Harry Fitzroy Norris Cpl. 12028 11th King's Liverpool

[Fattyowls]

I'm researching Harry Fitzroy Norris, an Everton reserve player who was having been loaned to Tranmere for a game against Chirk in 1906. What I know so far is that in 1915 he was with the 11th the King's Liverpool which formed on 23rd August 1914 at Seaforth Barracks and was converted into a Pioneer Battalion in January of the following year. Harry Norris may have been amongst the first of the Everton servicemen to go to the front as the 11th Kings landed in France on 30th May 1915. By 12th August they were billeted in the prison in Ypres because they were rushed to the nearby cloisters of St Martin's Cathedral to rescue soldiers of the 6th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry who had been buried in after a direct hit from a German long range gun called the Ypres Express firing from the Houthoulst Forest. The Ypres Express was either a 42cm Big Bertha howitzer or possibly a railway mounted naval gun. Shells were hitting the area at 14 minute intervals and it appears that the rescue party were themselves buried and more of their comrades had to try and dig them out. I don't know if Harry was involved in the rescue but it gives a sense of what he would have seen.

Harry was killed on 26th August 1915 and is buried in Ypres Resevoir Cemetery; he was 30 at the time of his death.

I would be grateful if any of the 11th King's Liverpool experts could let me know what the battalion were on the 26th and what they were doing. I am off to Ypres next month and I'd like to visit his grave and if possible the site where he fell.

Pete.

[Colin W Taylor]

Pete

For what it's worth the battalion war diary states the location as 'Ypres' and on the 26th the entry reads; 'Half the battalion continued digging dugouts and the other half battalion were digging and repairing trenches. Casualties 1 killed 2 wounded.'

Unfortunately the diary has the same entry repeated for much of the month just with varying casualties. I'm not sure that a specific location might be forthcoming - there may possibly be mention in the divisional CRE's war diary but this is a long shot.

Kind regards

Colin

[Fattyowls]

Colin

Thank you for this; I wondered if a pioneer battalion's war diary might differ from that of a shall we say front line one. That is not to denigrate the pioneers; I sometimes think that they get mixed up with labour battalions. I think I read somewhere that pioneer battalions were often assigned an area of front line and stayed there longer than trench holding ones; I wonder if it might be possible to establish if the 11th had a 'patch' so to speak.

Appreciate your help once again,

Pete.

[Stephen Nulty]

Petes

I have transcribed the 11KLR diary and will send you a copy if you pm me an email address

[Fattyowls]

Stephen

Thanks for the offer; a PM is on the way. I think I need to find out what was happening in the salient on the 26th August to try and fill out what may have happened to him. I'm off over to Ypres in a fortnight and I hope to visit his grave at the very least.

Pete.

[Fattyowls]

Harry Norris' grave in Ypres Resevoir Cemetery; with huge thanks to Marilyne for taking the picture for me.