Medals
179581 Bombardier H J Sears, RFA
Harry John Sears was a licensed victualler (keeper of the
King's Arms, Boxley, Maidstone) and aged around 31 when he attested under the
Derby Scheme in late 1915, shortly after his marriage on 24 June 1915 at All
Saints Church, Doddinghurst. He lived at Chalks Farm, Kelvedon Common
Brentwood, Essex. Joining for duty in November 1916 after a deferment, he
served in the France and Flanders theatre from 1 March 1917 into mid-1918,
principally with 5th Brigade RFA. Until July 1917 the brigade served with 4th
Canadian Division and then became an Army Field Artillery Brigade, in which
capacity it served variously with Second and Third Armies (October and December
1917, respectively) and First Army (February 1918). As Bombardier Sears, Royal
Field Artillery he was gassed on 9 June 1918, probably near Bethune, and was
reported as wounded in War Office daily list 5622 dated 19 July 1918. This list
gave his next of kin address as Brentwood, Essex. He passed through 1/1 (North
Midland) Field Ambulance at Hesdigneul and No.2 (Canadian) General Hospital, Le
Treport. The war diary of the Field Ambulance reported “From 11.am onwards
about 140 cases of mustard gas poisoning were admitted about 100 were 46th
Div & belonged chiefly to 466 Coy R E & attached men of other units.
The remainder were V Army Brigade R F A. The shelling had occurred in the neighbourhood
of the chicory factory on the [Beugny]-Bethune Road from 11 pm to 3.am. The
symptoms of poisoning viz affection of the eyes & vomiting coming on about
9 hours later. It was necessary to evacuate all but about 20 cases”. After the
war, from July 1919 he saw further service in Egypt with 424th Battery/264th
Brigade at Cairo and 84th Battery/11th Brigade at Ludd, returning home in 1920.
351332 Pte G Critchley, [2/]9th Manchester
Regiment
Pte Critchley served with the [2/]9th Battalion, the
Manchester Regiment, in 66th Division. Having his six-digit
Territorial Force number (351332) shown on his medal would suggest that he went
overseas sometime after March 1917, which would agree with the date when the
2/9th went over to France. He was wounded three times, first being
reported as Wounded in War Office Daily List No. 5418, Report Date 16/11/1917,
suggesting that he was probably wounded around mid-October 1917; at around this
time the battalion was in action at Passchendaele, Belgium, suffering 322 other
rank casualties in the general attack on Passchendaele Ridge on 9 October 1917.
This report confirmed his next of kin address as Ashton-under-Lyne. He was then
gassed on or shortly before 23 March 1918 in the course of the Battle of St
Quentin or Battle of Rosieres and admitted to 2/3rd East Lancashire Field
Ambulance and then No. 34 Casualty Clearing Station. At around this time the
battalion was at Hesbecourt on the Somme; possibly he was wounded in the course
of a gas bombardment on 21 March 1918 which claimed 30 casualties. He was later
reported Wounded in War Office Daily List No.5560, Report Date 08/05/1918,
probably relating to this gassing incident. He was finally reported as Wounded
again in War Office Daily List No. 5698, Report Date 17/10/1918, during the
Allied Hundred Days Offensive; possibly a late report as the 9th battalion
spent the period August-September 1918 in training.
242465 Pte G Underwood, [2/]6th Lancashire
Fusiliers and London Regiment
George Underwood, born in 1888, attested on 12 December 1915
and served with the 6th battalion Lancashire Fusiliers, going overseas –
possibly with the 2/6th battalion - on 26 February 1917. He was sent
home on 20 October 1917 and was reported as wounded in War Office daily list
5424 dated 23 November 1917, most likely having been wounded prior to 20
October, probably during his battalion's engagement in the Third Battle of
Ypres on 9 October 1917, in the general attack on Passchendaele Ridge. If so he
was one of 181 other ranks of the battalion wounded in the action. This List
gave his next-of-kin address as Ashton-on-Mersey. He subsequently served with
the 34th battalion, the London Regiment under the regimental number 881126
although it does not appear that he went overseas with the battalion. On 3
September 1918, aged 30, he was discharged as physically unfit due to wounds
and issued the Silver War Badge, number 447823. He was entitled to the British
War Medal and Victory Medal, which he would have received probably in early
1921.
244111 Lance Corporal J Hayward, 1/5th Cheshire
Regiment
L-Cpl Hayward served with the 1/5th (Earl of
Chester’s) Battalion, the Cheshire Regiment, first under the regimental number
15511 and later 244111. From February 1916 onwards, this was a pioneer
battalion to the 56th (London) Division. He was reported as wounded
in War Office daily list No.5603 dated 27 June 1918, suggesting that he was
wounded in May 1918; the 56th Division was in the Arras area at this
time, which fell between the Battle of Arras 1918 in late March and the Battle
of Albert in late August, in both of which the Division fought in the area south
of Arras. In May the battalion was based on the Ronville caves and the Arras
proper, undertaking a range of works including trench digging, firestepping and
wiring. Possibly he was one of two other ranks recorded as wounded during the
work on a new switch trench between North Alley and Blangy trench on 28 and 29
May. Daily list 5603 gave L-Cpl Hayward’s next of kin address as Walford. For
his service he was entitled to the British War Medal and Victory Medal,
receiving them some time after August 1921.
-
243262 Pte D T Edwards, 6th Cheshire Regiment
243262 Pte David Thomas Edwards was born on 01 Aug 1896 in Crawgreen,
near Shrewsbury. He served with the 6th Cheshire Regiment,
was reported missing in War Office daily list 5597 dated 20 June 1918. In
actual fact he had been taken prisoner whilst serving with ‘D’ Company at Voormezeele on 27 Apr
1918, wounded by a bullet in his right Leg. This would suggest that he
was one of the 6th Cheshire men who formed part of the 4th
Composite Battalion under Brigadier-General Hubback. This unit had been
defending Voormezeele since 15 April and had first contact with the advancing
Germans on the 26th. The full attack opened the following day at 5pm
following a four-hour bombardment and resulted in the Germans holding part of the
village. Elements of ‘D’ Company were pinned down in the process and were
unable to be relieved along with the rest of the battalion; it is likely that
Pte Edwards was amongst their number, one of 100 casualties suffered in the action.
German records give his Next of kin (S Edwards) town as Shrewsbury. He was imprisoned
in Munster I and at the reserve hospital at Antwerp. He was subsequently reported
in War Office Daily List No.5778 Report Date 22/01/1919 as a Released Prisoner
of War from Germany, arrived in England. The list gave his Next Of Kin Address
as Upton Magna.
14205 Corporal Hubert Chandler 7th, 2nd and
12th Suffolk Regiment
Cpl Chandler was born
on 1 Feb 1887 at Ashley. He served with the 7th (Service), 2nd
and 12th Battalions, the Suffolk Regiment, entering the France and
Flanders theatre with the former on 30 July 1915. He was reported as Wounded on
the Home Office list for 10 September 1915. He was made a Prisoner of War in
1918, being captured, unwounded, whilst with ‘Y’ Company of the 2nd
on 30 August 1918
at Ecoust St Mein.
The regimental history states the following about this
action: “At dawn on August 30 the battalion, under Lt Col Stubbs, attacked, the
four company commanders being A/Capt G H Wainwright, 2/Lts H H Hammonds, and C
Hills, MC, and Capt W J Nagle, MC. It appears that the village of Ecoust was
taken easily, but that the battalion, unable to maintain itself in its advanced
position, was compelled at the end of about six hours to fall back on the line
of the Ecoust trench. In this action great gallantry was displayed by CSM J H
Jones, MM, and Pte H H Roberts, who held on to their ground for five hours
after the battalion had withdrawn. This warrant officer and man were awarded
the DCM and MM respectively. Pte Roberts, who had previously distinguished
himself by stalking a machine-gun post and putting a bullet through the gun,
was afterwards badly wounded at Flesquieres. The casualties, amounting to over
200, included the following - Killed: Lt K G Passman. DoW: Capt G H Wainwright
and 2/Lt Hills, MC. Wounded and Missing (prisoner): 2/Lt H H Hammonds, MC.
Wounded: Lt C Coley; 2/Lts A J Courtney, L Fricker, S E Leighton, T Mealand and
A Tomkins. 2/Lt Hills had been given a commission in the previous May for
gallantry in the field with the 11th Battalion. At nightfall on August 31st the
battalion was resting in Mory Switch Trench."
German records give Cpl Chandler’s next of kin address as Church St, Ashley, Newmarket,
Cambridgeshire. He was held at Fredrichsfeld. After repatriation he was
transferred to the Army Class ‘Z’ Reserve on 5 June 1919. For his service he
was entitled to the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.
S/22892 Pte A Ireland, Royal Highlanders (Black Watch)
Pte Alexander Ireland served with the Black Watch. He appears
to have been captured circa 18 April 1918 whilst serving with the 1st
Black Watch. At this time the battalion had not long moved down to the Givenchy
sector from the Canal bank at Ypres. After being subjected to a slow
bombardment starting at 10am on 17 April, the bombardment of shells of all
calibres grew in intensity from 1am on the 18th, until an infantry
attack went in at 8am, overrunning the front system where the effects of the barrage
had been heaviest, and sealing the exits to the tunnel systems where two of the
companies had kept their reserves, along with a counter-attack platoon. Pte
Ireland, one of 258 other ranks reported missing in the engagement, was
reported as a released PoW in War Office daily list 5733 of 27 November 1918.
This list gave his Next Of Kin Address as Auchterarder.
48280 A Wilson 27th and 5th Northumberland
Fusiliers
Pte Alfred Wilson was born on 1 September 1897 in Annfield Plain, Durham. He was
aged 19 and serving with C Company, 27th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers
(4th Tyneside Irish) when admitted via 42 Casualty Clearing Station and No.26
Ambulance Train to No.18 General Hospital, Camiers with Inflammation of
connective tissue, right feet, slight. This was on 26 April 1917, at which time
it was recorded that he had been with the Field Force 3 months (therefore
probably going overseas circa January 1917). He was subsequently evacuated home
via hospital ship on 5 May.
Once again going overseas, in War Office Daily List No.5618,
Report Date 15/07/1918 he was reported as Missing. He was serving with ‘C’
Company, 5th Northumberland Fusiliers at the time and was captured,
unwounded, on 27 May 1918 at Soissons. German records give his next of kin as
his father, Thomas Wilson, of 4 Durham Road, Annfield Plain. The daily list gave his
next of kin address as Durham. On 26/27 May the battalion had moved into
divisional reserve at Concevreux, then into brigade reserve at Chaudardes via Beaurepaire
before being driven back, first to Chaudardes, then Concevreux and finally
Ventelay. It was presumably at some point in the retreat that Pte Wilson was
taken, one of 374 men of the battalion reported as missing. He was held at Limburg, and War
Office Daily List No.5796, Report Date 12/02/1919 confirmed his release and
return to England.
24661 Pte Frank Masters, 7th Queen's Own
(Royal West Kent Regiment)
24661 Pte Frank Masters served with the Queen's Own (Royal
West Kent Regiment). He was aged 19 and serving with 'A' Company of the 7th
(Service) Battalion when he was wounded by gassing on or shortly before 10
October 1917, possibly whilst the battalion was in the Ypres salient, going up
to the Front Line via Kempton Park from Dirty Bucket Camp to relieve the 6th
Green Howards preparatory to an attack on Meunier House, north of Poelcapelle.
His hospitalisation record indicates that he joined up (probably attesting
under the Derby Scheme) in about October 1915 and went overseas around January
1917. After passing through No.61 Casualty Clearing Station, No. 34 Ambulance
Train, No. 1 Convoy and No. 18 General Hospital, Camiers, he proceeded to No. 6
Convalescent Depot in late October, seemingly leaving circa 12 December 1917
and presumably re-joining his regiment sometime thereafter. He was accordingly
reported as Wounded in War Office Daily List No.5440. This gave his Next Of Kin
Address as Golders Green, N.W. He was again reported wounded in War Office
Daily List No.5663, Report Date: 06/09/1918 suggesting, he was wounded in the
early part of the Allied hundred days counter-offensive, August-November 1918, possibly
in the battalion’s attach from Burke Trench near La Houssoye. During the attack,
which did not reach its final objective, enemy machine guns were encountered, causing
a “loss of time and direction”, and 198 other rank casualties were incurred.
17508 Cpl P Smith East Yorkshire Regiment
P Smith served in an unrecorded battalion of the East
Yorkshire Regiment as a Private with the regimental number 17508, and the Royal
Garrison Artillery as a Corporal with the number 219961.
He first served in Egypt, entering theatre on or about 14
September 1915 and was later transferred to the RGA. After the end of
hostilities he appears to have been promoted to Staff Sergeant, per his medal
roll entry. He was discharged to the Army Reserve Class 'Z' on 29 January 1919,
probably receiving his 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal some time
in early 1920.
Pte A R Pottinger
8th Devons wounded in action, Somme, July 1916
Arthur Reginald Pottinger enlisted or attested on 15
November 1915. He served as a Private in the Devonshire Regiment. He was twice
wounded, including on the Somme; possibly this was during the famous action of
the 8th and 9th Devons on 1 July 1916 at Mametz (other ranks wounded: 153), the
subsequent attack on Bazentin-le-Grand Wood during the Battle of Bazentin on 14
July (164 other rank casualties), or the VC action attack on High Wood on 20
July (193 other rank casualties, many caused by short shelling). The Casualty
List issued by the War Office from the 21st August 1916 gave his 'town resided
in' as Woodbury.
He was again wounded, probably in April 1918 in the Italian
theatre, and was reported in War Office Daily List No.5570, Report Date
20/05/1918. He was discharged wounded, aged 22, under Paragraph 392 (xvi) of
King's Regulations on 16 December 1918 and was entitled to the Silver War Badge
number B64536.
4024 Pte E C Woolley; wounded in action with the East
Kent Regiment, Mesopotamia
Edwin
Charles Woolley, born 1890 or 1895, was a foreman gardener from Hothfield,
Kent, and served with the 5th (a Territorial battalion) of the East
Kent Regiment (Buffs) as a Private under the regimental numbers 4024 and
241633. He attested his willingness to serve on 9 December 1915 and was posted
to the Army Reserve Class “B”, being embodied on 9 April 1916; he remained Home
until 22 August that year, and was then posted to India and the 1/5th
Buffs. Shortly thereafter he was posted on to the Indian Expeditionary Force (I.E.F.)
“D”, on 8 November 1916, serving in Mesopotamia. After three months of service
he was wounded on 10 February 1917, shortly before the successful attack at
Dahra Bend on 15 February, returning to India via hospital ship between 6 and
13 November 1917. Upon recovery he was again posted, this time to the to 2nd
Buffs (with the British Salonika Force) on 19 December 1918, then to the Territorial
Force Depot on 29 January 1919. Passing through 2nd Western General
Hospital, Manchester and the Dispersal Unit at Crystal Palace, he transferred
to the Army Class ‘Z’ Reserve on 26 September 1919. His Soldier’s Protection
Certificate indicated that he was rated as a First Class Shot. The British War Medal
and Victory Medal were his full entitlement. He was pensioned for 26 weeks at
8/- for Malaria with effect from 27 September 1919.
Pte John Gray Devonshire Regiment and Labour Corps
John Gray was a Great Western Railway porter, aged about 37,
born about 1879, when he attested his willingness to serve in 1916. At the time
his Residence Place was 12 Henry Street, Swindon Wilts.
His attestation into the Devonshire Regiment was approved on
24 March 1916 at Devizes. He was medical grade B.II* on joining. Having been
issued the regimental number 22517, he joined the 12th (Labour) Battalion of
the Devonshire Regiment, which formed at Devonport in May 1916. He went
overseas with them on 14 June 1916, at which point the battalion became Fourth
Army Troops, to be deployed at the discretion of Fourth Army in roles across
its front. He subsequently transferred along with the rest of the battalion to
the Labour Corps (new regimental number 90795), as part of 152 Company, with
whom he had a period in hospital sick and a spell of leave to the UK. He had
three entries on his conduct sheet, including for making an impertinent remark
to an NCO. On 11 September 1918 he suffered an accidental deep incised wound to
his left index finger whilst transferring materials (iron sheets) with another
man at an R.E. Dump when the wind caught a sheet. It was confirmed by his
commanding officer and the commander of No.23 Labour Group that he was not at
fault and he was accordingly reported as injured. On 19 March 1919 he was
transferred to 225 Prisoner of War Company and was with them at Essars on 31
March 1919 when medically assessed prior to discharge. He was entitled to the
British War Medal and Victory Medal.
*Free from serious organic diseases, able to stand service
on lines of communication in France, or in garrisons in the tropics.
Able to walk 5 miles, see and hear sufficiently for ordinary
purposes
No comments:
Post a Comment