1st Bn.Somerset Light Infantry

[acal]

Hi

im trying to find out how a soldier i,m researching died on this date.I,v looked in the official history but can,t find anything.Any help would be very much apprecited.

Andy

[Aurel Sercu]

From E. Wyrall, The history of the Somerset Light Infantry, London, 1927 (p. 85).

"The 1st Somersets encountered nothing but the rigours of trench warfare - always dangerous and full of discomfort - from the close of the Battles of Ypres (26 May) until they assisted the Rifle Brigade in a small attack which took place on the 6th July."

I have a special interest in this battle as it took place on the eastern canal bank in my village (Boezinge), a place a I know well.

A link to a page on my former website about this battle 6-9 July 1915.

http://www.mausershooters.org/~diggers/E/a...1915/welkom.htm

But as you are interested in 13 June 1915, this won't be of any use to you I'm afraid.

In my research I had noticed that 1/SLI indeed had fatal casualties in the preceding weeks too.

13 June 1915 I counted 10

- Menin Gate Memorial : Benjamin Barrett, William Davey, Ernest Oliver, Sidney Walker

- Talana Farm Cemetery : Walter Chidgey, Frank Dinsdale, Walter Knight, Joseph Slade, Frederick Tyler

- Bard Cottage Cemetery : Michael Fitzgerald

14 June : 4

15 June : 5

19 June : 1

21 June : 2

22 June : 2

24 June : 2

25 June : 1

What action took place though on that date of 13 June on the east canal bank (shelling ? patrol ? snipers ?) I 'm afraid I don't know. But the number (10) indeed is higher than on other dates in that month.

I have a report on the 1/SLI actions, but what I have is only from 1 July on, nothing prior to that date in June.

Should the man you are interested in have his grave in Talana Farm Cemetery, and if you want me to go and take a photo of the headstone (it's only a mile from where I live), just let me know.

Aurel

[Light Bob]

Hi Andy

From the diary of Captain G A Prideaux - 1st Somersets

June 13th - A fine day. The Germans were very free with the use of their trench mortars this morning. One bomb fell on B Coys trench, killing seven men and wounding another. C Coys trench was blown in two places by a Little Willie. Luckily nobody was hit.

Your soldier could be possibly one of these. Most other casualties would have fallen to snipers.

Brian

[acal]

Aurel

thakyou for the reply.He is in Talana Farm cemetry and i have a very old B/W photo of the headstone. So if it,s no trouble i would love to have something more recent.He,s 16580 L/Cpl J.Slade.

Brian

Thankyou for the information which helps to fill in what actually happend on the day he died.

Andy

[Aurel Sercu]

Andy,

OK, some time tomorrow before noon. (Because then the sun will be in the ideal position (making inscriptions more contrastive).

Meanwhile, could you let me know (via PM or e-mail (click on my name in bold type in my posting)) what your e-mail address is, so that I can send the pics in the original resolution ?

Aurel

[acal]

Aurel

i dont seem to be able to PM,keeps telling me theres an error.I cant work out why.Is it ok if you PM me then hopefully i will be able to PM you back and if that does,nt work is it ok to put my email in my next post.

Andy

[Aurel Sercu]

Andy,

I was just about to leave for Talana Farm Cemetery, for this should be the right time (sun in the right direction), but ... there is a lot of fog (yet a very sunny day had been promised ....) So maybe I will have to wait until tomorrow.

An error ? So normally you click on my name (in bold type), then on "View Member Profile", and then scroll down to

Send Message (= PM)

or Send Email.

But this does not appear to work ?

Anyway, I 'll send you a PM right after this, and then maybe you can reply to that.

By the way, I seem to remember that the headstone for Joseph Slade in fact is 3 headstones with 2 names on each. (All Plot I, Row D, grave 4) So it could be something like a small mass grave ? Or indicating that the remains of the 6 men could not be identified individually ? I'll see shortly after this or tomorrow.

Aurel

[Aurel Sercu]

Andy,

I have just tried to send a PM to you, but I too got a warning of an "error".

"This message cannot be sent because the recipient has his personal messenger disabled or is in a member group not allowed to use the personal message."

Is that the same error that you got ?

(Is this only our problem, or do other members have the same Forum problem ?)

Anyway, I have sent an e-mail to you via the Forum, and this seemed to work.

Aurel

[acal]

Aurel

recieved your email and have replied.

The error message says;You are not allowed to use the message feaure on this board.So i must be in the member group thats not allowed to use it.

The old photo i have does have 2 names on the headstone the other being Pte. F.Tyler

The fact that thier buried together is making me wonder whether he was one of the men killed by the trench mortars that day.

Andy

[Light Bob]

Aurel

The extract from Capt Prideaux would seem to point to the multiple graves being for those killed by the mortar as it is possible that they were unidentifiable. Are you be able to let me know the names of the men on the three graves as it would be of help to me in building a database of Regular Army Somersets who went to France in August 14.

If possible I would appreciate a copy of the headstone photograph although (from his Regimental Number) would have been from a later draft I am still interested in all of the Battalion

Another diary extract

Sgt Arthur Cook

‘From May 27 to July 6th we had a spell of trench warfare which is always dangerous and uncomfortable. Shell shriek and howl through the air all day and night, snipers are always on the alert for a target and rarely fail to find a victim. Trench mortar bombs which we call 'flying pigs' hurtle through the air to burst with terrific force, blowing up parapets, traverses and dug-outs. Men are just battered about. More cannon fodder for the open mouthed guns. Burning farms. cottages and villages cast a lurid glare over trhe battlefield at night'

Brian

[Aurel Sercu]

Andy,

Right after this I will e-mail some pics I took round noon today. (Unfortunately, whilme most of Flanders today was in blazing sunshine, Ypres and the western part were under a grey foggish sky. :-

- The three headstones

- The full headstone of F. Tyler and J. Slade

- Close up of the lower half (Slade + epitaph "Lead kindly light", from a famous hymn, I learned, by John H. Newman)

- The headstones in context

- Talana Farm Cemetery today from a distance.

As I thought, I.D.4 indeed is 3 headstones, with 2 names on each.

I was surprised though to see that whereas 5 of the 6 names (including J. Slade) were men KIA on 13 June 1916, one of them (J. Larcombe) was 11 June.

I had thought that the men underneath the headstones had all been killed on the same occasion (trench mortar) and had been individually unidentifiable, and hence buried together. The fact that one of them was killed 2 days before makes me hesitate now.

Maybe not unimportant (and related to the "mystery") : in the row behind I.D.4, in I.D.5, several graves are "Buried near this spot".

Brian,

I could write the names of the 6 men here, that would be no problem. But maybe I can send you this pic in the original resolution (1MB or more I think it is), if you send me your email address in a PM or e-mail to me ?

Aurel