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Remembered Today:

Leonard Wolfinger Tank corps 205533


KIRKY

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JUst been talking to the son of the above who was a gunner in the Tanks.

He said his father was in the first tanks in action but he is not mentioned in Trevor Pidgeons books.

Anyone got any info on where he was or what he did?

tony

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Records survive for him in the 'burnt' service documents on ancestry, if you have access. They do say he was posted overseas on 24.9.1916, so not in the first tanks employed on the Somme, September 15.

As may be expected his name is mistranscribed as Leonard Clifford Wolfinges. His home address was 325, Love Street, unreadable, London.

There are two sets of records listed both supposedly containing 20+ sheets, but obviously many will be duplicates.

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Thats great, have passed on the info also shows he was wounded which is interesting.

Thanks to you both again.

tony

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If he arrived in France on 24 September, he probably served with B Company Heavy Section MGC and could have been in action in November 1916.

Sadly I can't see his service records

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I think his papers say B Company? Stephen if you send me your pm I will send you copies of his Service papers.

Tony

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Hi Tony, this is fascinating as I can confirm that Pte Wolfinger was in D Battalion of the Tank Corps, and is mentioned in their War Diary as being wounded in an abortive attack on August 22, 1917 during the Third Battle of Ypres. This matches up with his service record which shows he joined D Company (which became D Battalion, and later 4th Battalion) on October 9, 1916, i.e. shortly after the first tank action on September 15. The service record confirms he was wounded on August 22 and shows he suffered from "GSW Knee and Foot R". GSW stands for gunshot wound, but was used to describe any penetrating injury and you can't tell from this whether he was shot or hit by shrapnel etc. However the injury was a 'Blighty one' and there is no record that he ever returned to active service, as he seems to have remained at various depots in the UK for the rest of the war. However the service file as always is quite hard to read, and also to interpret.

The War Diary entry gives his service number as 38189, and the service file shows he was given a new number on December 14, 1917, while based at Alnwick. The file says the new number was 205663, and this was later changed again to 205533 (as in your email).

If you have a copy of 'They Called it Passchendaele' by Lyn Macdonald, there is a very powerful eyewitness account of the attack on August 22 by another D Battalion gunner, called Jason Addy. Basically the tanks were sent to support the infantry in attacking a number of German blockhouses, but most of the machines were knocked out or became bogged down before they got anywhere near the enemy. Four men were killed, including one of the tank commanders and his driver, and one tank was captured when the Germans counterattacked.

The reason for my interest is that I am one of the team researching the history of Deborah D51, another tank from D Battalion which was knocked out at Cambrai in November 1917, and later excavated from the battlefield where it is now on display. A previous tank called D51 took part in the same attack on August 22 in which Pte Wolfinger was wounded. I wonder if your friend has any more information about him, and perhaps a photograph? It would be great to find out more, and if possible to find out which tank he was in!

All the best, John

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Hi, the relevant section from the War Diary casualty list is attached, though as you see it doesn't tell you much. Sadly there is no indication which tank he was in, but if we knew this we could find out a lot more about what happened to him as we have information about each of the tanks that took part.

I've also attached the most interesting page from his service file - this has a stamp from E Company at the top, but it shows he joined D Company in France. Don't be confused where it says "Date and place of casualty" - this is army-speak for "Date and place where an event happened". However as we know he did become a casualty, and this is shown on August 22 when he was "Wounded". He was treated at a hospital in Rouen (looks like No. 9 something) and then evacuated to the UK. The last line shows he was later posted to Depot Battalion at Wareham in Dorset, but the date is illegible.

All the best, John

post-21130-0-75813400-1383251292_thumb.j

post-21130-0-00401300-1383251423_thumb.j

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Thanks for the info about his early service.

B Company arrived without tanks and the unit was split to provide battle casualty replacements.

Several E Company men were transferred to C and D Companies and they served with them in France on 15 September.

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A final note and I'll shut up. He was admitted to 9 General Hospital at Rouen - according to the 'Long, Long Trail' website this was taken over by the US Army in June 1917, and the bit I can't read in brackets says "4 something USA" which is presumably a reference to this.

All the best, John

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I think his papers say B Company? Stephen if you send me your pm I will send you copies of his Service papers.

Tony

Will do, and many thanks

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Thanks for the record sheets.

After he was returned to the UK, he was placed on the strength of the Tank Depot on 27 Aug 1917. This would have been whilst he was being treated for his wounds.The record also shows that from 22 September to 15 Oct, he was readmitted to Edmonton? (N18) hospital suffering from unspecified illness relating to back pain; the final word is neurasthegic which links to PTSD.

He then seems to have been place don the strength of the Command depot at Cattterick in Feb 18 before being postedback to The Tank Depot in Oct 18 - but as you say, the records are very difficult to read.

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Do you know which tank crew he would have been with or where he was wounded?

Tony

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Hi, as Stephen says he was definitely in No 12 Company (part of D Battalion), since this is the unit involved in the attack on August 22, 1917. However there were 12 tanks in action that day, and without more information it's impossible to say which one he was in, since many of them would have suffered some casualties.

As regards where it happened, the tanks started from the village of Sint-Juliaan, which is north-east of Ypres in Belgium. I've attached a screen-grab from Google Maps - the tanks advanced along two roads, the one named as Brugseweg and the unnamed one going more or less east from Sint-Juliaan. The objectives were a series of German strongpoints strung out along the road named as Zonnebekestraat.

We can therefore be sure he was wounded in this area, but without knowing which tank he was in, it's impossible to be any more precise than that.

Hope that's helpful. I would be very interested to know if you have any photographs of him?

All the best,

John

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Sadly Tony / Kirky seems to have disappeared from the forum - I hope he received all the information I provided, and that it was helpful.

If he ever re-emerges it would be great to know if this was the case, and if he has a photo of Gnr Wolfinger.

In any case it was good to have solved the mystery.

All the best, John

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Hi John , still here , sorry for not responding to your great information sooner, been distracted by a failed heating system and broken down car!

I an waiting for a response from his son to see if he has any photos etc.

Tony

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Hi Tony, no worries and many thanks for the message and for your PM - I'm delighted the information came in useful and will keep my fingers crossed that his son may be able to provide some background which might enable us to link Gnr Wolfinger to a particular tank. It would be tremendous if we can, and I'll look forward to hearing from you again.

All the best,

John

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  • 8 years later...

Long time since this thread was active.

Have just found this record using Discovery (the National Archives search engine)

MH 106/2258/517 folio: 527.

Name: Leonard Woolfinger.

Rank: Gunner.

Unit/Battalion/Regiment: 12 Company, D Battalion, Tank Corps.

Service number: 205663.

Age: 22.

Hospital(s): Edmonton Military Hospital, London; Royal Artillery and Tank Corps Command Depot, Catterick.

Condition/Injury/Disease: Gunshot Wound to Leg and Foot.

Details and Outcome: Patient admitted suffering with a gunshot wound to the right leg and foot.

Arrived at Catterick Command Depot on 1 February 1918. Further details given.

Discharged to draft 29 August 1918.

Civil occupation - Engineer. Includes a medical case sheet only.

Wolfinger is most unusual - but possibly not unique - in that he was the only member of E Coy HS MGC  I have found who joined the FTC, having travelled via Le Havre and then serving at Camiers before joining  D Coy in the field on 9 Oct.  

 

Number of Pages: 1.

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Going back to the original post. It would appear that his son Harvey Baxter Wolfinger passed away last year. There is a pretty extensive family tree on Ancestry showing three grand children. There are plenty of documents, but no photos.

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Earliest record I can find is Samuel Wolfinger Cohen , born C 1895 at Mile End in Middx, son of Myer and Sophy Wolfinger Cohen who were born in Warsaw, 

Later known as Leonard Sam Wolfinger. 

Post war he set up a motor garage in 62 Aberdeen Rd in Edmonton with his brother Harry. This got into trading difficutlties in 1930 at the time he married .Doris Daniels, reg 2nd qtr 1930 in Hackney.

I can't find the couple in 1939 but there is a probate record for Leonard Samuel Wolfinger who died 24 Jan 1976, address 1 Woodland way, Woodford Essex, 

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