1st or 2nd July Casualty Accrington Pal, John Cowell

[KIRKY]

I have some items to John William cowell 15644 Accrington Pal killed at Serre but his death is shown sometimes as 1st July and others as 2nd? His body was never recovered. So which date is correct and why 2nd as most of the casulaties were on the 1st?

His name was not added to Thiepval until the 1980s.

Tony

[johnnie]

I've researched a few men who have the date of death as 1st/2nd July and I have always been told this was due to the dates deaths were recorded. It seems in many cases official roll calls were not undertaken on the 1st July, and as a result you have the date listed as the 2nd July.

 

I have one case where CWGC states 2nd July, SDGW states 1st July, and his service papers state 1st/2nd July. I went to the Battalion War Diary to see if that would clear things up, but it contained two lists/rolls. The roll at the end of the 1st July was very incomplete, while the roll on the 2nd, supposedly containing 1st July losses, was far more thorough. My chap appeared on both.

 

I think in most cases it is probably very hard to determine if a 2nd July casualty should actually be a 1st July casualty. 

 

Incidentally I had another chap who was down as a 2nd July casualty and his service file (which had been misfiled) confirmed he had been wounded on the 1st July and died of wounds on the 2nd July.

 

Johnnie  

[KIRKY]

Thanks Johnnie, I tend to think that as he was part of Accrington Pals who were destroyed 1st July then he was a 1st July casualty but will never know.

Tony