Remembered Today: Bombardier Ellis WOODLEY, 163rd Brigade, Royal Field Artillery who died on 7th March 1916, Bethune Town Cemetery

CWGC Information

WOODLEY, ELLIS

Rank: Bombardier

Service No: 14450

Date of Death: 07/03/1916

Age: 22

Regiment/Service: Royal Field Artillery

"C" Bty. 163rd Bde.

Grave Reference: V. A. 86.

Cemetery: BETHUNE TOWN CEMETERY

Additional Information:

Son of Barnard and Kate Woodley, of Castle Camps, Cambridge.

Ellis Woodley was born in Castle Camps, Cambridgeshire in 1894. The 1901 census has him living with his father Bernard, a labourer, and his mother Kate. He was the middle son with an elder, William, and a younger, Thomas. They lived at 56 Haverhill Road in Castle Camps.

By 1911 he was living at Arverham Flaxton in the East Riding of Yorkshire employed as a Farm Labourer Horseman. From the census record it appears he was living on a farm run by the Lucas family and he was one of 5 employees.

He enlisted in Hackney, Middlesex, and as an experienced horseman he would have been ideal for the Royal Field Artillery, and may explain his unit being the nearby by New Army 163^rd Brigade RFA which was raised in West Ham. The Brigade was formed in April – May 1915 as a gun brigade, converting to howitzers in December 1915.

The Brigade deployed to France in January 1916 as part of the 35^th Divisional Artillery, and concentrated around St Omer at the beginning of February 1916.

One month later, in March 1916 Bombardier Ellis Woodley is recorded as dying from wounds 7^th March 1916.

He is buried in Bethune Town Cemetery, Pas de Calais. The cemetery was near an important railway and hospital centre, and this may indicate Ellis died in one of those hospitals.

His elder brother William was killed in action 14^th April 1917 at Arras and he is commemorated on the Arras memorial. Originally serving with the Northamptonshire Regiment, he was killed serving with the 1^st Battalion Essex Regiment.

Both Brothers are commemorated on the Castle Camps war memorial.

http://rd29.net/cc/cc/rollofhonour.htm

http://www.roll-of-h...astleCamps.html