Jones, Frederick James. Died 25th Apr 1918

Frederick James Jones was born in Rugby in late 1877. His father, Frederick Jones, was a journeyman printer, who had been born in Maidstone, Kent. His mother Louisa Maria Cleaver was born in Ealing, London according to some census entries. But in 1911 it states that she was born in Bilton, Rugby. Frederick and Louisa were married in Norwich in 1876.

In 1881 they were living at 27 Arnold Street, Rugby. By 1891 they had moved to 13 Russell Street and Frederick (senr) was working as a printer’s machinist. They now had a second child, Herbert John born in 1881. Frederick James, aged 15 was an apprentice compositor, working with his father for the Rugby Advertiser. He was to work there for over 26 years.

On 22^nd May 1899, Frederick James Jones married Emily Jane Houghton at St Andrews Parish Church and in 1901 they were living at 26 Dale Street, with daughter Emily Ivy. They had two more children, Leslie Frederick in 1909 and Muriel in 1913.

Frederick enlisted under Lord Derby’s scheme on 10th Dec 1915 and was called up a year later in December 1916. He was aged 38 and was a compositor and machineman. He had been vice-president of the Rugby branch of the Typographical Society for two years.

He joined the Kings Royal Rifle Corps as Rifleman no. 49966. The 9^th Battalion, K.R.R.C. took part in the Battles of the Scarpe the Battle of Langemark and the First and Second Battles of Passchendaele in 1917.

On the 2^nd Feb 1918 they were transferred to the 43^rd Brigade. They returned to the Somme and were in action during the Battle of St Quentin and the Battle of the Avre, suffering very heavy casualties with almost 6,000 men of the Division killed or injured. The Division was withdrawn from the front line and were engaged building a new defence line to the rear. On the 27^th of April, the 9^th K.R.R.C was reduced to a cadre and on the 16^th of June they transferred to the 34^th Division. They were disbanded on the 3^rd of August 1918.

Frederick James Jones must have died in this confused period when the German advance was halted and Operation Michael came to an end.

His death is given as 25^th April 1918 and his name is listed on the Pozieres Memorial.

Pozieres is a village 6 kilometres north-east of the town of Albert and the Memorial relates to the period of crisis in March and April 1918 when the Allied Fifth Army was driven back by overwhelming numbers across the former Somme battlefields, and the months that followed before the Advance to Victory, which began on 8 August 1918. The Memorial commemorates over 14,000 casualties of the United Kingdom and 300 of the South African Forces who have no known grave and who died on the Somme from 21 March to 7 August 1918. The Corps and Regiments most largely represented are The Rifle Brigade with over 600 names… Frederick J Jones is listed on panels 61-64.

Frederick’s wife died on 16^th Nov 1918, aged 41.

An announcement in the Rugby Advertiser in November 1921 reads:
In ever-loving memory of our dear Father and Mother, Frederick Jones, who was killed in action April 25^th, 1918 and Emily Jane, died November 16^th, 1918.
In Life were parted,
In Death united.
– With fond remembrance from Ivy, Leslie and Muriel.
 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

 

Packwood, William Henry. Died 12th Apr 1918

William Harry PACKWOOD was born in 1897, in Rugby. His birth was registered in Q3, 1897, in Rugby and he was baptised, on 3 December 1897, at St Matthew’s, Rugby, when his father was a ‘Post Office Clerk’.

He was the son of Charles John Packwood, born in about 1859 [-1933] in Rugby, and Alice Ruth née Davies Packwood who was born in about 1862 [-34] in Shrewsbury. They were married on 17 January 1882 at St. Chad’s Church, Shrewsbury.

For the 1901 census, the family were living at 10 St. Matthew’s Street, Rugby. William Harry was aged three, then the second youngest child of nine siblings, all born in Rugby. His father was now a ‘Chief Clerk, Post Office’.

In 1911, the family were still in the same house, which had 12 rooms, which were probably needed as there were now two more children. William’s father was now a ‘Post Office Superintendant – Civil Service’. William was 13 years old and still at school. He would attend Lawrence Sheriff School.

It is uncertain exactly when William joined up, but a report in the Rugby Advertiser in December 1915, noted.

‘The third son (William Harry) of Mr Chas Packwood, of, Warwick Street, Rugby, has joined the 2^nd Battalion of the Honourable Artillery Company (Infantry). Mr Packwood now has three sons serving with the Colours.’[1]

This enabled the correct William Harry Packwood’s Medal Card to be located, which shows him initially as a Private in the Honourable Artillery Company (infantry), Number: 5777, and later commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment (Territorial Force).

His Medal Card also gave two dates when he went to France: 3 October 1916 and 6 December 1917. The former is probably when he went with his HAC Battalion.

2^nd Battalion of the Honourable Artillery Company (Infantry) was raised at Finsbury on 2 September 1914. It moved to Belhus Park, going on in November to Blackheath, in February 1915 to the Tower of London, in August to Richmond Park, in November to Wimbledon, in January 1916 to Orpington, in July to Tadworth (Surrey), and it returned to the Tower in September 1916. On 3 October 1916, the Battalion landed at Le Havre and was placed under command of 22^nd Brigade in the 7^th Division. After William had left it later went to Italy.

William thus went to France with his Battalion on 3 October 1916 and by 12 October they were in trenches and being ‘mortared’. Later in December they were in trenches at Beaumont Hamel where some trenches were ‘obliterated’. During the earlier part of 1917 the Battalion was much involved with training – however in April 1917 William was granted leave prior to training for a commission. A further news report in April 1917, gave information on his progress,

A SON OF MR C J PACKWOOD RECEIVES A COMMISSION.
W H Packwood, fourth son of Mr C J Packwood, of St Matthew’s Street, Rugby, has been granted a month’s leave. Since September he had been out in France with a trench mortar battery of the H.A.C, and has had varied experiences. On the recommendation of his Captain – although still under twenty years of age – he has been offered a Commission, and after his furlough will go into training for his new duties as an officer.[2]

In October 1917, a further report advised,
‘Cadet W H Packwood, H.A.C (Infantry), son of Mr J C Packwood, has been given a commission and posted to the 6th Royal Warwicks.’[3]

His Officer’s Military Service Record[4] is held at The National Archives, but has not been consulted at present, as a sufficient outline of his military career is available from the local paper.

There were two 6^th Battalions – 1^st/6^th and 2^nd/6^th – however as the 1^st/6^th were in Italy, it seems he must have been commissioned into the ‘2^nd/6^th Battalion (Territorial)’ of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment (RWR).

2^nd/6^th Battalion RWR was formed in Coventry in October 1914 as a second line Battalion. It became part of the 2^nd Warwickshire Brigade, 2^nd South Midland Division and then in August 1915 it was re-designated as part of the 182^nd Brigade, 61^st (2^nd South Midland) Division. The Battalion had landed in France on 21 May 1916, but William would have joined the Battalion later, going to France for a second time on 6 December 1917, and missing the disastrous attack at Fromelles in 1916 and the various actions of 1917.[5].[6]

The Battalion War Diary[7] gives brief details of the Battalion’s activities throughout the war, but the following information has been abstracted for the period before William’s death.

During February 1918, the Battalion was much involved in improving defences and burying signal cables and the like. During the first week in March, the Battalion was in the front line near St. Quentin. They were then relieved and after a week’s training, returned to relieve the 2^nd/8^th Worcesters, west of Holnon in the Battle Zone. The Battalion then comprised 21 Officers and 700 Other Ranks.

On the night of 20/21 March, two companies raided the enemy trenches at Cepy Farm and took 12 [or 15] prisoners and a machine gun. The prisoners were from ‘… three different infantry divisions on a front usually held by one regiment, lending little doubt to the certainty that the offensive was imminent.’[8] They lost one killed and four wounded.

The anticipated attack by the Germans, Operation Michael, was launched on 21 March 1918, against the British Fifth Army and the right wing of the British Third Army. The German artillery targeted command and communications; then, the destruction of artillery; and then the front-line infantry. 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.

William and the 2^nd/6^th Battalion were bombarded on 21 March from 4.45am to 11.30am, and then over the next two days were subject to various attacks, and because of the overwhelming strength of the attacks, were then ordered to retire to preserve the line and were almost surrounded.

Thus commenced the Battle of St Quentin and the Actions at the Somme Crossings. The 61^st (2^nd South Midland) Division was holding the forward zone of defences in the area northwest of Saint Quentin in the area of Ham and lost many men as it fought a chaotic, but ultimately successful, withdrawal back over the Somme crossings over the next ten days.

In the initial clash, the South Midland Division faced three enemy Divisions and only began to retire on the afternoon of 22 March, when ordered to do so, in consequence of the enemy’s progress at other parts of the line.

From 21 to 26 March, even the ‘surplus’ 2^nd/6^th personnel were brought into action and a separate ‘diary’ was kept for them.   Meanwhile, from 22 to 23 March, the Battalion withdrew westward, through Fayett, Attilly, Matigney, Vyennes, to Breuil and Billancourt. By 24 March, the Battalion was only about 140 strong and at Buverchy, where it occupied the west bank of the Canal du Nord.

The Battalion, or what remained of it, continued a fighting withdrawal from 25 March to 3 April towards the outskirts of Amiens. By the time the Battalion was relieved, after fighting back to Amiens in the First Battles of the Somme 1918, the Division had been involved in continuous action since August 1917 and was exhausted.

The Battalion casualties from 21 March to 5 April 1918 were some 16 Officers and 450 Other Ranks. The remnants of the exhausted Battalion – and the 61^st Division – were transferred from the XVIII Corps on 10 April 1918. Lt. General Ivor Maxey wrote a message of congratulations to the 61^st Division, which had ‘… established for itself a high reputation for its fighting qualities and its gallant spirit …’.

The Battalion were moved north to what had been a quieter part of the line near Bethune. They were entrained at Rue St Roch, Amiens and taken north to Berguette, and then on to Le Cornet Malo to join 153^rd Brigade. However, rather than having some rest, the Battalion had to prepare immediately for a counter attack, as the Germans had just launched the second phase of their offensive on 9 April 1918. The Division became involved and many more casualties were incurred.

The actions until 12 April were reported in a separate appendix of the Battalion War Diary, but only the reports for ?10 and 11 and 12 April survive. A trench map with the War Diary shows the 2^nd/6^th Battalion was in positions just south of Merville. It concludes by stating that ‘The casualties of the Battalion between 10^th and 14^th April inclusive were 9 Officers and 133 Other Ranks’.

Another Rugby man in the 2^nd/6^th Battalion was killed on the 11 April (see Sidney George HALL)  and at some stage on 12 April 1918, during this second major German attack, on this ‘quieter part of the line’, William Harry Packwood was ‘shot through the head’ and ‘killed in action’.

SECOND-LIEUT W H PACKWOOD. Second-Lieut W H Packwood, R.W.R, third son of Mr & Mrs C J Packwood, of St Matthew Street, Rugby, who, as we reported last week, was posted missing on April 14^th, has been reported killed in action April 12^th. A brother officer, writing to the bereaved parents, says: “He died with his face to the enemy, rallying the men during a counter-attack by the Germans. It may be a little comfort to you to know that he died instantly, shot through the head, and we managed to bury him and erect a little cross to his memory. His pleasant disposition and resolute courage will always in our minds and with you, whose loss must be so much keener, we grieve at his death.” The gallant young officer was 20 years of age, and was educated at the Lower School.[9]

Sadly, the ‘… little cross to his memory …’ was lost and his body was never found again or else not identified. He is remembered on Panel 2 or 3 [Stone 2K] of the Ploegsteert Memorial which stands in the Berks Cemetery Extension, which is located 12.5 kms south of Ieper [Ypres].

The Ploegsteert Memorial commemorates more than 11,000 servicemen of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in this sector during the First World War and have no known grave. The memorial serves the area from the line Caestre-Dranoutre-Warneton to the north, to Haverskerque-Estaires-Fournes to the south, including the towns of Hazebrouck, Merville, Bailleul and Armentieres, the Forest of Nieppe, and Ploegsteert Wood. The original intention had been to erect the memorial in Lille. Most of those commemorated by the memorial did not die in major offensives, such as those which took place around Ypres to the north, or Loos to the south. Most were killed in the course of the day-to-day trench warfare which characterised this part of the line, or in small scale set engagements, usually carried out in support of the major attacks taking place elsewhere.

William Harry PACKWOOD is also remembered on the Rugby Memorial Gates; and on the WWI Lawrence Sheriff School Plaque,[10] which reads,
‘In Commemoration of our Brother Laurentians who Fell in The Great War, 1914-1918, Orando Laborando.’

His Medal Card and the Medal Roll showed that he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

William’s parents appear to have left Rugby after the War. In the CWGC records, William is noted as the son of Charles John and Alice Ruth Packwood, of ‘Minsterley,’ 15, St. Ledgers Road., Bournemouth. By 1922, his father’s address on William’s Medal Card, was Cheapside, Langport, Somerset.

Four of the five Packwood sons were involved in the First World War and their progress was reported by the Rugby Advertiser,[11] as it reproduced information from their letters home.

Charles William Packwood, the eldest son, joined the Rugby Howitzer Battery in September 1914; he was wounded in August 1916 and again in August 1917 when he had ‘… been wounded in the chest in two places during the recent fighting’.   The second son, Walter Davies Packwood, volunteered for the Canadian contingent, and joined the Balcartier Camp at Quebec; in October 1914, he had arrived with the force at Plymouth, and was in training at Salisbury Plain. In March 1917, John Norman Packwood was joining up and entering the wireless department of the Royal Naval Reserve. Their cousin, Herbert M Packwood, who had worked at Willans and & Robinson, had also joined up in September 1914, probably also in the Rugby Howitzer Battery as he had a similar number and went to France on the same day as his cousin, Charles William Packwood.

These other three brothers and their cousin survived the war. The fifth brother, Noel, the youngest, was too young to enlist.

 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

– – – – – –

 

This article on William Harry PACKWOOD was researched and written for a Rugby Family History Group [RFHG] project, by John P H Frearson and is © John P H Frearson and the RFHG, January 2018.

[1]         https://rugbyremembers.wordpress.com/2015/12/04/4th-dec-1915-interesting-letter-from-an-old-murrayian/; and see also, Rugby Advertiser, 4 December 1915.

[2]         https://rugbyremembers.wordpress.com/2017/04/14/14th-apr-1917-baptist-local-preacher-killed/; and Rugby Advertiser, 14 April 1917.

[3]         https://rugbyremembers.wordpress.com/2017/10/28/27th-oct-1917-ladies-war-services/; and Rugby Advertiser, 27 October 1917.

[4]       2/Lieutenant William Harry PACKWOOD, The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, TNA file ref: WO 374/51812.

[5]         http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/order-of-battle-of-divisions/61st-2nd-south-midland-division/

[6]       Based on: https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/units/316/royal-warwickshire-regiment/.

[7]       WWI War Diaries, 1914-1920, 2/6 Bn., Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 61^st Division,

[8]       Murland, Jerry, Retreat and Rearguard Somme 1918, the Fifth Army Retreat, 2014, ISBN: 978-1-78159-267-0.

[9]       Rugby Advertiser, Saturday, 4 May 1918.

[10]     Information from https://www.rugbyfhg.co.uk/lawrence-sheriff-school-plaques.

[11]     Details are available from the author, or search https://rugbyremembers.wordpress.com/ for ‘Packwood’.

Hall, Sidney George. Died 11th Apr 1918

Sidney George HALL was born in 1896 in Rugby and his birth was registered in the 3^rd quarter. He was the son of George Hall, born in about 1873 in Wibtoft, Leicestershire, and his wife, Jane née Street, who was born in about 1870, in Daventry, Northamptonshire. The 1911 census stated that they had been married for 15 years, although it seems they were married a little earlier in Q2, 1893 in Daventry.

For the 1901 census, the family were living at 116 Cambridge Street, Rugby. George was a ‘Steam Wood Sawyer’ and they had a lodger, who was a bricklayer.

By 1911, the family had moved to 31 Alexandra Road, Rugby. Sidney’s father was still a ‘sawyer’.  Sidney was now 14 and working in an ‘office’. Possibly he was already working for Messrs. Wratislaw & Thompson, the Rugby solicitors; before the war he was employed as a clerk by them.

No Military Service Record exists for Sidney, but at some date, he joined up as a Private, No: 266586 in the 2^nd/6^th Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.   This was probably after 1915, as he wouldn’t have reached the required age – unless he lied, as some did – and also, there is no qualification date for when he went to France on his Medal Card.   In any case the 2^nd/6^th Battalion did not go to France until 21 May 1916. At some later date he was promoted to Lance Corporal.

2^nd/6^th Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment (RWR) was formed in Coventry in October 1914 as a second line Battalion. It became part of the 2^nd Warwickshire Brigade, 2^nd South Midland Division and then in August 1915 it was re-designated as part of the 182^nd Brigade, 61^st (2^nd South Midland) Division. As mentioned, the Battalion landed in France on 21 May 1916 and concentrated in the area Merville – Gonnehem – Busnes – Thiennes.

The Battalion, as part of the Division was involved in the disastrous attack at Fromelles on 19 July 1916. In 1917 they were part of the Operations on the Ancre; the German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line; the Battle of Langemarck, which was part of the 3^rd Battle of Ypres; and the German counter attacks after the Battle of Cambrai.[1].[2]

The Battalion War Diary[3] gives brief details of the Battalion’s activities throughout the war, but the following information has been abstracted for the period before Sidney’s death.

During February 1918, the Battalion was much involved in improving defences and burying signal cables and the like. During the first week in March, the Battalion was in the front line near St. Quentin. They were then relieved and after a week’s training, returned to relieve the 2^nd/8^th Worcesters, west of Holnon in the Battle Zone. The Battalion then comprised 21 Officers and 700 Other Ranks.

On the night of 20/21 March, two companies raided the enemy trenches at Cepy Farm and took 12 [or 15] prisoners and a machine gun. The prisoners were from ‘… three different infantry divisions on a front usually held by one regiment, lending little doubt to the certainty that the offensive was imminent.’[4] They lost one killed and four wounded.

The anticipated attack by the Germans, Operation Michael, was launched on 21 March 1918, against the British Fifth Army and the right wing of the British Third Army. The German artillery targeted command and communications; then, the destruction of artillery; and then the front-line infantry.   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.

Sidney and the 2^nd/6^th Battalion were bombarded on 21 March from 4.45am to 11.30am, and then over the next two days were subject to various attacks, and were then ordered to retire to preserve the line and were almost surrounded.

Thus commenced the Battle of St Quentin and the Actions at the Somme Crossings. The 61^st (2^nd South Midland) Division was holding the forward zone of defences in the area northwest of Saint Quentin in the area of Ham and lost many men as it fought a chaotic, but ultimately successful, withdrawal back over the Somme crossings over the next ten days.

In the initial clash, the South Midland Division faced three enemy Divisions and only began to retire on the afternoon of 22 March, when ordered to do so, in consequence of the enemy’s progress at other parts of the line.

As Sidney was also involved in Clerical work, it may be that he was not generally involved in the frontline fighting, however, from 21 to 26 March, the ‘surplus’ 2^nd/6^th personnel, which probably involved clerical and catering staff, were also in action and a separate ‘diary’ was kept for them.

Meanwhile, from 22 to 23 March, the Battalion withdrew westward, through Fayett, Attilly, Matigney, Vyennes, to Breuil and Billancourt. By 24 March, the Battalion was only about 140 strong and then at Buverchy, occupied the west bank of the Canal du Nord. The Battalion, or what remained of it, continued a fighting withdrawal from 25 March to 3 April towards the outskirts of Amiens.

By the time the Battalion was relieved, after fighting all the way back to Amiens in the First Battles of the Somme 1918, the Division had been involved in continuous action since August 1917 and was exhausted.

The Battalion casualties from 21 March to 5 April 1918 were some 16 Officers and 450 Other Ranks. The remnants of the exhausted Battalion – and the 61^st Division – were transferred from the XVIII Corps on 10 April 1918. Lt. General Ivor Maxey wrote a message of congratulations to the 61^st Division, which had ‘… established for itself a high reputation for its fighting qualities and its gallant spirit …’.

The Battalion were moved north to what had been a quieter part of the line near Bethune. They were entrained at Rue St Roch, Amiens and taken north to Berguette, and then on to Le Cornet Malo to join 153^rd Brigade. However, rather than having some rest, the Battalion had to prepare immediately for a counter attack, as the Germans had just launched the second phase of their offensive on 9 April 1918. The Division became involved and many more casualties were incurred.

The actions until 12 April were reported in a separate appendix of the Battalion War Diary, but only the reports for ?10, and 11 and 12 April survive. A trench map with the War Diary showed the 2^nd/6^th Battalion positions just south of Merville. It concludes by stating that ‘The casualties of the Battalion between 10^th and 14^th April inclusive were 9 Officers and 133 Other Ranks.

It seems that Sidney ‘… proceeded to the line the previous day [10 April] to assist the Commanding Officer with the clerical work. He was writing in a room in a farm house, which was suddenly attacked and Lance-Corpl Hall was killed on the spot.’[5] Thus on 11 April 1918, during this second major German attack, on the ‘quieter part of the line’, Sidney George Hall was ‘killed in action’. His body was recovered, but whether he was buried initially in one of the other local cemeteries is uncertain, as the graves brought in from other small nearby cemeteries, such as that used by the 2^nd/7^th RWR,[6] do not appear to be separately identified in CWGC documentation.

The Rugby Advertiser reported,

LANCE-CORPL. SIDNEY HALL KILLED. Mr & Mrs J Hall, of 31 Alexandra Road, Rugby, have received intimation that their only son, Lance-Corpl Sidney Hall, Royal Warwicks, was killed on April 12th. He proceeded to the line the previous day to assist the Commanding Officer with the clerical work. He was writing in a room in a farm house, which was suddenly attacked and Lance-Corpl Hall was killed on the spot. He was before enlistment employed as a clerk by Messrs Wratislow & Thompson.  Whilst in England he rose to be sergeant-in-charge of Brigade headquarters – a most responsible position for one so young, he then being only about 20 years of age. He took a keen interest in the work at St Andrew’s Mission Church, at which a memorial service was held on Sunday evening.[7]

Sidney George Hall is now buried in the St. Venant-Robecq Road British Cemetery, Robecq, in grave ref: III. C. 11., some five miles from Merville.

St. Venant is a small town in the Department of the Pas-de-Calais about 15 kilometres north-west of Bethune. For much of the First World War, the villages of St. Venant and Robecq remained practically undamaged, but in April 1918, during the Battle of the Lys, the German line was established within 2 kilometres of the road that joins them. The cemetery was begun around 12 April and used as a front line cemetery until the end of July. At the Armistice it contained 47 burials, but was then greatly enlarged when graves were brought in from the battlefields south of St. Venant and from other cemeteries in the vicinity. The most important of these cemeteries were La Haye British Cemetery at St. Venant (65 graves), used by the 2^nd/7^th Royal Warwicks and 2^nd/8^th Worcesters between April and August 1918, and Carvin British Cemetery, Mont-Bernenchon (54 graves), used by fighting units and field ambulances during the same period.

Later, when the permanent gravestones replaced the temporary cross, no family message was requested.

Sidney George HALL is also remembered on the Rugby Memorial Gates; and also on a family grave, ref: C175, in the Clifton Road Cemetery, Rugby.

Sidney’s Medal Card shows that he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Another Rugby man in the 2^nd/6^th Battalion, one of Sidney’s officers, William Harry PACKWOOD, was killed the next day, 12 April.

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

– – – – – –

 

This article on Sidney George HALL was researched and written for a Rugby Family History Group [RFHG] project, by John P H Frearson and is © John P H Frearson and the RFHG, January 2018.

[1]         http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/order-of-battle-of-divisions/61st-2nd-south-midland-division/

[2]       Based on: https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/units/316/royal-warwickshire-regiment/.

[3]       WWI War Diaries, 1914-1920, 2/6 Bn., Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 61^st Division,

[4]       Murland, Jerry, Retreat and Rearguard Somme 1918, the Fifth Army Retreat, 2014, ISBN: 978-1-78159-267-0.

[5]       Rugby Advertiser, Saturday, 4 May 1918.

[6]       The 2^nd/7^th RWR were operating with the 2^nd/6^th RWR, and thus on 13 April 1918 the 2^nd/6^th RWR was combined for some days with the 24^th Entrenching Battalion as a composite Battalion and then relieved the 2^nd/7^th RWR.

[7]       Rugby Advertiser, Saturday, 4 May 1918.

Linnell, William Henry. Died 8th Apr 1918

William Henry LINNELL was born on 23 February 1880 and his birth was registered in Q2, 1880 in Rugby.  He was christened on 5 May 1880 at Holy Trinity church, Rugby.  He was the son of William Henry Linnell (senior), who was born in about 1850 in Rugby, and Emily Mary, née Moulds, Linnell, who was born in about 1853 in Exeter, Devon.  Their marriage was registered in Q3, 1877, in Nuneaton.

In 1891, the family were living at 1 Railway Terrace and William’s father was a builder.  William Henry (junior) was 11 and had one older and two younger sisters.  They also had a servant.

William attended Lawrence Sheriff School until 1894, and then entered Town House, at Rugby School until 1896.

In 1896, Henry (senior) was a Parish clerk to St. Andrew’s and the family were still living at 1 Railway Terrace,[1] but in 1901, the family had ‘expanded’ to live in both 1 & 2 Railway Terrace.  William (senior) was a ‘Builder and Contractor’ and William (junior) was working as a ‘Builder’s Manager’, with his father’s firm.

His father’s firm would become one of the larger of Rugby’s building companies, and his father also became a member of the town council and chairman of Rugby UDC from 1907 – 1909.

A photograph (left), said to be of a younger William Henry Linnell (junior) was posted on-line.[2]

William (junior) married Margaret Elizabeth née Childs, who was born in Rugby on 30 August 1882.   This was at some date after the third calling of banns on 21 May 1905 – they were both from the Parish of St. Andrew’s, Rugby.  The marriage was registered in Q2, 1905 in Rugby.

Between 1906 and 1917, William Henry (junior) and Margaret had six children – one of whom died soon after her birth.  Their births were registered as follows: Richard Henry, Q4, 1906 [b. 28 October 1906, d. May 1995, Northampton]; John Maxwell, Q1, 1910 [b. 9 January 1910 – d. 24 April 2009 in Canada]; Margaret B M, Q3, 1911 whose death was registered in Q4, 1911; Derek Childs, Q1, 1913 [b. 16 Dec 1912 – d. 24 March 1976, Midhurst, West Sussex]; Nancy Elizabeth, Q4, 1914 [b. 25 Aug 1914 – d. 12 February 2001, Hobart, Tasmania; and Pamela Marguerite ‘Peggy’, Q3, 1917 [d. 23 May 1989, New Norfolk, Tasmania].[3]

In early 1911 William’s mother died and on the night of the 1911 census, his widowed father was visiting his married daughter, Amy Boot, William’s sister, in Llandudno cum Eglwys-Rhos, Wales.  William (senior) lived until late 1928 when he died in Rugby, aged 78.

There is no obvious census return for William (junior) or his wife in 1911.  Were they on holiday?  Their second son, John ‘Max’, now 14 months old, was staying with his maternal grandmother, Susan Wilson at 8 Pennington Street, Rugby.  Perhaps they went abroad and he was considered too young.

In 1912, one of the William Henry Linnells was listed at 7 Whitehall Road, Rugby.[4]  In October 1916, William Henry (junior) was still working with his father and was mentioned in an article in the Rugby Advertiser.[5]  In the 1916 William Henry Linnell was listed at 41 Clifton Road, Rugby,[6] which would be William (junior’s) widow’s address after the war.

RUGBY FIRM COMMENDED.
Mr W H Linnell appeared in support of a claim for the exemption of Horace Walter Gilbert (23, single), electrician and wireman, 56 New Street, New Bilton. – He pointed out that the man had only been passed for “Labour at home.”  Before the war they employed about 85 men, and now there were only about 20.  This was the only man left in the electrical department, which would have to be closed down if he went. – The Military had appealed against the temporary exemption granted to Mr Linnell, jun, and the Tribunal was informed that he was going into the Army in the following week. – The Chairman: I take it you agree to the Military appeal being upheld? – Mr Linnell: That it so. – The Chairman: We will give this man to January 1st, as the other has gone.  They have done very well, I think.

Unfortunately no Service Record exists for William, but there is information in the Obituary published in the ‘Memorials to Rugbeians’, which is quoted in full below.[7]  It seems that after joining up, in Rugby, in later October 1916, he was initially a private in the Motor Transport.  He was transferred to ‘The Buffs’ (the Royal East Kent Regiment), and then upon his application, to the Royal Engineers.  After training at Chatham, he was sent to France in September, 1917, and although in the Royal Engineers, he was then attached to and served as a Private No:87659, in the 11^th (Service) Battalion (Pioneers) in the King’s (Liverpool Regiment).  He may perhaps have been among the men of the R.E.s who were attached to the Battalion to give instruction in R.E. work, however, it seems that he was re-numbered when joining the King Liverpool Regiment.

The 11^th Battalion had been formed in Seaforth, Liverpool in August 1914 as part of the First New Army (K1), and joined the Army Troops in the 14^th Division and became a Pioneer Battalion on 11 January 1915 and on 30 May 1915 mobilised for war and landed at Boulogne, where they were engaged in various actions on the Western Front.

William would probably not have joined them until he went to France in September 1917, some time after he joined up and after the various training.  His exact locations cannot be established.

During 1917, the 11^th Battalion was in action during the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, the First and Third Battle of the Scarpe, the Battle of Langemark, and the First and Second Battles of Passchendaele.

In 1918 the 11^th Battalion had returned to the Somme, and William would have continued to be involved in the routine engineering of trench warfare, indeed it seems that he had been able to devise a new system of trench construction and in recognition of his work he had been recommended for a commission.  1918 started ‘quietly’ and the 11^th had suffered no casualties in March prior to 21 March 1918.

However, whilst an attack by the Germans was anticipated, when launched on 21 March 1918, it was a major offensive, Operation Michael, against the British Fifth Army and the right wing of the British Third Army.  The German artillery targeted command and communications; then, the destruction of artillery; and then the front-line infantry.  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.

This action starting on 21 March 1918 was known by the Allies as the Battle of St Quentin.  During the first three days, when the 11^th Battalion was at Clastres, significant numbers of ‘other ranks’ of the Battalion were killed and wounded.  On 21 March, 65 Other Ranks [ORs] had been wounded; on 22 March, 5 ORs were wounded, and on 23 March, 44 ORs were wounded.

It seems that William was one of those seriously wounded on the first day, when he was in action near La Fère, some ten miles away from Clastres, and indeed even further from St. Quentin which was also mentioned as his location in one of the news articles below.

He would have been evacuated to a Battalion Aid Post, ‘Field Ambulance’ or Advanced Dressing Station, then back to a Casualty Clearing Station, before being transported back to one of the Base Hospitals – in William’s case, the No. 9 General Hospital, Rouen – some 200 kms. behind the lines.  It was reported that William ‘Died of Wounds’[8] on 8 April 1918 – this was confirmed in his obituary – he was 38 years old.[9]

Overall losses during Operation Michael were so severe that by 27 April 1918 the Division had suffered such severe casualties that it was reduced to cadre at Molingham and then moved back to England.

On 13 April a report in the War Notes of the Rugby Advertiser noted,
With deep regret we have to report the death (from wounds) of Mr. W H Linnell, junior partner of the firm of Linnell & Son, contractors, and only son of Councillor W H Linnell.  He was attached to the 11^th Pioneer Battalion of the King’s Liverpool regiment, and was wounded on 21^st March in the neighbourhood of St. Quentin.  He leaves a wife and five children.[10]

The next week, a report in the Rugby Advertiser noted,

‘A BELATED COMMISSION. –
A letter found in the possession of Sapper W H Linnell, jun, Pioneer Battalion, King’s Liverpool Regiment, a partner in the firm of Messrs Linnell, Rugby, whose death from wounds received in action was recorded last week, has been forwarded to his [?father] by the matron of the hospital.  This was evidently [?only] shortly before he was wounded, and that he [?had] on the previous day had been informed [?by his] Colonel that he was recommending him for a commission as his work had been so very satisfactory.  Mr. Linnell, who was an Old Laurentian and Old Rugbian, [?was,] until he joined the Colours, mainly responsible for management of the business.  He was vice-chairman of the Rugby Master Builders’ Association and [?was also a member] of the Rugby Building Society[11].’[12]

During the First World War, camps and hospitals were stationed on the southern outskirts of Rouen.  Almost all of the hospitals at Rouen remained there for practically the whole of the war.  They included eight general, five stationary, one British Red Cross and one labour hospital, and a convalescent depot.

After William died, like the great majority of those who died in the various Rouen Hospitals, his body was taken to the Rouen city cemetery of St. Sever.  He was buried in the St Sever Cemetery Extension in grave reference: P. IX. C. 3B.

St. Sever Cemetery and St. Sever Cemetery Extension are located within a large communal cemetery situated on the eastern edge of the southern Rouen suburbs of Le Grand Quevilly and Le Petit Quevilly.  The Extension had been started in September 1916.

Later, when a permanent gravestone replaced his temporary cross, it included his family’s message, ‘Castissimus Homo Atque Integerrimus “Beati Mundo Corde”.’ – ‘A pure and upright man – “Blessed are the Peacemakers”.’ 

The Rugby Advertiser reporting on a subsequent Council Meeting wrote,
A Councillor’s Bereavement. The Chairman then alluded to the bereavement of their much-respected colleague who a few days previously received news that his son, Harry Linnell – as he was always known in the town – had died wounds received in action fighting for his country.  In moving that a resolution recording their sympathy be inscribed on the minutes, he said he need hardly say how much they sympathised with Mr Linnell the loss of his good son, coming as it did at his time of life when he was getting on in years.  It was indeed a most terrible blow.  He whose death they were regretting was a young man of great promise, and there was no doubt he would have been of much service to his native town.  He had great ability, a most kindly and charming disposition and great industry, and all they could do was to mourn with his widow and father in the great loss which had befallen them.[13]

William Henry LINNELL is also remembered on the Rugby Memorial Gates; and on the WWI Lawrence Sheriff School Plaque,[14] which reads,
‘In Commemoration of our Brother Laurentians who Fell in The Great War, 1914-1918, Orando Laborando.’   

He was also remembered in one of the Rugby School Memorial Volumes, which also includes a photograph of him in uniform and noted …

SAPPER W. H. LINNELL, ROYAL ENGINEERS

William Henry Linnell was the only son of William Henry Linnell of the firm of Linnell and Son, Builders and Contractors, Rugby, and Emily Mary his wife.

He entered the School in 1894 and left in 1896.  He then joined his father’s firm, and was Managing Director at the outbreak of the War.

He volunteered for service and joined as a private in the Motor Transport in October, 1916.  He was transferred to the Buffs, and, upon his application, to the Royal Engineers.  After being trained at Chatham, he was sent to France in September, 1917, and was attached to the 11^th (Service) Battalion, The King’s (Liverpool Regiment).

He was seriously wounded in action near La Fère, on March 21^st and died of his wounds at No. 9 General Hospital, Rouen, on April 8^th, Age 38.

Shortly before he was wounded, he received notification that he was to be recommended for a Commission in the Royal Engineers, in recognition of his work in planning a new system of trench construction.

He married in 1905, Margaret, daughter of John Childs, and left five children, three sons and two daughters.[15]

His Medal Card showed that he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

His ‘widow & grantee, Margaret E’ received his monies owing of £11-0-7d on 1 August 1918, and his War Gratuity of £6 on 20 November 1919.

Having been helping run the family building business, he was subject to Probate which took place on 26 June 1918.  He was described as a ‘‘Sapper’, His Majesty’s Army’ – which although he had been attached to a ‘Pioneer’ Battalion, was the correct rank for a soldier in the Royal Engineers.  Probate at the London Registry was granted to his widow, Margaret Elizabeth Linnell, with his effects valued at £2539-16-0d.  His widow was living at 41 Clifton Road Rugby.  She died in 1953 in Bournemouth, Hampshire.

 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

– – – – – –

 

This article on William Henry LINNELL was researched and written for a Rugby Family History Group [RFHG] project, by John P H Frearson and is © John P H Frearson and the RFHG, January and July 2018.

[1]      Kelly, Directory of Warwickshire, 1896.

[2]      Jennifer Maltman shared this photograph on www.ancestry.co.uk on 2 November 2016.

[3]      Most of the more detailed dates have been obtained from Jennifer Maltman’s tree on www.ancestry.co.uk.  Various family photographs can also be seen there.  She is a descendant of  William Henry’s youngest child, Pamela Marguerite ‘Peggy’ Linnell, who married Peter Maltman (b.1907 – d.1982).  She now lives in Hobart, Tasmania.

[4]      Kelly, Directory of Warwickshire, 1912.

[5]      https://rugbyremembers.wordpress.com/2016/10/14/14th-oct-1916-horses-for-the-army/ – also in Rugby Advertiser, 14 October 1916.

[6]      Kelly, Directory of Warwickshire, 1916.

[7]      Memorials of Rugbeians who fell in the Great War, Volume VI.

[8]      Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919.

[9]      Memorials of Rugbeians who fell in the Great War, Volume VI.

[10]     Rugby Advertiser, Saturday, 13 April 1918.

[11]     Of which his father was Treasurer in 1915 – see: Rugby Advertiser, Saturday, 3 July 1915.

[12]     Rugby Advertiser, 20 April 1918, and https://rugbyremembers.wordpress.com/2018/04/21/20th-apr-1918-low-flying-aeroplanes/.  Some words could not be transcribed from the poor original, likely words have been suggested.

[13]     Rugby Advertiser, Saturday, 20 April 1918.

[14]     Information from https://www.rugbyfhg.co.uk/lawrence-sheriff-school-plaques.

[15]     Memorials of Rugbeians who fell in the Great War, Volume VI.

 

Sharman, Percy John. Died 1st Apr 1918

Percy John SHARMAN was born in Rugby in about 1892. He was the son of Sherwin Sharman, who was born in Kings Cross, London in about 1870 and worked as a joiner, and Florence Annie Landon née Branston, Sharman, who was born in Napton on the Hill, Warwickshire, in late 1869 and later lived at Marton. They were married at some date after their last banns were called on 14 June 1891 at Frankton, Warwickshire.

In 1901 the family were living at 25 Queen Street Rugby, and they were still living there in 1911. Percy had attended St. Matthew School, and in 1911 was 19 and an ‘Iron Moulder (learner)’.   His younger brother, Albert Sidney Sharman, who was 18, was a ‘machine hand’ and would later join up as No.19849 in the Gloucestershire Regiment. There are surviving Pension Records for Sidney, who joined up aged 22 years and six months on 12 May 1915, joined the BEF, was wounded in the hand, and survived the war, serving until 1919.

There are no surviving military Service Records for Percy. He joined up as No.S/1289, Rifleman P. J. Sharman in the 11^th Battalion of the Rifle Brigade. He would later be promoted to Lance-Corporal. His Medal Card shows that he went to France on 21 July 1915

The 11^th (Service) Battalion of the Rifle Brigade was formed at Winchester in September 1914 as part of K2 and came under command of the 59^th Brigade in the 20^th (Light) Division. They moved to Blackdown, going on in February 1915 to Witley and then in April to Hamilton Camp (Stonehenge). On 21 July 1915 the Battalion landed at Boulogne which is also the date given on Percy’s Medal Card for his arrival in France – so he landed in France with his battalion.

In 1916 he is recorded as a rifleman in the 11^th Battalion Roll Book of NCOs and Men, and the Battalion was engaged in various actions on the Western front: the Battle of Guillemont in 1916 and the attacks on Steenbeek, and on Rue Des Vignes in 1917.

On 20 November 1917, after the actions earlier in the Battle of 3^rd Ypres, the 11^th Battalion were part of the British Third Army which launched an attack towards Cambrai. The method of assault was new, with no preliminary artillery bombardment.   Instead, a large number of tanks were used in significant force. However, having started well, with large gains of ground being made, the German reserves brought the advance to a halt. Ten days later, a German counter-attack regained much of the ground.

On 5 February 1918, the 11^th were reinforced by some of the men from the 10^th Battalion which had been disbanded near La Clytte. The 11^th Battalion was then heavily involved with various actions, in particular, the various defences against Operation Michael.

In the spring of 1918, a German attack had long been predicted and it was finally delivered in the early hours of 21 March 1918. It came after an intense artillery bombardment and the strength of the infantry attack was overwhelming. Within hours, the British Army was undertaking a desperate fighting retreat along a wide front. .[1]

The 20^th (Light) Division, which included the 11^th Battalion was heavily engaged in the Battle of St Quentin, which was the start of the German assault, Operation Michael. The Germans launched a major offensive 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 actions of Operation Michael have already been described in some detail.

There is a slight uncertainty as to the actual date of Percy’s death, so it may be that in addition to the Battle of St Quentin, he may have been involved in the subsequent actions at the Somme crossings and the Battle of Rosieres.   Possibly he was wounded and captured and died in German hands.

His exact date of death may have been ‘presumed’. His Medal Card notes ‘Acc as Dead’ i.e. Accepted as Dead. An earlier record on one of the CWGC documents suggests that his date of death was 20 March 1918. It was later recorded by the CWGC as being 1 April 1918. Percy was 26 years old.

By 1 April 1918, the 11^th Battalion was pulling out of the front line having suffered very heavy casualties in the various rearguard actions. Percy was not listed as killed or wounded on the extensive lists enclosed with the Battalion War Diary, although the lists may not be complete. He may have been missing or wounded and buried by the Germans. The date of death may signify the date that the 11^th pulled back.

Percy was originally buried with [at least] seven others at Map Reference (M.R.): 66D C23c 9-2. These soldiers were later ‘concentrated’ [disinterred, moved and reburied] in September 1919 from that smaller ‘cemetery’ to the Pargny British Cemetery, Somme, France, at M.R. 66D C16c 2-2. Percy’s body was identified by his identity disc/s and he was reburied at Pargny in grave ref: II. E. 17. No additional inscription was added to his memorial by the family.

Pargny is a village about 15 kilometres south of Peronne, which is between Amiens and Saint-Quentin. The British Cemetery is one kilometre south of the village.   The Cemetery was made after the Armistice, by concentrations from the surrounding battlefields and from the Pargny German Cemetery, which was a little way North-East of Pargny Church, and contained the graves of 32 soldiers from the United Kingdom. The majority of the burials in this cemetery are those of officers and men of the 61st (South Midland) and 8th Divisions [and in Percy’s case, the 20^th Division], whose resistance at the Somme crossings on 24 March 1918, materially helped to delay the German advance.

Percy John SHARMAN was awarded the British War and Victory Medals and the 1915 Star. He is also commemorated on the Rugby Memorial Gates in Hillmorton Road, Rugby and on his family’s grave at Plot H171, at the Clifton Road Cemetery, Rugby.

In 1919, the Rugby Advertiser noted,
‘St. Matthew’s “Old Boy” Killed, Rifleman P. J. Sharman, Rifle Brigade, whose home was at 25, Queen Street, Rugby, reported missing last year, has now been notified as killed in action in March, 1918.  He was an old pupil of St. Matthew’s Boys’ School, and 27 years of age.’[2]

 

 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

– – – – – –

 

This article on Percy John SHARMAN 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, January 2018.

[1]       http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/topic/76794-27th-batt-manchester-regiment/, by ‘John_Hartley’.

[2]      Rugby Advertiser, Friday, 30 May 1919.

Keats, Bernard. Died 26th Mar 1918.

Bernard KEATES – or KEATS on the Rugby Memorial Gates – was born in Willenhall on 25 December 1898, registered as KEATES in Birmingham in Q1, 1899 and baptised as KEATS, on 26 January 1899 at St George’s, Birmingham, when his family were living at 8/4 St. George’s Street.

Both spellings of the surname seem to have been used indiscriminately, the family and enumerators adding the ‘E’, the military generally omitting it!

He was the third son of James Keates [b.c.1863 in Willenhall – a labourer] and Sarah, née Agus, Keates, [b.c.1873, also in Willenhall], whose marriage was registered in Wolverhampton in Q4, 1892.

The three eldest boys, Bernard and his two elder brothers, had been born in Staffordshire, but before 1901, the Keates family had moved to live in Rugby and was lodging at 28 Gas Street, Rugby. Bernard’s father was a ‘labourer carter’.

By 1911, the family had moved again and was living at 55 Pinfold Street, New Bilton, Rugby. His mother, now 38, was recorded as the ‘Head’ of the family – but was still enumerated as married, which she had been for 18 years, with five children, all still living – the three older boys, and now two girls, aged 8 and 4, who had been born in Rugby after the move from Staffordshire. Bernard was aged 11 and still at school. Their house had six rooms and they had two boarders. It is not known where Bernard’s father was as he seems to be missing from the Census.

There are very few on-line records of Bernard’s military career and no Service Records for him have survived. It seems that he enlisted in Warwick as a Private, No.35506 in the 1^st Battalion of the Duke of Edinburgh’s (Wiltshire) Regiment. The absence of a date that he entered a ‘theatre of war’ on his Medal Card, suggests that this was after the end of 1915. A commentary on the war service of the 1^st Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment gives an indication of where Bernard Keates may have served.[1]

In August 1914 the 1^st Battalion were based at Tidworth … On mobilization the 1^st Battalion left for France on the 13 August, taking part in the battle of Mons 10 days later and followed by the retreat from Mons. The ‘retreat ‘was a fighting withdrawal with a number of significant actions fought along that route. The battalion remained intact and ended the retreat on the outskirts of Paris. Once the line stabilized the battalion took part in the First Battle of Ypres, and Neuve Chapelle by which time they had lost 26 officers and 1000 men, the equivalent of a whole battalion. This was followed by trench duty at Hooge and then Kemmel where they remained for the remainder of the year.

[In 1915 -] The 1^st Battalion spent the first few months on the Messines Ridge engaged in Trench warfare until March 1915. In March they took part in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, followed by several more months in Trenches in the Dickebusch area. In June they took part in two attacks on the German Trench system round Hooge Chateau, where the fighting was most severe. The next few months were spent in the trenches near Ypres, Hooge, alternating with rest periods in the ramparts at Ypres, itself under shell fire. In September they took part in a Major battle at Loos. In October together with the rest of their Brigade they were transferred to a New Army Formation, the 25^th Division to provide experience. They spent the remainder of the year in the trenches at Ploegsteert Wood. Christmas dinner was not eaten until the 1 January 1916.

It seems more likely that Bernard might have joined his Battalion in France in 1916.

At the start of 1916 the 1^st Battalion were in reserve at Papot. They remained here for three months when they went south spending three weeks near St Pol. After relieving the French at Vimy Ridge they spent two months engaged in trench warfare near La Targette. Unspectacular work but it still resulted in 82 casualties. In July the Battalion moved towards the Somme area. They did not take part in the attack on 1 July but did go into action at Thiepval on 4 July. On the 22 July together with the 3^rd Worcestershire Regiment, they assaulted and captured the Lepzig Salient, including the Hindenburg trench.   They withstood a number of counter attacks by the Prussian Guards all of which were beaten off. Other attacks followed together with more time spent in the trenches. In October they moved north and took up a position in the Ploegstreert where they were at the end of the year.

[1917 – ] The 1^st Battalion started the year in the area of Ploegsteert, being relieved mid January for a fortnights hard training. In February they carried out a daring daylight raid in conjunction with the 10^th Cheshire’s. The raiders won six Military Medals. In late February they were relieved by New Zealand units, spending the next seven weeks training. This was required due the reorganization of all battalions whereby each platoon became self sufficient in terms of weapon capabilities. The Army was starting to move towards mobile tactics. In April they took over some trenches from the Australians near Plogsteert. They went in and out of the lines until 7 June when the battalion took part in the attack on Messines Ridge. Two days later after hard fighting they had taken 148 prisoners and 7 machine guns,   but they had sustained 170 casualties.   One of the officers being awarded the Military Cross in this action was Captain R Hayward (later to win the Victoria Cross). This was a significant action because in taking this high ground it improved the situation in the Ypres salient, which had been overlooked by the Germans for most of the war. In July they moved to Ypres and had their first taste of mustard gas. At the end of July they took part in the attack on Westhoek Ridge remaining in the area under heavy shell fire until 5 August. After a short rest they returned to the Ridge to support other units under pressure from the Germans. On 10 September they moved south to join the First Army moving into the Givenchy Sector, near Bethune where they took up a position in October remaining for two months. At the beginning of December they were transferred once again, this time to the Third Army, to the Laqnicourt Sector near Bapaume. They were at this location at the end of 1917.

[1918 – ] The 1^st Battalion started the year in the Laqnicourt sector, North East of Bapaume remaining there for two months.

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.

On 21 March 1918 they [the 1^st Battalion] were in reserve at Achiet-Le-Grand when the German Army launched a major offensive. The battalion were in contact with the enemy for the next six days during which Captain Hayward MC won the Victoria Cross. By the end of this period the battalion was reduced to Company strength.[2]

It would appear that Bernard was wounded – presumably in that period when the Battalion lost so many men, between 21 and 25 March 1918 and was taken prisoner, and then died of his wounds, probably at a prisoner of war camp on 26 March 1918, although his date of death was also recorded as 24 March 1918 on some of the earlier records. He was buried in a German Cemetery, adjacent to the German prisoner of war camp, at the east end of the village of Oisy-le-Verger. This cemetery originally contained the graves of 24 prisoners of war from the United Kingdom, six from Italy and three from Russia, and 247 German soldiers. It was and about 5 miles north-west of Cambrai.

After the war, the British soldiers buried at Oisy-le-Verger were ‘Concentrated’ [exhumed, moved and reburied]. Bernard Keats’ ‘body naked’ was identified by a standard cross, and the German burial list and plan. There were no effects. Bernard was reburied in the Ontario Cemetery at Sains-les-Marquion in Grave ref: II. E. 15.   There was no personal message from his family on the memorial stone – it is possible that they could not be traced.

Sains-les-Marquion is about 2 kilometres south of Marquion, which is on the Arras to Cambrai road, some 14 kilometres from Cambrai. Ontario Cemetery is 1 kilometre due south of the village. The cemetery was made at the end of September and the beginning of October 1918, after the capture of Sains-les-Marquion (on the 27th) by the Canadian Division. It contained, in its original form, the graves of 144 soldiers from Canada and ten soldiers (or sailors of the Royal Naval Division) from the United Kingdom … It was enlarged after the Armistice by the concentration of graves, partly from the battlefields, but mainly from the many neighbouring German cemeteries, including … Oisy-Le-Verger German Cemetery, …

Bernard’s Medal Card showed that he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He is also remembered on the Rugby Memorial Gate, and as KEATES, B., on the New Bilton War Memorial by the chapel in Croop Hill Cemetery, Addison Road, Rugby.

 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

– – – – – –

 

This article on Bernard KEATES was researched and written for a Rugby Family History Group [RFHG] project, by John P H Frearson and is © John P H Frearson and the RFHG, January 2018. It is dedicated also to the memory of Graham Gare who had chosen to undertake the research on this soldier before his untimely death.

[1]         http://www.thewardrobe.org.uk/research/history-of-regiments/the-duke-of-edinburghs-wiltshire-regiment-1881-1920-the-wiltshire-regiment-duke-of-edinburghs-1920-1959. Further details may be found in the Battalion War Diary, The National Archives, Piece 2243/3: 25^th Division, 1^st Battalion Wiltshire Regiment (1915 Nov – 1918 Jun), also available at www.ancestry.co.uk

.

 

[2]         http://www.thewardrobe.org.uk/research/history-of-regiments/the-duke-of-edinburghs-wiltshire-regiment-1881-1920-the-wiltshire-regiment-duke-of-edinburghs-1920-1959. Further details may be found in the Battalion War Diary, The National Archives, Piece 2243/3: 25^th Division, 1^st Battalion Wiltshire Regiment (1915 Nov – 1918 Jun), also available at www.ancestry.co.uk.

Wilson, Edwin Thomas. Died 23rd Mar 1918

Edwin Thomas WILSON’s birth was registered in Rugby in Q3, 1894 and he was baptised on 29 July 1894 at Bilton, Warwickshire, England, when his family were living in Victoria Street, New Bilton.

He was the eighth child of Ellis Wilson [b.c.1851 in Hillmorton – an upholsterer] and Sarah Jane, née Rotton, Wilson, [b.c.1860 in Birmingham], whose marriage was registered in Birmingham in Q4, 1876.

The three eldest children had been born in West Bromwich in about 1877, 1879 and 1883, and then the next two in Tipton in 1884 and 1886. Before 1887 when their next child was born, they had moved to Rugby, and for the 1891 census they were living at 11 Bridget Street, Rugby.

By 1901 the family had moved to live at 103 Victoria Street, Rugby, where Edwin’s father, Ellis was an ‘upholsterer and general dealer’. His father’s death was registered in Rugby in Q2, 1909 – he was 58.

By 1911, the family had moved again and was living at 65 Campbell Street, New Bilton, Rugby.   Edwin was a ‘Winder (Apprentice)’ presumably at (BTH) in Rugby as he was subsequently employed just before the war in the BTH Winding Department.

There are very few on-line records of Edwin’s military career and he changed Regiments as his career progressed. If a more detailed history is required his file is available at the National Archives.[1]

It seems that he enlisted early from BTH, and was probably one of the three ‘Wilsons’ who are listed in the Rugby Advertiser on 5 and 26 September 1914.

B.T.H. Company to the Rescue. – From the Works. This is an additional list of men who have left to join the Colours from August 27th up to and including September 2nd: … Wilson … Wilson …[2]

Recruiting at Rugby slows – Latest B.T.H. Recruits. – Since our last list of recruits from the B.T.H Works was compiled the following have enlisted: Works: …, Wilson, …[3]

Edwin’s Medal Card shows that he was initially a private No.21111 in the ‘Hussars of Line’, and then an Acting Corporal, No.G3/10243 in the East Surrey Regiment. It seems that this was for a fairly short time, as he was chosen for a commission, and two identical notices appeared in the Local War Notes in the Rugby Advertiser on 23 October 1915 and 22 July 1916.

Mr B Whitbread, only son of Mr Charles Whitbread, and Mr Eddy Wilson, youngest son of Mrs E Wilson, have been gazetted to commissions in the 12^th Reserve R.W.R.[4]

Mr B Whitbread, only son of Mr Charles Whitbread, and Mr Eddy Wilson, youngest son of Mrs E Wilson, have been gazetted to commissions in the 12^th Reserve R.W.R..[5]

The first notice agrees broadly with his Medal Card which noted that he was appointed to a Temporary Commission as a 2^nd Lieutenant in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment on 20 October 1915; the second may have appeared when the two new officers went overseas in 1916. Indeed 2^nd Lt. Basil Whitbread’s Medal Card does have a date when he went to France – 4 March 1916. However it seems that he was serving with a different Battalion, the 14^th, when he was killed in action on 22 July 1916, during the battle of the Somme.

The 12^th (Reserve) Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment was formed in Parkhurst (Isle of Wight) in October 1914 as a Service battalion, part of K4, and in November 1914, came under command of 97^th Brigade, original 32^nd Division. However, on 10 April 1915 it became a Reserve battalion and in September 1916, it absorbed into the Training Reserve Battalions in 8^th Reserve Brigade.[6]

At some date Edwin transferred from the 12^th Reserve Battalion into the 10^th Battalion – quite possibly when he went to France.

The 10^th (Service) Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment 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.   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.

In early May 1917, the Local War Notes reported –

Second-Lieut E Wilson, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, son of Mrs Wilson, of Bridget Street, is in hospital at Rouen suffering from a broken leg.[7]

This was at about the time of the Battle of Arras but of course may have been due to a fall rather than enemy action!

The history of 19^th (Western) Division[8] shows that it was involved in 1917 in the following actions:

The Battle of Messines [7-14 June 1917]
The Third Battles of Ypres [from July 1917]
– 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 the 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.

The Battalion Diary[9] devotes several pages to the actions from the opening of the German assault on 21 March, until Edwin’s death on 23 March 1918.   some extracts are given below.

21.3.18 – 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 … …

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 …

22.3.18 – 8.50am – Ground close in front and behind line held by battalion was heavily shelled.

1.15pm – Shelling as at 9am … road by Bn. Hd. Qrs. was heavily shelled.

2.35pm – Bn. observers … reported that enemy were attacking …

23.3.18 – 2am – Orders received … our left must swing forward and establish two posts, … to block the S. Eastern exits from BRAUMETZ; the two left platoons of B Coy. were ordered to do this. … the Battn. was to hold its position to the last, and was not to reinforce the troops in the 3^rd system or to counter-attack should the enemy succeed in breaking into the 3^rd. system.

      7.30am – Batts. observers reported enemy massing W of DOIGNIES.

      8(?)am – An artillery officer reported … shortly coming into action … About 1½ hours later this officer again reported … that the guns were withdrawing.; the O.C. 10/RWarR protested … the artillery assistance was required and that the battalions had no intention of evacuating their positions. Apparently these guns fired very little if at all.

9.20am – D. Coy reported enemy cavalry on high ground …

9.25am – Battery … withdrew.

9.55am – 800 – 950 Germans debouched from S.E. of BESIMETZ. …

10.50am – … C Coy reported situation desperate on our left flank owing to withdrawal of all troops.

12.30am – VELU WOOD was occupied by the enemy.

12.30pm-1.30pm – Battn. was driven back to the road running E & W through J.26. where another stand was made…

3pm – The Battn. and machine gunners were ordered … to withdraw to Embankment … and then round the E & S sides of BERTINCOURT. … subsequently orders were received … to march to BAUCOURT, which was reached about 7pm.

Casualties were:- OFFICERS KILLED: 2^nd Lt R H Burningham and 2^nd. Lt. E. T. Wilson, 23-3–18 …Officers wounded – 9; Wounded and Missing – 2; Missing believed prisoner – 1. Other Ranks: killed – 33; Wounded – 191; Missing – 83.

Edwin, as noted, was killed in action on the third day of the battle on 23 March 1918, aged 23. Because of the intensity of the battle, with the Germans moving forward in strength, and in the confusion of the retreat and rearguard action, the bodies of many of those killed were never found or identified.

Edwin Thomas Wilson is remembered on Bay 3 of the Arras Memorial which is located at the entrance to the Faubourg d’Amiens Cemetery in France. The memorial commemorates almost 35,000 servicemen from the United Kingdom, South Africa and New Zealand who died in the Arras sector between the spring of 1916 and 7 August 1918, the eve of the Advance to Victory, and have no known grave. The most conspicuous events of this period … [and in Edwin’s case, sadly was] the German attack in the spring of 1918.

Edwin’s Medal Card showed that he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He is also remembered on the Rugby Memorial Gates, and on the BTH List of ‘Men who Served’, and the list of ‘Men who Gave their Lives’ as inscribed on the BTH War Memorial.

After Edwin’s death, on 24 March 1918 the 10^th Battalion RWarR was again manning a line somewhat further to the rear. The Battalion was involved in the Battle of Bapaume, the Battle of Messines, the Battle of Bailleul, the First Battle of Kemmel Ridge, the Battle of the Aisne, the Battle of the Selle, the Battle of the Sambre and the passage of the Grand Honelle. During these the allies finally held the German advance which had badly weakened German numbers and lost them many of their more experienced troops. The German advance had also overextended their supply lines, and from August 1918 the Allies were able to regroup and fight back. The 10^th Battalion ended the war on 11 November 1918, in the same formations, just west of Bavay, France.

In 1922, his mother, Mrs. S J Wilson was recorded on his Medal Card as living at 41 Bridget Street, Rugby.

 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

– – – – – –

 

This article on Edwin Thomas WILSON was researched and written for a Rugby Family History Group [RFHG] project, by John P H Frearson and is © John P H Frearson and the RFHG, January 2018.

[1]       2nd Lieutenant Edwin Thomas WILSON, The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, TNA file ref: WO 339/45499.

[2]         https://rugbyremembers.wordpress.com/2014/09/05/5th-sep-1914-rugbys-magnificent-response/.

[3]         https://rugbyremembers.wordpress.com/2014/09/27/26th-sep-1914-recruiting-at-rugby-slows/.

[4]         https://rugbyremembers.wordpress.com/2015/10/23/23rd-oct-1915-local-territorials-do-good-work/.

[5]         https://rugbyremembers.wordpress.com/2016/07/22/whitbread-basil-died-22nd-jul-1916/.

[6]         http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/royal-warwickshire-regiment/.

[7]       12th May 1917. Rugby Advertiser, 13 May 1917, https://rugbyremembers.wordpress.com/2017/05/13/12th-may-1917-food-economy-campaign/.

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

[9]       War Diary, TNA Ref: Piece 2085/3: 10 Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment (1915 Jul – 1919 Mar), pp.506-513 of 517. Also available on Ancestry.co.uk.

Chant, George Frederick. Died 23rd Mar 1918

George Frederick CHANT was born on 28 January 1880, in Enfield, Middlesex, the son of Anthony Chant, a coachman from Yeovil, Somerset, and Ellen, née Vale, Chant who was born in Westminster.  George was baptised on 20 June 1880 at the Enfield Jesus Chapel, Enfield, when the family was living in Turkey Street.

In 1891 the family were living in ‘the cottage’ in Enfield, apparently not far from the ‘Spotted Cow’ beer house.  The family seems to have remained in Middlesex, but George was elsewhere and has not been found in the 1901 or the 1911 censuses.  It seems from a later report,[1] that he had served in the Army in the South African War, and may have still been a serving soldier overseas in 1911.

However, after his military service, he was one of the many workers who came to work in Rugby at the expanding British Thompson Houston (BTH) works in the years before the war.  Thomas moved to Rugby and went to work in the BTH Stores.  He married with Alice E. Welch, the marriage being registered in Rugby in Q2, 1915.  They later lived at 43 Union Street, Rugby.

Whilst his later obituary stated that he ‘… went out at once on August 15, 1914’, there is no qualification date on his Medal Card for when he went abroad, and he did not earn the 1914 or the 1914-1915 Star.  So this may be the date that he reported back, as a reservist, to the army in Rugby.  He was, latterly at least, Driver, No.88840 in the Royal Field Artillery.  There is no surviving Service Record, so the details of his service are unknown – and being in the Artillery it is less easy to plot his progress.  With no qualification date on his Medal Card, he probably remained in UK, and did not go abroad until 1916 or even later, although he had re-joined the colours in 1914.  It seems that George had a job with the Brigade looking after the Brigadier’s horses.  In March 1918, he was serving with the Royal Field Artillery, at the Headquarters, 4 Corps.

However, on 21 March 1918, the Germans launched a major offensive, ‘Operation Michael’,[2] against the British Fifth Army and the right wing of the British Third Army.  The German artillery targeted command and communications; then, the destruction of artillery; and then the front-line infantry.  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.

Whilst the first bombardment of artillery positions was on 21 March, artillery attacks continued and George Frederick CHANT was ‘killed in action’ ‘by a shell which fell among a group of officers, men, and horses standing near the Brigade Headquarters’, on the third day of the battle, 23 March 1918, when he was aged 36.[3]  Because of the intensity of the battle, with the Germans moving forward in strength, and in the confusion of the retreat and rearguard action, the bodies of many of those killed were never found or indeed, were not identifiable.

George Frederick CHANT is remembered on Bay 4 of the Arras Memorial which is located at the entrance to the Faubourg d’Amiens Cemetery in France.  The memorial commemorates almost 35,000 servicemen from the United Kingdom, South Africa and New Zealand who died in the Arras sector between the spring of 1916 and 7 August 1918, the eve of the ‘100 days Advance to Victory’, and have no known grave.  [One of the] … most conspicuous events of this period … was the German attack in the spring of 1918.

The Rugby Advertiser reported his death in April 1918.
A South African Veteran Killed.   Mrs Chant, 43 Union Street, Rugby, has received news that her husband, Driver George Chant, R.F.A. has been killed by a shell which fell among a group of officers, men, and horses standing near the Brigade Headquarters.  In a kind letter conveying information, the Brigadier-General writes: – “I feel deeply for you and your young family in your great loss.  It is a great loss to me also, Chant had been with me since the early days of the War, and I had the greatest confidence in him.  He looked after the horses splendidly, and when I was busy with other things I felt I never need worry about them, and that Chant would do everything that was required.”  Driver Chant, who was 38 years of age, was employed at the B.T.H. when war broke out.  He was the first to volunteer from those Works, and went out at once on August 15, 1914, so that he had been all through the fighting.  He had previously served in the South African War, and gained two medals.[4]

His death was also reported in the Coventry Evening Telegraph,[5]

THE ROLL OF HONOUR.  Coventry and District Casualties. 
The following Coventry and district casualties are notified in the latest lists:
Killed.  … Chant, 88840, Dvr. T. (Rugby), R.F.A. …

George Frederick CHANT is also remembered on the Rugby Memorial Gates, and his name appears also appears as ‘CHANT G F’ on the list of ‘BTH Employees Who Served in the War 1914 – 1918’; and as ‘CHANT George F’ on the list of names on the BTH War Memorial when it was unveiled in 1921.[6]

His Medal Card showed that he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

The Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929 showed that his back pay of £1-16-2d was paid to his widow ‘Alice E’ on 25 June 1918, and then his War Gratuity of £17, in two payments: £5-13-4d on 27 November 1919 and £11-6-8d on 25 February 1920.

 

 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

 

 

This article on George Frederick CHANT was researched and written for a Rugby Family History Group [RFHG] project, by John P H Frearson and is © John P H Frearson and the RFHG, January 2018.

– – –

[1]      Rugby Advertiser, Saturday, 13 April 1918.

[2]      See: https://rugbyremembers.wordpress.com/2018/03/20/the-1918-spring-offensive-operation-michael/.

[3]      His age given by CWGC was 36, in fact, he was 38 as given in the Rugby Advertiser, and from his date of birth.

[4]      Rugby Advertiser, Saturday, 13 April 1918.

[5]      Coventry Evening Telegraph, Thursday, 16 May 1918.  The death in action of Lce.-Bdr. F. Ward, No.11115, (Rugby), who was also in the R.F.A., was notified in the same edition – he is not on the Rugby Memorial Gate.

[6]      Taken from the list published in the Rugby Advertiser, 4 November 1921.

Fretter, Charles James. Died 22nd Mar 1918

Charles James FRETTER was born in mid to late 1875 and was baptised on 30 April 1876, at St. Matthew’s church, Rugby.  He was the son of Samuel Fretter [b.c.1841 in Hillmorton – 1914] and Harriet née Tomkins Fretter [b.c.1848 in Dunchurch – 1912].  They had married in Dunchurch parish church on 20 November 1868.  Between 1861 and 1871, and probably soon after their marriage, Samuel and Harriet moved to Rugby, where their eldest daughter was born in early 1869.

In 1871, Samuel, a boot and shoe maker and his family were living at 12 West Leyes, Rugby, initially with his widowed mother.  There were then two girls, Elizabeth and Alice.  By 1881, after Charles’ birth it seems Samuel’s mother (Charles’ grandmother) had died, and Charles would later have two younger sisters and two younger brothers.

By 1891, the family were living at 44 Pennington Street, Rugby.  Charles was now 15, and was working as a milkman.  By 1901 the family had moved again to 38 Plowman Street, Rugby and Charles was now a general labourer.  By 1911 they had moved yet again, to 60 York Street, Rugby – Charles was 35, still single, and was now a general labourer in the building trade.

At some date Charles enlisted at Rugby as Private No.18034 in the 10^th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment.   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.

There is no embarkation date on Charles’ Medal Card, so he probably joined his Battalion later and went to France/Belgium with reinforcements after the end of 1915, and would not have been eligible for the 1914-15 Star.

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.

The history of 19^th (Western) Division[1] 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.

Because of the intensity of the battle, and as the Germans were moving forward, many of those killed were never identified.  Charles was killed in action on the second day of the battle on 22 March 1918, aged 43.

In the confusion of the retreat and rearguard action, Charles’ body was either not found or not identified, and it was probably lost in the area that the Germans overran.  He is remembered on the Arras Memorial which is located at the entrance to the Faubourg d’Amiens Cemetery in France.  The memorial commemorates almost 35,000 servicemen from the United Kingdom, South Africa and New Zealand who died in the Arras sector between the spring of 1916 and 7 August 1918, the eve of the Advance to Victory, and have no known grave.  The most conspicuous events of this period were the Arras offensive of April-May 1917, and in Charles’ case, the German attack in the spring of 1918.

After Charles’ death, the allies held the advance which had badly weakened the Germans and overextended 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.

Charles James Fretter is also remembered on the Rugby Memorial Gates.  His Medal Card showed that he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.  The Medal Roll allocated him to the 11^th Battalion.

Various small amount of his outstanding pay was split between his brother and sisters.  His Gratuity of £9.00 was paid to his eldest sister, Elizabeth, on 12 December 1919 – she was now married.

 

 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

– – – – – –

 

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

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

Smith, Thomas J L. Died 21st Mar 1918

Thomas J L SMITH, having such a common surname, and probably having moved from some distance to work at British Thompson Houston (BTH) in Rugby, has not been specifically identified, although some parts of his life and his military career can be followed briefly in the records.

Before the war Thomas was working in the BTH Main Drawing Office, and this is later confirmed as his name appears as ‘SMITH T J L’ on the list of ‘BTH Employees Who Served in the War 1914 – 1918’; and as ‘SMITH Thomas J L’ on the list of names on the BTH War Memorial when it was unveiled in 1921.[1]

A search for births found nothing definitive, however a search for a marriage produced a registration in Rugby in Q3, 1914 [6d, 1583] between Thomas J L SMITH and a Nellie M Davis.

Further searches for Thomas – and indeed Nellie, with her almost equally common surname – in Rugby proved fruitless and it is likely that he was one of many workers who came to work in Rugby at the expanding British Thompson Houston works in the years immediately before the war.

Thomas joined up early, and indeed, the various dates could suggest that he may have already been a member of the territorial force.  On his Medal Card he is listed as Thomas J Smith, a Corporal, No.187, – a very early number – in the 1^st/1^st Warwickshire Royal Horse Artillery (Territorial Forces).  At a later date it seems he was transferred to the ‘Som Royal Horse Artillery’ – probably the Somerset Royal Horse Artillery – as No.618345 – a much later style number.

The Warwickshire Royal Horse Artillery was a Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery battery that was formed in Warwickshire in 1908.  On the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914, many territorial members volunteered for overseas service and the unit was split into 1^st Line (liable for overseas service) and 2^nd Line (home service for those unable or unwilling to serve overseas) units.

The 1^st Line battery was embodied with the 1^st South Midland Mounted Brigade on 4 August 1914 at the outbreak of the First World War.  Initially, the brigade moved to Diss, Norfolk and joined the 1^st Mounted Division.  Later in August, a concentration of mounted brigades was ordered to take place around the Churn area of Berkshire and the brigade moved to the racecourse at Newbury.

At the end of October 1914, the Warwickshire Battery departed for France, landing at Le Havre on 1 November.  The Warwickshire Royal Horse Artillery was the first Territorial Force artillery unit to go overseas on active service, spending the whole of the First World War on the Western Front, mostly with 1^st Cavalry Division and 29^th Division.

 

The ‘qualifying date’ i.e. the embarkation date on Thomas’s Medal Card, is 31 October 1914, thus it seems that he was indeed with the battery when it went to France on 1 November 1914.  He would thus have also qualified for the 1914 Star.

It is uncertain what Thomas’s movements were thereafter.  The activities of the 1^st/1^st Warwickshire RHA are well documented, however, Thomas’s Medal Card also includes the ‘Som Royal Horse Artillery’ – and a later service number: 618345 – and although also well documented they fought in different actions.  However, still with this same later number, Thomas is recorded by CWGC as being in “A” Bty. 298^th Bde., Royal Field Artillery.  When and why he might have transferred between these various batteries is uncertain – and no Service Record survives to record his movements.

Suffice to say he remained on the Western Front and at some date before late 1917 he had been promoted to Corporal and in later 1917, he won the Military Medal for bravery in the field.

His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of the Military Medal for bravery in the Field to the under mentioned Non-commissioned Officers and Men:-
… 618345 Cpl. T. J. Smith, R.F.A. (Rugby).[2]

… 618345 Cpl. T. J. Smith, R.F.A. (Rugby).[3]

Rather than outlining his possible movements and actions in three different Batteries, until any further information appears, one must assume that he was involved in a great many actions, and being in the artillery was less likely to be killed than as a front-line infantryman.  As mentioned the CWGC indicates that in March 1918 he was with “A” Bty. 298^th Bde. Royal Field Artillery.

On 4 April 1917, 298^th (N. Midland) Bde, RFA (TF) was re-designated as 298^th Army Brigade, RFA.[4]

During 1918, 298^th Brigade, RFA was an Army Brigade, RFA and from 28 February 1918 to 30 March 1918 it was supporting the 14^th (Light) Division of III Corps.[5]

However, 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 German artillery targeted command and communications; then, the destruction of artillery; and then the front-line infantry.  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.  It was possibly during this initial shelling of the British artillery positions early on 21 March 1918 that Thomas was wounded.

The Brigade War Diary indicates that on 21 March 1918 the Brigade was in positions in the Montescourt area.  Early that morning it was ordered to fire on a line between Sabliere Farm – Manufacture Farm.  The Brigade Wagon Lines were heavily shelled with 40 horses, one officer and four men killed and six wounded.[6]

It seems that after Thomas was wounded, in the opening of Operation Michael, he was evacuated to the 61^st (South Midland) Casualty Clearing Station which was stationed at Ham from January – March 1918,[7] and which started to receive casualties at 5.00 a.m. on 21 March 1918.[8]

Thomas would have been one of the early casualties, and was either already dead on arrival or died soon afterwards and he was buried adjacent to the Casualty Clearing Station.  The CWGC site states that he died on 21 March 1918.  There appears to be some confusion in the description on the CWGC site [unless there really was a pre-existing German cemetery on the site] however, it seems that the CCS were burying their dead, including Thomas, in what would later become the Muille-Villette German Cemetery, after the area was over-run.

The British soldiers buried in what became a largely German Cemetery at Muille-Villette were  ‘concentrated’ [exhumed, moved and reburied] in 1919.  The Ham British Cemetery was constructed next to and just behind the Muille-Villette German Cemetery, and the British graves were regrouped in this new cemetery, which explains the same map reference being used.

Thomas’s body could be identified as he was originally buried under ‘Foot Board: E55’ at ‘MR: 66D Q 2a 1-4’ from ‘Official Identity’.  He was reburied in Plot ref: I. E. 21 at the new Ham British Cemetery.  There was no age or personal family message on the gravestone.

Ham is a small town about 20 kilometres south west of St. Quentin … The British Cemetery is in the village of Muille-Villette.  In January, February and March 1918, the 61^st (South Midland) Casualty Clearing Station was posted at Ham, but on 23 March the Germans, in their advance towards Amiens, crossed the Somme at Ham, and the town remained in German hands until the French First Army re-entered it on 6 September 1918.  Ham British Cemetery was begun in January-March 1918 as an extension of Muille-Villette German Cemetery,[9] made by the Casualty Clearing Station.

In 1919 the British graves in the earlier and German cemetery were reburied in the new British Cemetery, together with those ‘concentrated’ from two other German cemeteries, and communal cemeteries and churchyards.

His death was recorded in the Rugby Advertiser, and also later in the Coventry Evening Telegraph.
‘Corpl T J Smith, of the Royal Field Artillery, who was formerly employed in the Main Drawing Office of the B.T.H, died from wounds on March 22nd.’[10]

‘The Roll of Honour, Warwickshire Casualties.  Rugby Men in Casualty Lists.  Three employees of B.T.H. to make the supreme sacrifice are: Corpl. T. J. Smith, R.F.A., Sapper E. Wagstaffe, R.E., and Pte. Alfred William Elson, Hampshire Regt., …’.[11]

Thomas J L Smith is also remembered on the Rugby Memorial Gates as well as on the BTH Memorial to those who fell, as noted above.  His Medal Card showed that he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, the 1914 Star and the Military Medal for ‘bravery in battle on land’.

On the back of his medal card is written, ‘N M Smith applies for her late husband’s medals 7.11.20’, which also confirms his marriage with Nelly M Davis.

 

RUGBY REMEMBERS HIM

– – – – – –

 

This article on Thomas J L Smith was researched and written for a Rugby Family History Group [RFHG] project, by John P H Frearson and is © John P H Frearson and the RFHG, January 2018.

 

[1]      Taken from the list published in the Rugby Advertiser, 4 November 1921.

[2]      Supplement, The London Gazette, 12 December 1917, p.13021.

[3]      Supplement, The Edinburgh Gazette, 13 December 1917, p.2569.

[4]      The brigade’s war diary for the period January 1916 to February 1916 can be found at The National Archives under WO95/3016.  Its war diary from March 1917 to February 1918 can be find under WO95/456.  Information from Dick Flory at http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/topic/168241-a298th-north-midlands-brigade-rfa/.

[5]      Information from ‘quigs1969’ at http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=694165.0; and from Dick Flory at http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/topic/192545-298-brigade-rfa/.

[6]      Information from ‘quigs1969’ at http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=694165.0; and from Dick Flory at http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/topic/192545-298-brigade-rfa/.

[7]      However the 61^st CCS Diary states that the CCS at Ham and their patients were evacuated by 23 March and the area was captured by the Germans.  One reference [http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk] suggests the CCS were also in Ham from March – April 1918, and then were at Vignacourt, although the War Diary suggests they had withdrawn.

[8]      WWI War Diaries, 1914-1920, Royal Army Medical Corps, 61^st Division, from www.ancestry.co.uk, p.290-291.

[9]      See comment in text above as to the sequence.

[10]     Rugby Advertiser, 12 April 1918, and https://rugbyremembers.wordpress.com/2018/04/21/20th-apr-1918-low-flying-aeroplanes/.

[11]     Coventry Evening Telegraph, Saturday, 20 April 1918.