joseph Posted 31 May , 2008 Share Posted 31 May , 2008 Pte William Evans 3rd/7748, from his B103 Casualty Form Active Service. He was at the front in the Intermediate Line, a Court of Enquiry was held and it was upheld. He survived the war I wonder If he did the Football pools. Regards Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 31 May , 2008 Share Posted 31 May , 2008 Probably didn't take a job as a steeplejack.... Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marina Posted 31 May , 2008 Share Posted 31 May , 2008 Somebody up there liked him! Marina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph Posted 31 May , 2008 Author Share Posted 31 May , 2008 Steve, He could have made a good conductor. Regards Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 1 June , 2008 Share Posted 1 June , 2008 Groan! I note that immediately prior to his lightening strike, he was deprived of 3 days pay for misconduct. Perhaps I could be forgiven for thinking the Big G thought his sentence was too light so to speak. Tr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geoff501 Posted 1 June , 2008 Share Posted 1 June , 2008 Are there any more incidents known? Must have been quite a danger carrying a fixed bayonet in a landscape with few trees left. Wonder if he was discharged for good conduct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph Posted 1 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 1 June , 2008 TR, He was a bit of a boy, and did continue on with his minor offences so didn't change his ways. Geoff good point I have read literally 1,000s of service documents and its the first I have seen. Regards Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBI Posted 1 June , 2008 Share Posted 1 June , 2008 There is an Australian Buried in Khandahar Farm Cemetery who was Struck by Lightning and Killed,i will try and find the Entry in the Register which mentions the Fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geoff501 Posted 1 June , 2008 Share Posted 1 June , 2008 Geoff good point I have read literally 1,000s of service documents and its the first I have seen. I guess it would depend on the local weather, if it was prone to lightning - it varies with region. I wonder how the filth of battle influenced the weather? There was certainly a good deal of rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geoff501 Posted 1 June , 2008 Share Posted 1 June , 2008 Good ol' search engine: Name: ELLIOTT, FRANCIS Initials: F Nationality:United Kingdom Rank: Rifleman Regiment/Service: Royal Irish Rifles Unit Text: "B" Coy. 6th Bn. Age: 32 Date of Death: 18/06/1917 Service No: 10709 Additional information: Struck by lightning Born at Coggrey, Co. Antrim. Son of George and Jane Elliott, of 21, Oregon St., Belfast. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: III. E. 3. Cemetery: LAHANA MILITARY CEMETERY Edit: perhaps the lightning induced the birth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph Posted 1 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 1 June , 2008 Nice one Geoff, thats two I wonder what the odds are of being hit. Regards Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 1 June , 2008 Share Posted 1 June , 2008 The generalised odds of any one person being struck by lightning in their life time are one in two and a half million. Four out of five struck survive. Given the number of men on the Western front at any one time I guess that he just happened to be the one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph Posted 1 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 1 June , 2008 Pretty long odds then. Regards Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clive_hughes Posted 1 June , 2008 Share Posted 1 June , 2008 Seem to remember a few entries for British troops killed by lightning strikes in the Boer War, according to the "Oaklands" edn. of the SA Field Force casualty list (which I no longer own, alas). Plus at least one eaten by lions, but that's hardly likely to have been the fate of a Western Front soldier...is it?! LST_164 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 2 June , 2008 Share Posted 2 June , 2008 In any area of plains your chances of getting struck are better (or worse depnding on your point of view) than 1:2,500,000 as there may be nothing taller than you sticking up for miles around. I understand that cavalry and mounted infantry were given the instruction to dismount if caught in a thunderstorm. Eaten by Lions on the WF? - more likely to be kicked by a Donkey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph Posted 2 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 2 June , 2008 I don't think the Lion would last very long with all those men equiped to be instant big game hunters. Regards Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frev Posted 3 June , 2008 Share Posted 3 June , 2008 There is an Australian Buried in Khandahar Farm Cemetery who was Struck by Lightning and Killed,i will try and find the Entry in the Register which mentions the Fact. Hi PBI - just wondering if you have managed to find anything on the above yet? (would save me a lot of checking!!) I have two other AIF men killed by lightning in my Accidental Deaths database - both in 1916 - one on the Western Front - Pte Alfred Brooke, buried at Erquinghem-Lys Churchyard Ext. - the other in Australia at the West Maitland Camp in NSW. Cheers, Frev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBI Posted 3 June , 2008 Share Posted 3 June , 2008 Morning Frev,sorry i have not had any Luck as of yet,i have been trolling through the CWGC on line records for the Burials and i cant seem to find anything yet.The Actual Cemetery Registers themselves seem to contain a lot more information.I will continue trying and will keep you informed if i have any luck..Regards Rus...failing this i suppose some forum member must have a Copy of the Register.Might be woth making a Request via a New Topic in Cems and Mems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geoff501 Posted 3 June , 2008 Share Posted 3 June , 2008 Cannot find anything mentioned for the 186 Australian burials at Kandahar Farm in 'my index' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Johnson Posted 3 June , 2008 Share Posted 3 June , 2008 I'm not surprised by the higher Boer War count. The troops were on open veldt, many on horseback. Much better targets for a strike . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBI Posted 3 June , 2008 Share Posted 3 June , 2008 I must be in Error Geoff,but i definetly remember seeing an Entry with regards to being Struck by Lightning,guess i will have to start looking through the whole register..D,Oh !!!!!!... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Connolly Posted 7 June , 2008 Share Posted 7 June , 2008 Completely anecdotal. About a generation ago a friend and I were somewhat less-than-soberly abroad in the regions of 'S Gravenhage in southern Holland. We were worried about an impending storm and wanted to get back to our monastic dorm ASAP. "Hey look at that elevated roadway!" we told each other. "Forsooth, that shall surely lead us unto our bunk." We weren't entirely sure why there were searchlights flashing over the dyke, but we chanced it. The "searchlights" turned out to be lightning in the distance. My local girlfriend, wincingly, said we'd picked the highest point around for a hundred miles, a natural point for lightning, and that only the luck of the English prevented us from being turned into Kippers, Anglais. I think my point is that in a flat Flanders landscape any perpendicular landmark is going to be a target. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Bailey Posted 14 June , 2008 Share Posted 14 June , 2008 Whilst doing family history research I obtained a death certificate for an ancestor where the cause of death in 1839 was 'Visitation of God'. Must have been a bit of a fight. Gunner Bailey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elle72 Posted 20 June , 2008 Share Posted 20 June , 2008 Centurion, you are 100% correct about the donkey bit.....one of the soldiers I am researching L.O. Padman, Reg. No. 3309 AIF was in fact killed by a kick from a mule in Palestine (ruptured appendix). Bloody bad luck really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geoff501 Posted 13 December , 2008 Share Posted 13 December , 2008 Hi PBI - just wondering if you have managed to find anything on the above yet? (would save me a lot of checking!!) I have two other AIF men killed by lightning in my Accidental Deaths database - both in 1916 - one on the Western Front - Pte Alfred Brooke, buried at Erquinghem-Lys Churchyard Ext. - the other in Australia at the West Maitland Camp in NSW. Just searched the entire AIF database (336,000+ records). 'Lightning' only occurs as a location, Lightning Ridge NSW. Pte Brooke is listed as accidental death no mention of lightning. Cannot find PBI's chap, or any other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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