Beaucamps Ligny Identified

[MelPack]

The following posts provide some details on the eleven men that have been successfully identified as part of the Beaucamps Ligny project.

In many ways this small group of eleven men represents a microcosm of the human cost of the war. Six of them were married and as well as the widows left behind, ten young children were left fatherless.

A striking feature is also the multiple casualties that befell families. Out of this eleven, one family lost four sons, another three sons and three others, two sons each.

Unfortunately, this was far from unique.

[MelPack]

Pte. Herbert Ernest Allcock 6774 2nd Battalion Yorks & Lancs

Herbert Allcock born in 1882 at Leeds was 32 years of age when he was killed in action on 18^th October 1914.

Herbert’s parents originated from Norfolk and moved to Leeds before marrying and having thirteen children only six of whom lived to adulthood.

Herbert followed his father’s trade as a joiner before enlisting with the Yorks and Lancs on 14 June 1902. He initially enlisted for a period of three years with the Colours but extended this to a period of eight years and served in India between 1905 -1910.

He was discharged to the Reserve on 8 April 1910 but little more that a year later was medically downgraded and transferred out of the Reserve because of a hernia and extensive primary tooth decay.

His twelve years contractual term expired in June 1914 and he immediately chose to sign up for the Reserve for a further four year period on 14 June 1914 – but for that fateful decision, Herbert would have been time expired and would not have been mobilised at the outbreak of war.

Herbert married Ethel Bloomfield in 1911 and had two young daughters, Winifred born August 1912 and Ellen born April 1914. His widow never remarried and she died at the age of 91 in 1975.

http://www.itv.com/news/granada/2014-03-22/first-world-war-victims-identified/

Pte. John Brameld 7208 2^nd Battalion Yorks & Lancs

John was born in Sheffield in 1884 the eldest of a family of five children. He followed the family trade as a grinder in the cutlery industry before enlisting with the Yorks & Lancs on 7^th January 1903.

He served three years with the Colours and was discharged to the Reserve on 3^rd February 1906 for the balance of the remaining nine years of his contractual service.

Following his transfer to the Reserve, John settled back into civilian life and resumed his old trade as a table blade grinder. He married Rachel Forster in 1908 and the couple had two children, Edna born in 1910 and Arthur born in 1912.

Although more than eight years had elapsed since his regular service, John along with other reservists in the same situation mobilised immediately upon the declaration of war. He was 30 years old when he was killed in action on 18 October 1914.

http://www.itv.com/news/2014-03-22/first-world-war-soldier-deserved-proper-burial/

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/world-war-heroes-named-following-3915483

[MelPack]

Pte. William Butterworth 8175 2^nd Battalion Yorks and Lancs

Although William was born at Wakefield in 1878, his father was from Barnsley and his mother from Dundee. By the time of the 1891 census the family had settled in Lancaster and most were engaged in the trade of mat weaving. William was the eldest of eleven children who survived into adulthood.

He enlisted into the Yorks and Lancs on 13 December 1904 initially for a period of three years with the Colours but subsequently extended this and served in India between 1905-11. He was discharged to the Reserve on 12 November 1912 and mobilised at the outbreak of war.

He married Margaret Clegg little more than six months before the war and the couple had a baby daughter, Beatrice, in early 1915 whom William obviously never saw.

William has the sad but noteworthy distinction of belonging to a family that lost four sons during the course of the war.

The second son of the family was Christopher serving as a Lance Sergeant with the 2^nd Battalion Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment who was killed in action 8 May 1915 at Frezenberg. The third son was Hugh serving as a Private with the 5^th Battalion Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment who was killed in action 8 August 1915.

The fourth son was John who died on 27 June 1917. John enlisted in the Royal Lancs in June 1915 less than a month after his second brother had been killed with same Regiment. He never actually served overseas due to a serious illness of which he suddenly died at Aldershot just two days before he was to be discharged from military service.

Two of the surviving brothers fared little better. The second eldest (after William), George Ephraim born1879, enlisted in the Scots Guards on 6 September 1904 and served throughout the war until discharged on medical grounds on 27 September 1918 with neurasthenia (shell shock) after being wounded several times.

James born 1889, enlisted with the Royal Lancs on 29 October 1914 and was sent to Gallipoli where he suffered a gun shot wound to the leg at Suvla Bay on 10 August 1915. On his way to the dressing station he was forced to take shelter in a 'mule hole' due to shelling and was buried alive for more than an hour. He was discharged as medically unfit on 11 September 1916 due to the GSW wound, severe back problems and deafness in both ears.

James, the father of the soldiers also died in 1916 and the Lancaster Guardian dated 12 August 1916 reported : Father of six soldiers, Mr James Butterworth, died from debility, caused by having three sons killed and two severely wounded in the war, in the opinion of Dr Aitken.

[MelPack]

Cpl. Francis Carr Dyson 9159 2^nd Battalion Yorks & Lancs

Francis was born in 1889 at Wakefield the second eldest in a family of six children. Francis lived in various parts of Yorkshire due to the varied career of his father who worked as a miner, police constable, iron foundry worker and a political journalist.

He enlisted with the York and Lancs in 1908 for a term of seven years with the Colours. He had already been appointed Lance Corporal by the time of the 1911 census but very little else is known of Francis because his service papers have not survived.

His younger brother, Willie Rogers Dyson, served with the Royal Garrison Artillery and died of wounds on 30 April 1918.

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/news/first-world-war-mystery-solved-14728/

[MelPack]

Pte. Walter Ellis 8272 2^nd Battalion Yorks & Lancs

Walter was born in 1883 at Doncaster and in common with other members of his family worked as coach builder in the railway industry. He enlisted in the Yorks and Lancs on 20 July 1905 at the age of 22 years for a period of seven years with the Colours that was subsequently extended to nine. He was deemed to be medically fit for service in spite of having ‘slightly flat feet’.

He was transferred to the 1^st Battalion in October 1906 and served in India until his return to Britain in early 1914. In spite of his long service, Walter experienced major disciplinary problems. He was summarily sentenced to 21 days imprisonment in February 1911 by a District Court Martial for contempt of court and further punishment by a subsequent DCM that resulted in the loss of pay and pension entitlement for 112 days.

Walter was transferred to the Reserve on 20 July 1914 but enjoyed little more than two weeks of civilian life before he was mobilised at the outbreak of the war.

[MelPack]

Pte. John Willie Jarvis 7164 2^nd Battalion Yorks & Lancs

John was born in 1880 at Rotherham and worked as a miner before enlisting in the Yorks and Lancs on 18 November 1902. In spite of having previously served in the military during the Boer War and having been awarded the Queen’s South Africa medal with Cape Colony Bar, he evidently decided that the army life was not for him.

John deserted on 21 February 1903 but re-materialised on 9 July. A trial was dispensed with subject to him making good the losses incurred for equipment and forfeiting pay and pension entitlements.

He was transferred to the 1^st Battalion and shipped to India. Upon completion of three years with the Colours (excluding the period of the desertion) he was transferred to the Reserve on 9 July 1906 and resumed his pre-enlistment occupation as a miner.

In spite of John’s military character being recorded as ‘indifferent’, he responded immediately to the mobilisation call.

John’s only brother, George, was killed in action a little less than a month after his own death on 18 November 1914 with the 2^nd Battalion KOYLI in the Ypres salient.

[MelPack]

Pte. Leonard Arthur Morley 8678 2^nd Battalion Yorks and Lancs

The caption on the rear of the photograph reads:

"The long and the short of the York and Lancaster

Rgt. taken April 10th 1911. 6'3" - 3'9". "

Leonard was born at Boxhill, Surrey in 1892 into a family with ten children. He and his siblings were exceptionally tall by contemporary standards.

Leonard enlisted in the Yorks and Lancs on 27 April 1907 by falsely declaring himself to be 18 years of age when, in fact, he was still two months short of his 15^th birthday. Even at that age, Leonard had attained a height just one eighth of an inch short of 5’ 10’’.

When the ‘long and short’ photograph was taken, Leonard was still two months short of his 18^th birthday.

After completion of five years service with the 2^nd Battalion, Leonard was transferred to the Reserve in June 1912. He settled in Sheffield and was planning to marry before mobilisation intervened in August 1914.

There is an interesting story here by a relative as to how the identification of the photo came about through a series of coincidences;

http://lostcousins.com/newsletters/latenov13news.htm#Vickie

http://www.dorkingandleatherheadadvertiser.co.uk/Remains-World-War-battlefield-identified-Box-Hill/story-20856047-detail/story.html

[MelPack]

Pte. Ernest Oxer 8502 2^nd Battalion Yorks & Lancs

Ernest was one of three brothers killed during the course of the war and all, by coincidence, in the black month of October for the family

He was born at Swinton near Rotherham in 1886 into a mining family. In common with his six brothers who survived into adulthood, Ernest worked down the pit before he enlisted with the Yorks and Lancs in October 1906.

He served with the 1^st Battalion including a stint in India before he was transferred to the Reserve in 1913 after seven years with the Colours.

He swiftly settled back into civilian life and married Ada Hakin in the spring of 1914. The couple had a baby boy named Ernest in honour of his father who had been killed in action less than a month before the child was born on 16 November.

Ernest’s two brothers, Harry and William, both enlisted in the Yorks and Lancs on the same day of 7 September 1914. Henry served with the 6^th Battalion and died of wounds on 24 October 1915 at Gallipoli. William survived the Gallipoli campaign and was eventually transferred to the 8^th Battalion with whom he was killed in action on 19 October 1917 during the Battle of Passchendaele. These two brothers left widows and four infant children each.

Another brother, George, also died in 1915 at the age of 34 years in a mining accident leaving a widow and five young children.

http://s887.photobucket.com/user/fromelles/media/ZDoncaterfreepress10Sep10_0001.jpg.html

[MelPack]

Pte. John Richmond 7969 2nd Battalion Yorks & Lancs

John was born in 1886 in the Radford district of Nottingham. His parents worked in the lace industry and John was one of thirteen children, only seven of whom survived into adulthood.

John enlisted in the Yorks & Lancs in October 1904 at the age of 18. His declared civilian occupation prior to enlistment was that of painter and decorator. He served three years with Colours including a spell in India and was transferred to the Reserve on 28 October 1907.

John married Mary Elston in December 1909 but the couple had no children. For the seven years that elapsed between his transfer to the Reserve and mobilisation in August 1914, John was employed as a carter for a sweet manufacturer.

[MelPack]

Pte. William Alfred Singyard 7318 2^nd Battalion Yorks & Lancs

The Singyard family originated from Yalding in Kent but William’s father moved to Newcastle in the 1870s for employment as a police constable where he married and raised three children.

William was born in 1884 and initially worked a tanner before enlisting in the Yorks and Lancs in May 1903 having just turned 19 years of age. His original enlistment was for a term of 3 years with the Colours but this was extended by a further 5 years.

William was transferred to the Reserve in May 1911and eventually found employment with the North Eastern Railways as a goods porter, a position that he held until his mobilisation in August 1914.

William married Margaret Allen in 1913 and the couple had a daughter, Elizabeth, who was little more that a year old when her father was killed.

Three cousins of William were also killed in the course of the war.

http://www.sleafordtarget.co.uk/World-War-soldier-William-Singyard-reburied/story-20850233-detail/story.html

[MelPack]

L. Cpl. William Henry Warr 6822 2^nd Battalion Yorks & Lancs

William was born at Lyme Regis in 1887, the eldest son of a family of fifteen children, twelve of whom survived infancy. His father worked as an agricultural labourer.

He was sent to the Gordon Boys Home in Woking, Surrey. The boarding school had been established in 1885 under royal patronage to commemorate Gordon of Khartoum and to provide military and industrial training for the children of the labouring poor.

Upon completion of his training (Pupil No: 1917), William immediately enlisted as a boy soldier with the Yorks & Lancs at the age of 15 in 1902.

He was appointed as a Drummer in November 1902 and served the full term of his 12 years engagement with the Colours and extended the same to a full 21 year term in February 1914. Just before the extension of his term, William had been appointed as Lance Corporal with pay.

Only twelve days after his own death, William’s brother, Charles, was killed in action on 30 October 1914 at Festubert with the 1^st Battalion Devonshires.

http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/horrors-Warr-laid-rest/story-20841139-detail/story.html

[keithmroberts]

Thanks for sharing this. That so many from this group have now been identified is a considerable achievement and all concerned deserve our appreciation of their efforts.

Keith

[SteveMarsdin]

I echo Keith's comments; as well as the great news on the identifications it's wonderful to see so much background information about the individual soldiers.

[Peterhastie]

I would have really liked to attend as WA Singyard appears on the memorial in my workplace

http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=8252

Work commitments and my sons 16th Birthday, on the 22nd, clashed.

If anyone does attend i would greatly appreciate a photo of his headstone.

[Seadog]

Very detailed article just posted on the Western Front Association web site:

Article

http://www.westernfrontassociation.com/great-war-people/brothers-arms/4111-the-discovery-and-identification-of-the-beaucamps-ligny-fifteen.html

With thanks to David Tattersfield, WFA Development Trustee

Norman

Added: Another excellent article from David this time on Larrett Roebuck who sadly was not one of those identified.

Article:

http://www.westernfrontassociation.com/great-war-people/brothers-arms/4112-larrett-roebuck-the-first-footballer-in-the-english-football-league-to-be-killed-in-the-great-war.html

[towisuk]

Anyone know what parking arrangements have been made for the re-burial, the area around the cemetery appears to be limited for car parking when viewed on Google Earth, assuming there will be a lot of people attending the ceremony, has some form of "park and ride" been initiated ???

regards

Tom

[Seadog]

Location of Y Farm CWGC

Fleurbaix to the left on the D222 and Bois Grenier to the right

Looks like it will be a little crowded Tom!

Image Link

https://www.flickr.com/photos/glosters/15375767397/

Mind you I am not a bit surprised at the paucity of information coming from the MOD and uploaded by the CWGC. For instance, a landmark occasion with 15 individual burials, perhaps 100 relatives of those identified plus of course members of the “public” and no order of service published or any advice to those attending with regard to parking at or near the location. Sadly this is completely indicative of the attitude of the MOD to such occasions and is not acceptable.

Norman

[PBI]

Attended The Funerals today,photos to be posted when I return to Blighty

[towisuk]

I would have really liked to attend as WA Singyard appears on the meorial in my workplace

http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=8252

Work commitments and my sons 16th Birthday, on the 22nd, clashed.

If anyone does attend i would greatly appreciate a photo of his headstone.

Name etc not very clear with it being a new headstone I may have a better one to come from my video camera....

Middle headstone

regards

Tom

[BIFFO]

15 times

in from the cold

[Peterhastie]

Thankyou Tom