No need to seek forgiveness Len. Information like this helps make what happened more real and relevant. In addition it tranforms what otherwise could be a statistic into a person. Do you have any idea as where your Great Uncle went (other than Ypres), what he did and what happened to him along the way?
No need to seek forgiveness Len. Information like this helps make what happened more real and relevant. In addition it tranforms what otherwise could be a statistic into a person. Do you have any idea as where your Great Uncle went (other than Ypres), what he did and what happened to him along the way?
Here's what I do know, courtesy of Steve Fuller who runs this website:
"The CWGC entry is here - http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1626019 I have that he died of wounds on the Medal Rolls but that he was KIA on another more generalised database. Personally, I’d go with the DOW for what it’s worth as it probably means he was wounded, treated and died the same day. Not having a grave may simply be because his burial was lost in the fighting that rages around Ypres for years afterwards, so his grave may have been lost to shelling or similar as opposed to being missing. Still, that is purely speculation as it stands …
He arrived in France on 12-9-1914, so was away from the main battalion in Ireland at the star of the war. Whether he was in the Reserves or with the Transport in Bedfords, I do not know. In theory, if he was, he should have a 3 or 4 prefixing his service number as just about every man around his number has, meaning they were in the 3rd or 4th Reserve Btns when war broke out and were mobilised to France after a brief spell of intensive re-training.
His arrival then meant he joined the remnants of the Btn who fought at Mons and Le Cateau around Paris. He would have fought in the Battles of the Marne, the Aisne, La Bassee and was finally killed during the First Battle of Ypres.
When they went into the lines around Ypres in October, 1,100 men made the Btn up. Having stood against a massive assault from the vaunted Prussian Guards in the First Ypres, by the end of the battle, less than half of his Btn were left from the survivors of the early battles AND the reinforcements like Samuel who had arrived in September and October.
He would have fallen around Herentage Chateau, just south of the Menin Road."
He was an Old Contemptible as he was in the Army before the War. He actually joined up in Dublin for reasons I've yet to ascertain given that he was born in Croydon and his wife was living in Thornton Heath at the time of his death.
At least one of my Great Uncles - Pvt. John Gregson - was also killed in WW1 - thanks to the wonders of the internet you can read the diary entry for his battalion (8th Royal Berks) on the day of his death - 25th September 1915, during the Battle of Loos - I cannot begin to imagine how terrified those poor men must have been, it sounded like a terrible day...
1915-09-25 Regiment. 8th Royal Berkshire Location France, Y.1. Entry 5:50AM. The intensive Bombardment, preparatory to the attack on the German position SOUTH of the HULLOCH ROAD, began, the enemy's artillery at once replying, though they inflicted little damage and caused few casualties in our front-line trenches. Simultaneously with the bombardment, the gad company began to operate the gas cylinders which were in the front-line trench, and there then occurred several casualties from poisoning, caused it supposed, by leakages in the cylinders. 6:28AM. The gas now ceased, and smoke bombs were thrown from the front-line trenches, proving entirely successful in screening our Advance. 6:30AM. The fire of our artillery lifted, and Battalion advanced in quick time, to assault the first line Enemy Trenches, the 10th Gloucester Regt being on the right, the 2nd Gordons on the left. The advance was opposed by heavy artillery and machine-gun fire, while the wire in front of the German trenches was found to be scarcely damaged, and it was in cutting a way through this obstacle that most of the regiment's heavy casualties occurred. Shrapnel and machine-gun combined to play havoc in our ranks, and an additional disaster was the blowing back of our gas, by the wind, into our own ranks. However, after a struggle, the German first line was penetrated, and the trench found to be practically deserted, the enemy apparently, having deserted it earlier in the day, merely leaving behind sufficient men to work the machine-guns. Mainly overland, but with some men working up the communication trench, our line advanced successively to the 2nd and 3rd German lines, and met with but slight opposition. From the 3rd line a further advance was made, and an Enemy Field Gun captured. A 4th line German trench was also seized, but being in so incomplete a state that it afforded little cover from rifle fire and none whatever from shrapnel. COLONEL WALTON ordered the line to be withdrawn to the 3rd German line trench, and this position was occupied until the Battalion was relieved. 10:0PM. COLONEL WALTON was ordered by the Regimental Medical Officer to leave the trenches for medical attention, as he was suffering from the effects of gas-poisoning, and the command of the Battalion passed, for the night, into the hand of 2nd Lieut T.B. LAWRENCE. 6:30PM circa. The following is a report by Lieut C. GENTRY-BIRCH:- "At this point (i.e. when the Battalion was negotiating in German wire) about 50 of the 8th R. Berks R became separated from the remainder of the Battalion and attached themselves to the Gordons advancing and taking the German guns in the 4th line German trench. They then advanced and occupied the road WEST of HULLUCH. We were unable to advance further owing to our artillery fire, which was falling short. We waited for support to come up, in the meantime starting to dig ourselves in." 3:30PM "At 3.30PM the Germans counter-attacked, driving in our flanks and as the support had not yet arrived we were compelled to retire, holding a position about 100 yds WEST of the road. The Berks numbers were reduced to about half. On receiving news that the supports were coming up we again advanced to the road which we proceeded to place in a state of defense." 11:30PM. "At 11.30PM the Germans again counter-attacked in large numbers driving in our right flank. We retired to the position we had before held in the afternoon. The Germans continued to push the counter-attack. Our support line then opened fire and we were caught between the two fires. We then made our way as well as possible to our supporting line (the German 4th line). Only 6 of the Berkshires returned safely. The Germans continued to push the counter-attack, but suffered heavily and were driven back. C. GENTRY-BIRCH LT."
The Menin Gate has over 54,000 names of those that fell in the Ypres Salient with no known grave between October 1914 when we arrived in the sector and 31 July 1917 the opening day of the Third Battle of Passchendaele.
There are a further 33,000 names of the missing on the back wall at Tynecot, these are from the fighting after that date in the Salient until the Armistice that wouldnt fit on the Menin Gate.
It is mind numbing figures even for a full time guide/historian like myself. I was in Ypres for the Armistice this weekend walking a group across the battlefields (in fact I was on the Pilkem Ridge talking about the efforts of the 38th Welsh Division when my phone vibrated to bring news of the second goal at Ashton Gate!)
I like many of us on here have relatives who fell in the Salient and the size of the war is just staggering, whilst we are left with the reminders of the dead we simply cant comprehend the numbers of men involved, its estimated that over 3,000,000 men served with the allies in Ypres Salient over the course of the war, 3 million! We have an army today of 120,000 I think.....
Len, thanks for sharing that with us, by remembering one we remember them all so I will visit your Great Uncle Sam when next over, I have a tour coming up that is studying First Ypres so will ensure the 1st Bedfords are highlighted.
Did you know that when Sam was camped on his way to Mons on the 21st August 1914 some men of the battalion found an obelisk in the field they were Bivouacked in that turned out to be the Malplaquet Memorial, the Bedfords had fought there In September 1709 under Marlborough. History has a habit of repeating itself and as you say lest-we-forget.
Thanks for that very unteresting insight. I was aware of that wall at Tyne Cot but I don't think I'd appreciated that it was in addition to rather than a subset of.
Tyne Cot made a big impression on me. The sheer scale of it was one thing, but I think it was those pillboxes that really caught me. Until I saw that I never realised the scale of the defenses the Germans, with their largely defensive war, had been able to construct and certainly hadn't understood that being asked to charge machine guns with a bayonet also included machine guns protected by concrete pillboxes.
I could bore the pants of you about pill boxes Hugo if you had the time, there were over 200 in the Passchendaele sector as part of the German third line defences, when men of the 50th Northumbrian Division first caught sight of them they came to the conclusion that they resembled "Tyneside Cottages" this was shortened on a map to "Tynecot" hence the name.
1916 tactics did involve charging them at bayonet point (though mills bombs were more popular), once pamphlet SS143 " Infantry tactics at platoon level" was devised in early 1917 (anorak alert!) the system involved Lewis Guns on one flank, Stokes mortors on the other, with infantry men with bombs and bayonets pepper potting up through the middle.
The tactics petrified the Germans and their commanders and were so successful that the German High Command actually abandoned further bunker construction in the Salient, I have been in some semi built ones beneath the farmers field to the right of Tynecot during an archaeological survey a couple of years ago.
The bunkers in the park were captured by Australian troops on the 4th October 1917 this proved to be the last positive day of the fighting that year, the guns crews sheltered inside them and then used the roofs as a stable gun platform once the artillery barrage had passed overhead.
The real question about the Ypres Salient is what would have happened if we had had the logistical capability of attacking mid June immediately after the Messines Ridge had been secured.
It would have meant the campaign in Ypres endedingin early September (weather mainly dry) instead of mid November leading to the mud and quagmire we rightly associate with the campaign, the weather was such a factor in the battle and should not be underestimated.
Anyway I have waffled enough, there is quite a good program on Channel 5 now about the Ypres Salient if your quick!
If you do go back, there is a smaller cemetery called Dochy Farm in the shadow of Tynecot, in there you will find Jimmy Speirs (Military Medal for gallantry on the Somme) who was killed in the campaign, he played for Celtic and Bradford and scored the winning goal In the 1911 FA Cup Final.
One day I need to find the time. I only made the one short trip (by bicycle from Bruges) and have always wanted to return. My father was a bit of a war cemetary buff and needed no excuse for a slight detour so I have childhood memories of visits to places like Arnhem and Monte Cassino.
I guess my family have been pretty fortunate. In 2 world wars I have only learned of one relative who died or was seriously injured. My Grandmother apparently had a brother who died in WWI - but she was born after so never knew him. I think he might have been with the East Yorkshires. As a consequence I have nothing really to make a pilgrimage to.
However, what does tie me to Ypres is the fact that my grandparents met there. My grandfather was a regular and got wounded. My grandmother was a nurse in the hospital he was taken to. The rest is history....
Another funny thing I've noticed about these war cemetaries: I mentioned earlier arriving at Tyne Cot by bicycle. As you know the sheer size of the place makes it impossible to read every headstone, so if, like me, you have no-one to look for you read a few at random. Picking out a row at random in Tyne Cot just about the first one we saw was a member of the London Cyclists Regiment - very handy to have such mobile troops in a static war.
A couple of years later I visited Stanley CWGC cemetary in Hong Kong. I picked a grave at random (the 3rd from the right) and was very surprised to see an inscription in Danish. I took a photo and when I got home I looked it up on the CWGC website and was rather surprised to find that the address given was less than a mile from where I had grown up in Copenhagen.
But they come in all shapes and sizes, don't they. The opposite of Tyne Cot was a place my father once visited. He was a very active Legion member and I recall him playing host to a pilgrimage party in the mid 70's when there were still surviving relatives to visit war graves (in Denmark). One of the places they visited was a field where a single fighter had crashed. The farmer had left the wreckage in place, put a fence round it and carefully ploughed around it for 30 years.
A few years back I took my dear late father on a guided tour of the western front. It was a wonderful and very moving experience which I'd recommend to anybody who has not visited the battlefields, memorials and cemeteries.
However, for us there was something missing. My Dad had always believed that the body of his late Uncle, who had died somewhere on the Somme, had never been found. Tom had never been forgotten though. For example, his surname is my middle name.
I decided to try to figure out what might have happened to him. Anybody reading this post who has tried to do this kind of research will know how difficult and frustrating it can be. Many Army Service records were destroyed or damaged in WW2 and this was the case with Tom's. Nevertheless, I managed to find out where he was likely to be buried, what Battalion he was in and in which battle he was probably killed; he was in the front line near Aisne when the Germans launched their huge offensive on 21st March 1918, the so-called Kaiser's battle.
However, his date of death as recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission didn't quite make sense. I couldn't reconcile it with what was recorded in the Battalion diaries etc. so I engaged a tour company who also specialise in research. Using German records they traced what had happened to Tom, where he fell, where he was initially buried (by the Germans) and then confirmed his final resting place.
I then arranged another visit. We traced Tom's movements that fateful day and finally visited his grave, the first family members to do so. My Dad was deeply moved. So was I and I'll certainly "never forget".
As a postscript, I then arranged to have Tom's date of death changed. My intuition that something wasn't right with the CWGC records had been correct.
my grand dad was wounded at Ypres and his brother killed. He always called it wipers, which is good enough for me. Weird thing is its his name on the memorial at Slade Green not his brother. He was also wounded again in a later battle and once told me he was on leave back home and thinking of deserting but his Father walked him out the house and made him go back !
A terrible waste of life. To all the servicemen and women who died during WW! , including the estimated 35000 Irishmen who died while serving in the British Forces , RIP
The real question about the Ypres Salient is what would have happened if we had had the logistical capability of attacking mid June immediately after the Messines Ridge had been secured.
Didn't Plumer want to carry on to take the Passchendaele ridge and the plateau beyond but was reigned in by Haig?
I believe he left no records of his achievements in WW1
Watching "Great continental railway journeys" tonight, Michael Portillo was travelling through what was the Austro-Hungarian empire, finishing up in the summer palace where the declaration of war on Serbia was signed following the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Unbelievable how that bit of local strife, all those miles away, lead to the deaths of so many of our ancestors.
The assassination of the Archduke was just the excuse, a war was coming, you could look at all the treaties, the arms race and a lot of other stuff. The Schlieffen Plan was getting to be an ancient document by the summer of 1914.
Gassed badly in 1915 before anyone knew exactly what it was and attacked during Georgette whilst they were supposed to be resting after the Michael offensive in March 1918.
The Schlieffen Plan was getting to be an ancient document by the summer of 1914.
So true.
Just about everyone was aware of it - but it still would have worked if it hadn't been for the BEF at Mons and Le Cateau.
One of the great unsung stories though was the resistance of the Belgians. the Schlieffen Plan called for a flanking movement through the Low Countries and around the French lines and forces. The theory was that the Begian army would be no match for the German army - and they weren't, but they delayed the Germans for long enough for the BEF to be mobilised and disembark at Calais and get into position.
To be fair to the Portugese they were not prepared/equipped/trained for the German Lys offensive of April 1918, we were all out numbered 5-1 thankfully the line just about held, down in part from the British change from trench defences to a zonal defence plan of a forward zone, battle zone and rear area, the line creaked and cracked but held firm when it needed to.
In truth the Germans lost the chance to win the war when they failed to break through the allied line on 21 March 1918. We talk alot about the miles of ground they gained but it wasnt of true tactical value and only one Division (16th Irish who were almost wiped out) were not clinging to their battle zone at the end of the day.
Plumer did want to pursue beyond the Passchendaele Ridge, he was a careful and thoughtful planner, Messines showed that, but anyone who stands at the Nova Scotia Memorial on the highground to the south west of the village realises the offensive had gone far enough.
When are we all going over then for a look around and visit to Fred Chicks grave?
On a positive note I am collecting the club war memorial in the next week or so, once it is back in Blighty I am sure things can start moving with regards to getting it put up at the Valley.
To be fair to the Portugese they were not prepared/equipped/trained for the German Lys offensive of April 1918.
Without wishing to appear flippant, this is the problem with my adopted country to this day. They go about everything half cock, and then get all bolshy when anyone dares to suggest they are not up to the job. Of course there are wonderful individuals (like Anibal Milhaes) and they are certainly brave, but too often they are foolish and stubborn. Not a good combination.
Comments
No need to seek forgiveness Len. Information like this helps make what happened more real and relevant. In addition it tranforms what otherwise could be a statistic into a person. Do you have any idea as where your Great Uncle went (other than Ypres), what he did and what happened to him along the way?
http://www.bedfordregiment.org.uk/
"The CWGC entry is here - http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1626019 I have that he died of wounds on the Medal Rolls but that he was KIA on another more generalised database. Personally, I’d go with the DOW for what it’s worth as it probably means he was wounded, treated and died the same day. Not having a grave may simply be because his burial was lost in the fighting that rages around Ypres for years afterwards, so his grave may have been lost to shelling or similar as opposed to being missing. Still, that is purely speculation as it stands …
He arrived in France on 12-9-1914, so was away from the main battalion in Ireland at the star of the war. Whether he was in the Reserves or with the Transport in Bedfords, I do not know. In theory, if he was, he should have a 3 or 4 prefixing his service number as just about every man around his number has, meaning they were in the 3rd or 4th Reserve Btns when war broke out and were mobilised to France after a brief spell of intensive re-training.
His arrival then meant he joined the remnants of the Btn who fought at Mons and Le Cateau around Paris. He would have fought in the Battles of the Marne, the Aisne, La Bassee and was finally killed during the First Battle of Ypres.
When they went into the lines around Ypres in October, 1,100 men made the Btn up. Having stood against a massive assault from the vaunted Prussian Guards in the First Ypres, by the end of the battle, less than half of his Btn were left from the survivors of the early battles AND the reinforcements like Samuel who had arrived in September and October.
He would have fallen around Herentage Chateau, just south of the Menin Road."
He was an Old Contemptible as he was in the Army before the War. He actually joined up in Dublin for reasons I've yet to ascertain given that he was born in Croydon and his wife was living in Thornton Heath at the time of his death.
To visualise 54,000 imagine The Valley full - twice.
1915-09-25
Regiment. 8th Royal Berkshire
Location France, Y.1.
Entry 5:50AM. The intensive Bombardment, preparatory to the attack on the German position SOUTH of the HULLOCH ROAD, began, the enemy's artillery at once replying, though they inflicted little damage and caused few casualties in our front-line trenches. Simultaneously with the bombardment, the gad company began to operate the gas cylinders which were in the front-line trench, and there then occurred several casualties from poisoning, caused it supposed, by leakages in the cylinders. 6:28AM. The gas now ceased, and smoke bombs were thrown from the front-line trenches, proving entirely successful in screening our Advance. 6:30AM. The fire of our artillery lifted, and Battalion advanced in quick time, to assault the first line Enemy Trenches, the 10th Gloucester Regt being on the right, the 2nd Gordons on the left. The advance was opposed by heavy artillery and machine-gun fire, while the wire in front of the German trenches was found to be scarcely damaged, and it was in cutting a way through this obstacle that most of the regiment's heavy casualties occurred. Shrapnel and machine-gun combined to play havoc in our ranks, and an additional disaster was the blowing back of our gas, by the wind, into our own ranks. However, after a struggle, the German first line was penetrated, and the trench found to be practically deserted, the enemy apparently, having deserted it earlier in the day, merely leaving behind sufficient men to work the machine-guns. Mainly overland, but with some men working up the communication trench, our line advanced successively to the 2nd and 3rd German lines, and met with but slight opposition. From the 3rd line a further advance was made, and an Enemy Field Gun captured. A 4th line German trench was also seized, but being in so incomplete a state that it afforded little cover from rifle fire and none whatever from shrapnel. COLONEL WALTON ordered the line to be withdrawn to the 3rd German line trench, and this position was occupied until the Battalion was relieved. 10:0PM. COLONEL WALTON was ordered by the Regimental Medical Officer to leave the trenches for medical attention, as he was suffering from the effects of gas-poisoning, and the command of the Battalion passed, for the night, into the hand of 2nd Lieut T.B. LAWRENCE. 6:30PM circa. The following is a report by Lieut C. GENTRY-BIRCH:- "At this point (i.e. when the Battalion was negotiating in German wire) about 50 of the 8th R. Berks R became separated from the remainder of the Battalion and attached themselves to the Gordons advancing and taking the German guns in the 4th line German trench. They then advanced and occupied the road WEST of HULLUCH. We were unable to advance further owing to our artillery fire, which was falling short. We waited for support to come up, in the meantime starting to dig ourselves in." 3:30PM "At 3.30PM the Germans counter-attacked, driving in our flanks and as the support had not yet arrived we were compelled to retire, holding a position about 100 yds WEST of the road. The Berks numbers were reduced to about half. On receiving news that the supports were coming up we again advanced to the road which we proceeded to place in a state of defense." 11:30PM. "At 11.30PM the Germans again counter-attacked in large numbers driving in our right flank. We retired to the position we had before held in the afternoon. The Germans continued to push the counter-attack. Our support line then opened fire and we were caught between the two fires. We then made our way as well as possible to our supporting line (the German 4th line). Only 6 of the Berkshires returned safely. The Germans continued to push the counter-attack, but suffered heavily and were driven back. C. GENTRY-BIRCH LT."
There are a further 33,000 names of the missing on the back wall at Tynecot, these are from the fighting after that date in the Salient until the Armistice that wouldnt fit on the Menin Gate.
It is mind numbing figures even for a full time guide/historian like myself. I was in Ypres for the Armistice this weekend walking a group across the battlefields (in fact I was on the Pilkem Ridge talking about the efforts of the 38th Welsh Division when my phone vibrated to bring news of the second goal at Ashton Gate!)
I like many of us on here have relatives who fell in the Salient and the size of the war is just staggering, whilst we are left with the reminders of the dead we simply cant comprehend the numbers of men involved, its estimated that over 3,000,000 men served with the allies in Ypres Salient over the course of the war, 3 million! We have an army today of 120,000 I think.....
Len, thanks for sharing that with us, by remembering one we remember them all so I will visit your Great Uncle Sam when next over, I have a tour coming up that is studying First Ypres so will ensure the 1st Bedfords are highlighted.
Did you know that when Sam was camped on his way to Mons on the 21st August 1914 some men of the battalion found an obelisk in the field they were Bivouacked in that turned out to be the Malplaquet Memorial, the Bedfords had fought there In September 1709 under Marlborough. History has a habit of repeating itself and as you say lest-we-forget.
Tyne Cot made a big impression on me. The sheer scale of it was one thing, but I think it was those pillboxes that really caught me. Until I saw that I never realised the scale of the defenses the Germans, with their largely defensive war, had been able to construct and certainly hadn't understood that being asked to charge machine guns with a bayonet also included machine guns protected by concrete pillboxes.
1916 tactics did involve charging them at bayonet point (though mills bombs were more popular), once pamphlet SS143 " Infantry tactics at platoon level" was devised in early 1917 (anorak alert!) the system involved Lewis Guns on one flank, Stokes mortors on the other, with infantry men with bombs and bayonets pepper potting up through the middle.
The tactics petrified the Germans and their commanders and were so successful that the German High Command actually abandoned further bunker construction in the Salient, I have been in some semi built ones beneath the farmers field to the right of Tynecot during an archaeological survey a couple of years ago.
The bunkers in the park were captured by Australian troops on the 4th October 1917 this proved to be the last positive day of the fighting that year, the guns crews sheltered inside them and then used the roofs as a stable gun platform once the artillery barrage had passed overhead.
The real question about the Ypres Salient is what would have happened if we had had the logistical capability of attacking mid June immediately after the Messines Ridge had been secured.
It would have meant the campaign in Ypres endedingin early September (weather mainly dry) instead of mid November leading to the mud and quagmire we rightly associate with the campaign, the weather was such a factor in the battle and should not be underestimated.
Anyway I have waffled enough, there is quite a good program on Channel 5 now about the Ypres Salient if your quick!
If you do go back, there is a smaller cemetery called Dochy Farm in the shadow of Tynecot, in there you will find Jimmy Speirs (Military Medal for gallantry on the Somme) who was killed in the campaign, he played for Celtic and Bradford and scored the winning goal In the 1911 FA Cup Final.
I guess my family have been pretty fortunate. In 2 world wars I have only learned of one relative who died or was seriously injured. My Grandmother apparently had a brother who died in WWI - but she was born after so never knew him. I think he might have been with the East Yorkshires. As a consequence I have nothing really to make a pilgrimage to.
However, what does tie me to Ypres is the fact that my grandparents met there. My grandfather was a regular and got wounded. My grandmother was a nurse in the hospital he was taken to. The rest is history....
Another funny thing I've noticed about these war cemetaries: I mentioned earlier arriving at Tyne Cot by bicycle. As you know the sheer size of the place makes it impossible to read every headstone, so if, like me, you have no-one to look for you read a few at random. Picking out a row at random in Tyne Cot just about the first one we saw was a member of the London Cyclists Regiment - very handy to have such mobile troops in a static war.
A couple of years later I visited Stanley CWGC cemetary in Hong Kong. I picked a grave at random (the 3rd from the right) and was very surprised to see an inscription in Danish. I took a photo and when I got home I looked it up on the CWGC website and was rather surprised to find that the address given was less than a mile from where I had grown up in Copenhagen.
But they come in all shapes and sizes, don't they. The opposite of Tyne Cot was a place my father once visited. He was a very active Legion member and I recall him playing host to a pilgrimage party in the mid 70's when there were still surviving relatives to visit war graves (in Denmark). One of the places they visited was a field where a single fighter had crashed. The farmer had left the wreckage in place, put a fence round it and carefully ploughed around it for 30 years.
However, for us there was something missing. My Dad had always believed that the body of his late Uncle, who had died somewhere on the Somme, had never been found. Tom had never been forgotten though. For example, his surname is my middle name.
I decided to try to figure out what might have happened to him. Anybody reading this post who has tried to do this kind of research will know how difficult and frustrating it can be. Many Army Service records were destroyed or damaged in WW2 and this was the case with Tom's. Nevertheless, I managed to find out where he was likely to be buried, what Battalion he was in and in which battle he was probably killed; he was in the front line near Aisne when the Germans launched their huge offensive on 21st March 1918, the so-called Kaiser's battle.
However, his date of death as recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission didn't quite make sense. I couldn't reconcile it with what was recorded in the Battalion diaries etc. so I engaged a tour company who also specialise in research. Using German records they traced what had happened to Tom, where he fell, where he was initially buried (by the Germans) and then confirmed his final resting place.
I then arranged another visit. We traced Tom's movements that fateful day and finally visited his grave, the first family members to do so. My Dad was deeply moved. So was I and I'll certainly "never forget".
As a postscript, I then arranged to have Tom's date of death changed. My intuition that something wasn't right with the CWGC records had been correct.
Weird thing is its his name on the memorial at Slade Green not his brother.
He was also wounded again in a later battle and once told me he was on leave back home and thinking of deserting but his Father walked him out the house and made him go back !
I believe he left no records of his achievements in WW1
.
Just about everyone was aware of it - but it still would have worked if it hadn't been for the BEF at Mons and Le Cateau.
Gassed badly in 1915 before anyone knew exactly what it was and attacked during Georgette whilst they were supposed to be resting after the Michael offensive in March 1918.
In truth the Germans lost the chance to win the war when they failed to break through the allied line on 21 March 1918. We talk alot about the miles of ground they gained but it wasnt of true tactical value and only one Division (16th Irish who were almost wiped out) were not clinging to their battle zone at the end of the day.
Plumer did want to pursue beyond the Passchendaele Ridge, he was a careful and thoughtful planner, Messines showed that, but anyone who stands at the Nova Scotia Memorial on the highground to the south west of the village realises the offensive had gone far enough.
When are we all going over then for a look around and visit to Fred Chicks grave?
On a positive note I am collecting the club war memorial in the next week or so, once it is back in Blighty I am sure things can start moving with regards to getting it put up at the Valley.