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Remembered Today:

L-Cpl William Webster 1st/5th Yorkshire Regt


SteveMarsdin

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Good afternoon All,

On the memorial to the 5th Yorkshire Regiment at Sledmere is a panel commemorating L-Cpl William Webster, who was killed 22 February 1916. As far as I can make out the panel describes him as been killed at the Battle of Verdun ?!? On the CWGC website it confirms the date of death, his service number of 1314 and his rank of L-Cpl in the 1st/5th Yorkshire Regiment and he is buried in Boulogne Eastern cemetery.

5657580030_00d9dc61f5_z.jpg

Could the word be anything other than Verdun ? As far as I know his battalion was part of the territorial force that made up 50th (Northumbrian) Division and I can't see any connection to Verdun, other than the date been one day after the start of that battle.

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Hi

He is down on the SDGW as having died of wounds on the 22 feb 1916

he could therefore have been wounded in action anytime prior to the 22 Feb

You can find where the Battalion were in Jan /Feb here

Regards Ray

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Thanks Ray,

I thought he'd probably "died of wounds" with him been buried at Boulogne Eastern

A very interesting link.

All I can think is that Verdun is quoted as that battle perhaps fits the timeframe - perhaps poetic/engraver's licence ?

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Steve

The 1/5 Yorkshire Regiment website linked in Ray's post indicates that William Webster died of wounds. CWGC says he was interred at Boulogne in a section of the

municipal cemetery used for soldiers who died at the military hospital at Boulogne. The 1/5 Yorks site shows that the battalion was fighting near the Ypres area in

February, 1915, and that 6 soldiers had been wounded 18 February 1916. The site says nothing about any of the 1/5 soldiers participating in the Battle of Verdun. As the Battle of Verdun began 21 February, it is unlikely that Webster would have sustained wounds and have been transported to Boulogne within a single day. He may have been one of the 6 soldiers wounded on 18 February, or, as Ray

says, possibly before then. The memorial maker may have associated Webster death date with the Battle of Verdun without any additional fact checking.

Trelawney

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Hi Trelawney,

Thanks, that's what I'd thought.

It is a very elaborate memorial, with certain officers depicted as mediaeval knights and many different battles attributed as "killed at". I must check the other panels to the war diary to see whether there are any other examples of such "licence".

As a secondary point, are such descriptive errors/elaborations common ?

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