.  Henry is also commemorated on the Rugby Memorial Gates in Hillmorton Road,

An ‘In Memoriam’ was published on the anniversary of his death.[4]

COWLEY. – In ever-loving memory of our dear HARRY (JIM), only and dearly beloved son of the late Henry Cowley and Mrs. Cowley, Rockingham House, Clifton Road, who was killed in action on October 19, 1917.
“ Though death divides, sweet memory lives for ever.”
– From his loving Mother and Sister, George & Midge.

Henry Moses Cowley was awarded the British War and Victory Medals.  

After his death the Army was instructed that his effects were to be passed to his mother care of H. L. Reddish (Solicitors), 6 Market Place, Rugby, and these were sent on to her on 17 April 1918.

Henry’s Administration was in London on 21 February 1918 to his mother, Anne Cowley, widow, now of Rockingham House, 111a, Clifton Road, Rugby in the amount of £137-0-7d.  Various payments were made to his mother by the army: £3-10-10d and 12/2d owing in back pay was paid as £4-3-1d on 6 April 1918 and a further War Gratuity of £6-10s was paid on 15 November 1919.

 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

– – – – – –

 

This article on Henry Moses COWLEY was researched and written for the Rugby Family History Group [RFHG] project, by John P H Frearson and is © John P H Frearson and the RFHG, July 2017.

[1]      CRS – Camp Reception Station – When away from the Front Line, the doctor’s post was known as the Camp Reception Station [CRS] or Medical Inspection Room [MI Room] and contained 2 – 6 beds for short term holding for those needing rest but not sick enough to be evacuated, see: https://www.ramc-ww1.com/chain_of_evacuation.php

[2]      Probably – ‘Camp Reception Station – 1^st Field Ambulance’.

[3]      The National Archives, WWI War Diaries (France, Belgium and Germany), 1914-1920, Piece 2085/3, 10 Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment, July 1915-March 1919.

[4]      Rugby Advertiser, 19 October 1918.

 

Meddows, Albert Edward Sharp. Died 14th Oct 1917

Albert Edward Sharp Meddows was born in the third quarter of 1889 and was baptised 1^st November 1889 at St. Botolph’s Church, Newbold-on-Avon, Warwickshire. He was the first child of William Henry and Mary Ann Meddows. His father’s occupation is put as a Carman. The small family appears on the 1891 census and their address is Old Wood Yard, Newbold on Avon, Rugby William Henry is a Carrier and Post Office Worker. By the time of the 1901 census the family has grown with the addition of five more children, Percy Samuel, Horace Charles, Elsie Mary, Harold Thomas and finally in 1900 William Henry. Their address is Grocers Shop, Newbold Village, Newbold on Avon, Rugby, Warwickshire, and William is down as a Postmaster Grocer, working on his own account, Mary Ann is Post Mistress and the children are all at school.

In 1903 Mary Ann died, and was buried 12^th March 1903 in St. Botolph’s churchyard Newbold on Avon leaving children aged from 2 to 13 years of age. 1911 census gives William as a widower, with Percy assisting his father in his business. Horace and his sister, Elsie, are wheeling daub to the drying shed at the cement works. Albert is not with the family, he is living at Ashton Hayes, Near Chester. On the census paper the first name Albert is slightly smudged and you can only see the “lbert” Edward Sharp Meddows born Newbold- on-Avon, Warwickshire. He is working as a Stableman/Groom and is 21 years old.

William Henry the father died 2^nd February 1915 aged 52 years, leaving a will; probate was granted to John Martin the elder, farmer 23^rd February, Effects £327 16s 6d.

Albert E. S. Meddows married Constance Foster in Richmond, Surrey in 1914. Two children were born, Albert V. Meddows 1914 and Edward Meddows 1916 registered in Richmond, Surrey, mother’s maiden name Foster. Albert enlisted at Bristol in 1914 giving his place of residence Mortlake, Surrey.

Albert served with The Army Service Corps, Royal Engineers and the Royal Field Artillery

Albert has service numbers R40/87534, 202420 and number313019. At the time of his death Albert was a sapper with 5^th HQ Signal Company attached to the 34^th Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery. He is buried in Bard Cottage Cemetery, Ypres (Ieper), Arrondissement Ieper, West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen) Belgium.

Grave Reference: Plot: V. A. 46.

He was awarded the Victory Medal and British War Medal. His name is on both the Rugby Memorial Gates Hillmorton Road and on the Newbold War Memorial at St. Botolph’s Church Newbold on Avon

Albert’s two younger brothers Horace and Harold both served in WW1.

Harold Thomas was baptised at St Botolph’s 28^th May 1898, and he also served in the war with the Royal Warwickshire Regt., Service Number 21114. He enlisted 10^th August 1916 and was discharged 4^th December 1917 due to sickness and received the Silver War Badge 22^nd January 1918.   The Silver War Badge was given to men discharged from active service, due to wounds or illness. Harold died 26^th March 1919 aged 20 years, and was buried in Clifton Road Cemetery Rugby. He has a Commonwealth War Grave Headstone which also has written on it “also his sister Elsie Mary wife of George Arthur Creed 13^th June 1968 age 73”. The British War Medal and The Victory Medal were also awarded to him.

Harold Thomas is on both the Newbold War Memorial at St. Botolph’s Church and on the Rugby Memorial Gates Hillmorton Road Rugby.

Horace Charles was born in 1894 and was baptised 13^th May 1894.   Horace was with the Worcestershire Regiment, enlisted 2^nd March 1916, Service Number 35171. He was discharged 29^th January 1919.   He was 24 years old, and received the Silver War Badge 3^rd March 1919, and also the Victory Medal and the British War Medal. He married Frances D. Doyle in 1922. He lived until 1950 and died in Rugby, Warwickshire aged 56 years.

The youngest brother of all, William Henry, born 8th August 1900, baptised 16^th September 1900. William enlisted the Royal Air Force 22^nd August 1918, Service Number 287077; and on his entry papers his next of kin was Elsie M Creed, his sister. He died in 1971, his death registered in Kidderminster.

Percy Samuel married Annie L. Redgrave in 1919, marriage registered in Medway, Kent. On the 1939 Register they are living at 35, Churchfield Road, Bexley, Kent and Percy is a Police Constable with the Metropolitan Police Force. He died at the age of 68, his death registered at Sidcup Kent.

Elsie Mary, the only sister, married George Arthur Creed 24th July 1915 at Newbold-on -Avon and is buried with her brother Harold in Clifton Road Cemetery. Rugby.

 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

Hayes, George Hinde. Died 10th Oct 1917

George Hinde was born in Brinklow in 1884 and baptised there on 3rd August 1884. He was the second son of Charles and Elizabeth (nee Hinde) Hayes who married in 1881. Charles was an Agricultural labourer and in 1891 the family was living with Elizabeth’s father John W Hinde, a carpenter in Brinklow.

In 1901, the family was living at 51 Pinfold Street, New Bilton and George, his age wrongly given as 18, was a labourer at the cement works. By 1911 Charles was a gardener, living at 80 York Street Rugby and George (26) was still living at home. He worked as a railway carter.

By 1914 George Hinde Hayes was a shunter and driver at B.T.H. and joined the Territorials on 27th April. He arrived in France in April 1917 as Company Sergeant Major in the 7th Bn., Royal Warwickshire Regiment. He was wounded on 4th October 1917 at Paaschendaele and died on 10th of that month at no 11 General Hospital, Wimereux.

His Captain wrote:
“I am grieved to think that George has lost his life doing his duty to his country. As an officer of E Coy, I knew him well, and what an excellent N.C.O. he was, as well as a popular and cheerful comrade to all the other boys. I was not at all surprised to hear of his promotion to Coy. Sergt.-Major, as I know of his excellent qualifications for the appointment, and he is just the stamp of man I would have chosen for such a responsible duty myself.”

and his Coy. Quartermaster-Sergt.:
“We are sorry to lose your son, for he was always ready for duty, and the officers all join me in sympathy; we have lost both a good soldier and an ever-cheerful comrade.”

Coy.Sergt.-Major Hayes was awarded the military Cross, because when the advance was held up by a strong enemy machine-gun position, and all the officers became casualties, he took command, and crawled to a flank under direct fire from the post to a position from which he killed several of the enemy. He then led his men in an attack on the post, which he captured with ten prisoners and a machine gun; he showed splendid courage and initiative.

He was buried at Wimereux communal Cemetery. The inscription on his grave reads:

WAITING FOR THE DAWN
TO BE REUNITED
HIS DUTY DONE
R. I. P.

He is also listed on the BTH War Memorial, together with his brother Frank Hinde Hayes, who died on 19th July 1916.

 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

Jones, Charles Bradlaugh. Died 9th Oct 1917

Charles Bradlaugh JONES’s place of birth was recorded variously as being in Leyton, Poplar or Stratford, London. He was born some while after the April 1881 census. His father Frederick was a cooper.

In 1891 he was enumerated as aged eight and was living with his widowed father and four siblings at 285 High Street, Stratford, London.

By 1901 his father had also died and Charles and his younger siblings were living at 11 Durham Row, Ratcliffe, London, the home of their married elder brother Henry and his wife Elizabeth and baby daughter Lillian. Two of Elizabeth’s younger siblings were there also.   Charles and his elder brother were both working as hairdressers.

By 1911, Charles was now ‘30’ and boarding with the Hessian family at 65 Grosvenor Road, Rugby, and that was no doubt where he met his wife to be, Ellen Daisy Hessian, one of the daughters of the house. Her father was an engine driver.   Charles was then still working as a hairdresser.

Some time before the war Charles seems to have had a change of occupation, going to work at British Thompson Houston (BTH) in their Lamp Factory. Then in 1914, when he was about 33, he married Ellen, now 29; the marriage was registered in Rugby [Rugby, Q3, 1914, 6d, 1551].

It is uncertain exactly when Charles ‘joined up’.   There are no surviving Service Records, but as he did not win the 1915 Star, it was probably after late 1915.   Various men from BTH with the name Jones joined up and served in 1914,[1] however an item in the Rugby Advertiser[2] stated, ‘Jones, Charles, 36 Sandown Road, Rugby’ ‘… enlisted at the Rugby Drill Hall under the Group system’, in late 1915, and this confirms the approximate date when he joined up.

As noted, Charles was living in Rugby, but records also suggest that he enlisted initially in Warwick, as Private, No.32852, in the 1^st Battalion (Bn.) of the Gloucestershire Regiment. The 1^st Bn. had been at Bordon in August 1914, as part of the 3^rd Brigade in the 1^st Division, and landed in France at Le Havre on 13 August 1914, well before Charles joined up. The 1^st Battalion probably continued to act as a recruiting, training and reinforcement centre in UK.

Charles would later be posted to the 1^st/6^th Bn. of the Gloucestershire Regiment. The 1^st/6^th Bn. had been at St Michael’s Hill, Bristol, in August 1914 as part of the Gloucester and Worcester Brigade of the South Midland Division. On mobilisation they moved to Swindon and very soon after to Maldon in Essex. On 30 March 1915 the Battalion landed at Boulogne, and on 15 May 1915 became part of the 144^th Brigade in the 48^th (South Midland) Division.

It seems likely that Charles was posted to the Battalion as part of the reinforcements at some date in 1916 and may soon have been involved on Western Front, possibly in the Somme offensive of July 1916, and then may have taken part in the pursuit of the German Army in their retreat [or ‘tactical withdrawal’] to the Hindenburg Line in March 1917.

Later in 1917, the 1^st/6^th Battalion was involved several of the actions making up the Third Battle of Ypres from 31 July to mid-November including: the Battle of Langemarck; the Battle of Polygon Wood; the Battle of Broodseinde and the Battle of Poelcapelle (9 October 1917).

The Battalion War Diary[3] gives details of their later movements and actions. From the beginning of September 1917, they had been at School Camp, in St Jan Ter Bizen, to the west of Poperinge, Belgium, not far west of Ypres. Then on 18 September the Battalion travelled west to Zutkerque, France – suffering various delayed trains – to take part in Divisional and Brigade training until the end of the month. At the end of September 1917, the Battalion’s ration strength was 802 men.   The diary continued:

1 October – ‘Battn. … moved by Rail to Brake Camp.   Entraining Staion Audricq.   Detraining Station Vlamertinghe … ‘C’ Company working party buried cable …’.
‘C’ Company continued burying cable for the next two days.

4 October – ‘Battn. Moved to Canal Bank …’

5 October – ‘ Battn. moved to Dambre Camp in the morning.’

6 October – ‘In Camp.’

7 October – ‘Battn. Moved to Irish Farm 8.30am.   Heavy rain afternoon and evening.   Battn. Moved back to Dambre Camp 4.30pm.’

8 October – ‘Battn. Moved to Front Line and relieved 1/1 Bucks …’

This was in all in preparation for the Battle of Poelcapelle (9 October 1917) one of the actions of the Third Battle of Ypres.

9 October – ‘Battn. Attacked 5.20am. See Appendix ….’

The Appendix gives copies of both the Orders and a Report on the attack on the morning of 9 October 1917. Brief extracts from the Report are given below:

First Wave – ‘A’ Company on the Right, ‘B’ Company on the Left. Second Wave – ‘C’ Company on the Right, ‘D’ Company on the Left. … two platoons of each Company being in each line.

Objectives – First Wave … gun pit … special parties to capture 2 Mebus … and redoubt, … special parties to capture Vacher House and gun pit … Second Wave … Berks Houses … assist 7^th Worcesters in capture of Mebus … assist 4^th Gloucesters in capture of Berks Houses.

Three hours before Zero, the whole Battalion was in position … about half an hour before Zero, enemy shelled Winchester line fairly heavily but this fell just behind second wave and only four casualties occurred.

Zero – 5.20am First wave got away well with the barrage, followed at about 300 yards by second wave. Enemy at once opened M.G. fire all along the line, …

Considerable detail followed, and the assault appears to have been comparatively successful with considerable numbers of the enemy and their equipment captured, however the Report also noted:

Estimated casualties of ‘B’ Company … 1 officer … 45 other ranks … Estimated loss of ‘A’ Company … 2 Officers … 50 other ranks … Estimated losses of ‘C’ Company … 2 Officers … 55 other ranks …

The War Diary noted on the next day:

10 October – ‘Battn. Relieved by 26 Brigade … Returned to Siege Camp via temporary shelter at Irish Farm.’

Overall during October the Battalion had lost 56 men killed or died of wounds and 153 were wounded and 42 missing. Despite the Battalion receiving a ‘draft’ of 79 new men during the month, by the end of the month the Battalion ration strength had dropped from 802 to 633.

Charles Bradlaugh Jones was one of 141 men from the Gloucestershire Regiment who died on 9 October 1917, most of them from 1^st/6^th Bn. during the attack, and the fighting of the Battle of Poelcapelle. Like so many others, his body was either never found, or was not identified.

He is remembered with his comrades on one of the Panels 72 to 75 of the Tyne Cot Memorial. The Tyne Cot Memorial is one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders which cover the area known as the Ypres Salient. Whereas those who died before 16 August 1917 are remembered on the Menin Gate, the United Kingdom servicemen who died after that date are named on the memorial at Tyne Cot. Charles is also commemorated on the Rugby Memorial Gates in Hillmorton Road, Rugby, on the BTH List of ‘Employees Who Served’ and on the BTH War Memorial.[4]

On 7 February 1918, Charles’s Widow, Ellen, received £1-7-9d owing to her husband, and then a War Gratuity of £3-0-0d on 9 December 1919.

Charles’s Medal Card showed that he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

– – – – – –

 

This article on Charles Bradlaugh JONES was researched and written for the Rugby Family History Group [RFHG] project, by John P H Frearson and is © John P H Frearson and the RFHG, June 2017.

[1]       Men named ‘Jones’ were listed in Rugby Advertiser, 5 and 26 September 1914 – probably others of the same name.

[2]       This was under the Lord Derby’s Recruiting Scheme, he is listed in Rugby Advertiser, 27 November 1915.

[3]       The National Archives, WWI War Diaries (France, Belgium and Germany), 1914-1920, Gloucestershire Regiment 48^th Division, Piece 2758/2: 1/6 Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment (1915 Apr – 1917 Oct).

[4]       The List is that published in the Rugby Advertiser, 4 November 1921.

Amos, Harry Thomas Ernest. Died 9th Oct 1917

Harry Thomas Ernest Amos was born in the second quarter of 1880 and baptised on June 13 1880 in St Andrews Parish Church, he was the fourth child of George and Mary. George was originally from Elmstead and Mary was born in France a British citizen. In 1881 they lived in 13 Little Pennington Street the rest of the family consisted of Nancy 8, Bertha 5, George W 3 and baby Harry under 11 months, George came to Rugby area to be a groom at the rectory in Birdingbury and married Mary Ann Collier in June quarter 1872 ,

Harry married Clare Kate Coleman in the third quarter of 1902 in Market Harborough. In the 1911 census they were living at 13 Lodge Road with three children Edna 7, Francis 3 and Phyllis 5 months old. Harry was employed at the post office as a letter carrier.

He enlisted at Budbrooke barracks and was placed in the Gloucester regiment service number 32829 he was in the 1st battalion and also the 1st /6th battalions according to the regimental medal rolls and was awarded the Victory and British medals.

Harry Thomas Ernest Amos was killed in action on the 9″‘ October 1917 whilst his battalion was in action in the third battle of Ypres. The battalion’s orders according to the war diary for that date was to capture 3 MEBUS Vacher House and Berks House this was all on the Poelcappelle map. (For more details about this battle see the biography of Private C B Jones, who died the same day.)

He is listed on the Tyne Cot Memorial and CWGC information is “Son of George William Amos, of 25, Old Station Square, Rugby; husband of Clara Kate Amos, of 41, Lodge Rd., Rugby. Postman, 26 years’ service.”

His widow Clara lived in Rugby until her death in 1950.

 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM