Lieutenant, The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)

[laughton]

There is an UNKNOWN Lieutenant of "The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)" in Plot 5 Row K Grave 20 of the Warlencourt British Cemetery. He is listed as unknown on both the COG-BR and the GRRF. It would be better if it was a Captain as there are no "Second Captains" and these "Second Lieutenants" always raise the Kipling issue. (My note: seach "Second Lieutenant" not "2nd Lieutenant" to find them.)

 

My early assumption was that it would be the 1916 Lieutenant but since I am not familiar with the whereabouts of the British units it is best to check all three.

 

There is one (1) Lieutenant for 1916, on the Thiepval Memorial: (death prior to 20 March 1918)

• Lieutenant Alfred Thomas Eaves, 10th Battalion, 3 October 1916

 

There are two (2) Lieutenants for 1918 on the Pozieres Memorial: (21 March 1918 to 7 August 1918)

• Lieutenant Arthur Byfield Frost, 4th Battalion attached to 7th Battalion, 23 March 1918
• Lieutenant Francis WIlliam Ashton Buckell, 4th Battalion attached to 8th Battalion, 21 March 1918

 

Fantastic, the war diaries are on-line! Then "drats" the October 1916 issue is missing.

• Frost is eliminated as the 7th Battalion was at Bethancourt on 23 March 1918 66d.V.23.a.central on 23 March 1918
• Buckell is eliminated as the 8th Battalion was at Vendelles on 21 March 1918 62c.R.1.c-d.central

 

Logic therefore says it is Lieutenant Alfred Thomas Eaves, if we can rely on the GRU of the time.

 

 

If it was a Second Lieutenant then there are another 20 candidates on the Thiepval Memorial. The answer may lie in the issue as to where they were at specific times as none of the Second Lieutenants were killed in October 1916. There are three (Gross, Lloyd and Perkins) were killed on 3 November 1916.

 

I will watch as I go through the rest of the documents to see if they did record "Second Lieutenants" on the forms or just lumped them all as "Lieutenants".

 

The GRRF and COG-BR files are here for Warlencourt British Cemetery: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/j21ika3exo8qs/Warlencourt_British_Cemetery. I am here looking for 2nd Lt. Begg of the RFC discussed in this new topic. Another one, just like this one, always shows up during the hunt, so the time is never a waste!

 

surname	forename	death	Bn.
BENNETT	LAWRENCE ERNEST	24-08-16	9th Bn. attd. 1st Bn.
BLEWCHAMP	ERNEST JOHN	14-07-16	7th Bn.
BOWER	GERARD RIMINGTON	15-07-16	1st Bn.
BUTTERWORTH	WALTER CECIL	21-07-16	3rd Bn. attd. 1st Bn.
CRICHTON	ARTHUR JAMES	15-07-16	1st Bn.
FORD	LAWTON STEPHEN	01-07-16	2nd Bn.
GROSS	WILLIAM HENRY BRIGHT	03-11-16	1st Bn.
HOOLE	RONALD HERBERT	21-08-16	8th Bn.
JAVES	ROBERT CHARLES	16-09-16	10th Bn.
LEGGE	DAVID St. CLAN	14-07-16	7th Bn.
LLOYD	REGINALD CONWAY	03-11-16	1st Bn.
MANCE	HENRY ERIC	15-09-16	10th Bn.
PERKINS	LEONARD	03-11-16	"A" Coy. 1st Bn.
ROPE	JOHN ARTHUR	24-08-16	9th Bn. attd. 1st Bn.
ROUQUETTE	JOHN HECTOR	16-07-16	1st Bn.
RUTTER	FRANK LIONEL	14-07-16	2nd Bn.
STANFIELD	ALFRED VIVIAN	16-08-16	2nd Bn.
WHITTET	GILBERT	14-07-16	7th Bn.
WOOLLATT	PHILIP REGINALD	14-07-16	7th Bn.
WRIGHT	NORMAN GEORGE	13-07-16	9th Bn.

 

The location is confirmed by the presence of four (4) others that are buried in the cemetery, including 2nd Lt. Hoggard. They are all dated October-November 1916. Private Norris was found at 57c.M.29.a.3.3. 2nd Lt. Hoggard was recovered from 57c.M.16.d.3.6, so very close to our missing Lieutenant - and he is properly marked as a Second Lieutenant,

 

surname	forename	death	rank	Bn.	#	grave
CADEN	JOSEPH	08-10-16	Private	11th Bn.	'11689'	V. L. 13.
HOGGARD	ERNEST JOHN	05-11-16	Second Lieutenant	3rd Bn.		III. H. 15.
NORRIS		08-10-16	Private	11th Bn.	'10771'	V. L. 12.
PAYNE		08-10-16	Private	11th Bn.	'10996'	V. L. 14.

 

 

Edited 20 November , 2016 by laughton
added list of those buried including a 2nd Lt.

[BFBSM]

There is detail of Eaves death in De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour, which shows he was killed in the area of Bapaume,

 

Mark

 

[BFBSM]

From the Regimental History, pp.254-255:

 

Quote

  On the 19th the Battalion moved back to the Dernancourt area, where it remained during the rest of the month, then returning to the front trenches. In the course of this relief Captain W. A. Pope was mortally wounded. The Brigade was now required to make a fresh attack upon the enemy position in conjunction with the 122nd Brigade on the left, the attacking line on this occasion being formed by the two battalions of the Royal Fusiliers with the remaining battalions of the 124th Brigade in support.  

 Of the companies of the 10th The Queen's " A " and “ D " were in Gird Trench, “ B ” and “ C ” in Factory Trench, the two first-named having instructions to move up and occupy the positions of the 21st King's Royal Rifle Corps on these going forward. Soon after the opening of the action " D " Company received orders to move up to assist the front battalions, on which " B " and “ C " advanced up to Gird Support. Communication early became very difficult, all sorts of rumours came back from the front - that “ D ” Company had been wholly wiped out - messages took as long as five hours to get through to the Brigade, and important orders as to movements were in some cases received hours after they had been anticipated and carried out on the initiative of those on the spot.  

The Officer Commanding the Battalion, Major Jarvis, was wounded about 2 p.m., and was sent down at night to the dressing station, Lieutenant and Adjutant  Andrews assuming command of the Battalion, until relieved on the morning of the 8th, by Major Clarke, Royal Fusiliers, and then on the evening of the 10th The Queen’s were withdrawn and went back via Mametz to Bécordel. 

In this action the casualties in " D ” Company alone amounted to 1 officer and 9 men killed, 3 officers and 71 men wounded and 7 men missing. 

During the next few days the 10th Queen's experienced several moves, first  to Buire, then to Airaines, thence to Thieushoek, and thence again to La Clytte area, where the remainder of this the first year of the war for the Battalion was passed.

 

 

Mark

[laughton]

Something amiss somewhere - a date from the CWGC? Another Lieutenant with Kipling effects? He died on the 3rd and again on the 7th?

 

[laughton]

Another look, another day - can we clear up this mystery by looking at some of the others. Killed in the area of Bapaume? Yes of course, that was the generic area where the unit was located. There are 14 records for the 10th Bn. from 3rd to 10th October 1916 8 of which are on the Thiepval Memorial and 5 are in the A. I. F. Burial Ground at Flers that has COG-BR information.

 

October 3rd - Private Ramsey was exhumed at 57c.N. 19

 

October 7th - Private Benford was exhumed at 57c.N.19

 

October 7th - Private Osborne was exhumed at 57c.N.19

 

October 8th - Private Howard was exhumed at 57c.N.19

 

Private Timms is an issue as his record links to the wrong COG-BR as it is for Timms of the North Hants in Grass Lane Cemetery and exhumed at 57c.M.30? The GRRF suggests he switched units and numbers (G/10391 from 22204). For now I will forget about him but others might want to check his CWGC file. It appears from searches that Grass Lane Cemetery must have been the original name for the A. I. F. Burial Grounds or it is the area it is located (GWF Post).

 

The end result is that we have Lt. Eaves in the correct vicinity at 57c.M.17.c.9.5 and the others at a sector area marked as 57c.N.19.

 

 

As for the date of death, that is another question. The CWGC reports the 3rd of October on the main site and also at Find-A-Grave, which has the same photograph shown above and his inscription.

 

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12397257

 

I wonder if the UKNA version of the war diary has October 1916? 

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7354400

 

Captain Pope was mortally wounded on 7 October 1916 and that is reported by the CWGC as well. 

http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/272207/POPE, WILLIAM ARCHER

 

Factory Trench and Grid Trench are on the same map in that area. We know that Factory Corner is at 57c.N.19 and that the trenches run NW through M24 and M17. Found them! Did the 10th Battalion move from the M.17 are to the M.19 area over this period? Was the period October 3rd to October 7th? Not likely as Ramsey was found in M.19 as well on the 3rd, same location as those found on the 10th.

 

Looks like the correct name is Factory Avenue or they were referring to the Factory Support Trench:

 

 

I just noticed that GRID TRENCH is also marked on the map that I posted yesterday in the case of Captain Clay of the Wiltshire Regiment and that the main road runs from where he was at Factory Corner to the west and northwest to where the remains of the Lieutenant was found. It would be interesting to find out where the H.Q. locations were at this time.

 

 

Edited 22 November , 2016 by laughton

[laughton]

Here are the two pages from the missing October 1916 war diary. Captain Pope was wounded on the 4th and died on the 7th after they moved to Sunken Road at M.35.d.8.8. I have to assume that was 57c.?

 

Two questions come from this that would prove the case, even though there is no other alternative:

1. Where were the trenches of the Worcester Rifle & Dorset that the Queen's took over on 3 October 1916? There was a lot of action around Gird Trench and that is close to where the remains were found.
    
2. There are a number of burials in the sector 57c.M.16.d.3.6 which raises the question as to whether there was an Aid Station and/or cemetery at that location?

The problem still remains that the CWGC days Lt. Eaves was killed on 3 October 1916 and the published notice says 7 October 1916. They moved to Factory Trench on the 6th and there is a report of action attached - but not in the version that I received.

 

 

 

Quote

From: Laurence Spring LDC [mailto:laurence.spring@] On Behalf Of History Centre Surrey
Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2016 11:22 AM
To: rlaughton
Subject: 10th Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regiment

Mr Richard Laughton

rlaughton@cefresearch.ca

Our ref: Surrey Heritage/LS/3763/16

Your ref:

 

22 December 2016

 

Dear Mr Laughton

 

10^TH QUEEN’S (RWS) REGIMENT

 

Thank you for your e-mail of  14 December concerning the War Diary of 10^th Battalion, Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regiment in October 1916.

 

I have attached copies of the missing pages of the War Diary, which are available on the family history website www.Ancestry.com. These diaries must be those which are held by The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU, telephone 020 8876 3444, website http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/. They also have Lieutenant Alfred Eaves’ service papers, reference no. WO 339/5447, see their webpage  http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1059389

 

We received a large quantity of records from the Surrey Infantry Museum at Clandon, and other individuals, which relate to the Queen’s and East Surrey Regiments. For our online catalogue of these records see our website page, http://www.surreyarchives.org.uk and type in the regiment you are looking for. Alternatively the Exploring Surrey’s Past website, http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/themes/subjects/military/summary_of_the_arrangement_of_the_records_of_the_queens_royal_surrey_regiment, has additional information on our holdings.    

 

.... unrelated content deleted

 

This enquiry has been answered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act (2000), Data Protection Act (1998) and the Environmental Information Regulations.

 

I hope this information is helpful to your research. 

 

Yours sincerely

 

Laurence Spring

for Public Services and Engagement Manager

 

SURREY HISTORY CENTRE

130 GOLDSWORTH ROAD

WOKING

GU21 6ND

 

Tel: 01483 518737

Fax: 01483 518738

E-mail:@surreycc.gov.uk

 

 

Quote

 

[BFBSM]

War Diary of 124th Brigade 1 October, 1916 - 10 October 1916 which may flesh out some of the details.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 23 December , 2016 by BFBSM
Additional page

[BFBSM]

124 Brigade Action Report dated 14 October, 1916

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark

[laughton]

Thanks for that GREAT information, really appreciated. I was able to track their movements but it only confirmed that he should have been found in the 57c.N.19 sector around the junction of FACTORY CORNER and the NORTH ROAD. That I suspect solves the problem of which set of GIRD Trenches they are referring to, as they are shown in 57c.M.17.b; 57c.M.18.c; 57c.M.24.b and then into 57c.M.19.a.

 

The part about the Trench Mortar Battery intrigued me as I recalled that Lieutenant Eaves was a Trench Mortar Instructor at the Brigade Level. Is it possible that he was NOT with the 10th Bn. "Queens" when he was killed but was actually with the 124th Trench Mortar Battery? Remember I am Canadian so not all that familiar with the various other Commonwealth units or ORBATS but our brigades had separate trench mortar batteries that would not be part of the infantry battalions. If the same is true with the British, then why would a Lieutenant who was skilled as a Trench Mortar specialist be with an infantry unit?

 

Did he take his trench mortar battery up the GIRD trench path to the northwest to get a better shot at the German artillery from the west? There were 2 Officers and 12 OR of the 124th Light Trench Mortar Battery KIA on 6-7 October 1916 but for the life of me I can not figure out how to get that unit to appear on the CWGC casualty database!

 

Lieutenant Eaves was also reported by the CWGC to have died on 3 October 1916 yet the report from his brother officer wrote that it was 7 October 1916 when he was killed. Eaves was in charge of the company, it does not say battery. It also reports he was mortally wounded, not killed on the spot, so he may have been moved to an aid station in the 57c.M.17 sector. From the reports it would appear that it was more logical he was killed on the 7th if it was during the heavy action, as not much was happening on the 3rd. Perhaps there are other records that could confirm his date of death?

 

I also went back and looked at a lot of the other men in October and November 1916. I did not find any others from the 10th Bn. in the 57c.M.17 area.

 

There is no one else other than Lieutenant Eaves to fill this place but there has to be something else to nail the case. We don't want another Kipling situation!!

 

Anyone got ANY ideas?

 

 

 

 

[BFBSM]

5 hours ago, laughton said:

The part about the Trench Mortar Battery intrigued me as I recalled that Lieutenant Eaves was a Trench Mortar Instructor at the Brigade Level. Is it possible that he was NOT with the 10th Bn. "Queens" when he was killed but was actually with the 124th Trench Mortar Battery? Remember I am Canadian so not all that familiar with the various other Commonwealth units or ORBATS but our brigades had separate trench mortar batteries that would not be part of the infantry battalions. If the same is true with the British, then why would a Lieutenant who was skilled as a Trench Mortar specialist be with an infantry unit?

 

 

 

I was wondering if he was attached to a unit other than the 10th Queen's when he was killed, I am trying to locate the diary for the 124th Trench Mortar Battery, but it is proving elusive at the moment.

 

5 hours ago, laughton said:

.Did he take his trench mortar battery up the GIRD trench path to the northwest to get a better shot at the German artillery from the west? There were 2 Officers and 12 OR of the 124th Light Trench Mortar Battery KIA on 6-7 October 1916 but for the life of me I can not figure out how to get that unit to appear on the CWGC casualty database!

 

I have had similar issues refining the CWGC database to such units, and have given up.

 

I shall continue to attempt location of the Mortar Battery diaries.

 

Mark

[BFBSM]

8 hours ago, laughton said:

The part about the Trench Mortar Battery intrigued me as I recalled that Lieutenant Eaves was a Trench Mortar Instructor at the Brigade Level. Is it possible that he was NOT with the 10th Bn. "Queens" when he was killed but was actually with the 124th Trench Mortar Battery? Remember I am Canadian so not all that familiar with the various other Commonwealth units or ORBATS but our brigades had separate trench mortar batteries that would not be part of the infantry battalions. If the same is true with the British, then why would a Lieutenant who was skilled as a Trench Mortar specialist be with an infantry unit?

 

I have just looked at the War Diary for the Trench Mortar Battery for July 1916, (I have only been able to locate the diary for July/August 1916 to date) in which the following entries appear:

 

Quote

 

1 /7/16

10am Lieut Eaves relieved 2 Lt Firth at London Brigde (U21d28)

11am 2 Lt Firth and Barker returned to rest billets at Papot.

12noon Lieut Eaves transferred to Lancaster Support Farm and 2 Lt Liddell to London Bridge as Lancaster Support Farm was the registered HQ of the half battery in the line.

 

 

I shall keep looking for anything else to confirm this is Lieutenant Alfred Thomas Eaves.

 

Mark

 

Edited 23 December , 2016 by BFBSM
Finished a statement.

[Phil Evans]

The only other place I can think that the 124 TMB diaries may be is in WO 95/2625/7.

Other than the brief one for 124 TMB, I cannot see any stand alone diaries for 41 Division Brigade TMBs.

Unfortunately I haven't got Ancestry to check myself.

 

As regards the CWGC unit search, from experience, I have found that if you cannot tease it out of the drop down menu, it cannot be used as a search term.

 

Phil

[BFBSM]

31 minutes ago, Phil Evans said:

The only other place I can think that the 124 TMB diaries may be is in WO 95/2625/7.

Other than the brief one for 124 TMB, I cannot see any stand alone diaries for 41 Division Brigade TMBs.

Unfortunately I haven't got Ancestry to check myself.

 

Thanks for the tip to look at the Division - I have located the Divisional TMB Diaries on nmarchive.com, and will work through them.

 

Mark

[laughton]

I came back to this today to try and find others that were also lost in the vicinity of 57c.M.17.c.9.5 where the remains were located. There are a considerable number of remains in that general area, which is about 700 yards southeast of the Butte de Warlencourt. By far one of the largest groups is at 57c.M.17.c.7.1 that are in Plot 1. There is another large group in 57c.M.17.c.8.3. It appears they followed the trenches that run horizontally across M.17 at c5, c7, c8 and c9 but clearly the majority of the men recovered had crosses on their graves so they were buried by the men at the time and not lost in the trenches.

 

COG-BR 2062242 has a group in Plot 5 Row H Graves 11-20 that all came from 57c.M.17.c.9.5 mainly London Regiment. It is also mainly London Rifles and London Regiment in Plot 5 Row K where we find our Unknown Lieutenant in 5.K.20. The common link in both these groups is the 21st London Regiment.

 

In point (22) of the typed Brigade report there is mention of 4 Officer casualties from the 10th Bn. Queens and 2 from the 124th TMB. I downloaded the 2,291 men on the CWGC for that period of 6-7 October 1916 and I can not find them - however it only says casualties and that often includes wounded and dead. The vast majority of the Queens buried are in 57c.N.19 which is about 2,500 yards to the southeast of where the Lieutenant's remains were found.

 

I don't think there is any doubt that this is Lieutenant Eaves but the case would be much better if we could find the reason he ended up in Sector M.17. My guess is one of two things:

1. He went up there with the 124th TMB to fire on the GIRD trench line from the west.
    
2. There was a Field Ambulance or Dressing Station in that area where he went when wounded.

One of the big problems is that there is a GIRD TRENCH and a GIRD SUPPORT TRENCH in both Sector M.17 and N.19 but the great number of casualties recovered in N.19 suggests that is the area of concentration.

 

There are a number of reference locations given in the typed Brigade report of the format B.M.a 248 but unfortunately I have no idea what those mean. Cana anyone clarify?

[laughton]

Thanks to Mark for persevering and keeping the information coming in to Canada! I received all the RFA war diaries, but alas there was no direct information BUT it did  yield a clue that I had perhaps missed what was happening on the front lines.

 

Back to the report of the 124th Infantry Brigade and there was the answer:

 

 

You will see that the 124th Machine Gun Company sent 2 guns off Pioneer Lane for indirect fire and so that puts the men up in 57c.M.17 where the remains of Lieutenant Eaves were located. That was on the night of October 6-7 and the evidence appears to confirm that Eaves was killed on the 7th (not on the 3rd as reported by the CWGC). Does this document or his service records confirm that the date was the 7th, otherwise I will have a battle with the CWGC?

 

On 11/20/2016 at 14:20, BFBSM said:

De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour

 

Underneath the section on the machine guns, it is reported that the 124th Trench Mortar Battery also sent 2 guns in behind GIRD SUPPORT on the extreme left to bombard the hostile portion of GIRD SUPPORT. Those are in place in the early morning hours of October 7th. We know that Lt. Eaves was a Brigade Instructor in the Trench Mortar Battery and so it is likely that is where he was on the night of October 7th. Clearly he had moved up from the main area of the 10th Queen's RWS to the area where the MG and TMB were situated. We don't have it in writing that it happened that way but the evidence is clear that they were in that position, he was a TMB man and he is the only Lieutenant of the Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment that is missing in all of 1916. All that was needed was a second piece of evidence that it was possible that he was in 57c.M.17 at the time.

 

Would this record at KEW have the date confirmed as the 7th rather than the 3rd? I know for a fact that all the CWGC dates were based on character recognition and there are MANY errors in the numbers:

 

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1059389

 

I did find this page on the web (Dover War Memorial Project) that says he was a  Lieutenant in the 124th Trench Mortar Battery but the date is still wrong - logically if they took that from the CWGC records. So it appears I need his Service Record to confirm that he was a Lieutenant in the 14th and that he was KIA on the 7th.

 

http://www.doverwarmemorialproject.org.uk/Casualties/WWI/Memorial/Eavesresources.pdf

 

Therein lies a DEATH NOTICE and what do you know - October 7th! I hope they don't mind me lifting this information!! I have sent them an e-mail and advised them that I have used this information.

 

 

 

Edited 17 January , 2017 by laughton
typo

[Kev R]

Gents, Lieutenant Eaves is a relative of mine and there has been some wonderful research undertaken by the Dover War Memorial Project (http://www.doverwarmemorialproject.org.uk/Casualties/WWI/SurnamesE.htm ). I have taken the liberty of cutting a couple of newspaper reports included in that research (which I hope you can read) and attached them here for your info., one of which states eye witness confirmation that he was killed on the 7th having been mortally wounded by a close shell burst.

I will be over in France later in the year and will most definitely visit this grave, your determination has given me a point of focus, many thanks.

 

[laughton]

Just for the record, as I need this for his report, the HEADSTONE SCHEDULE lists him only as an UNKNOWN BRITISH LIEUTENANT (5.K.20), no unit affiliation. I am in contact with "Maggie" at the Dover War Memorial Project and I have asked them if they could retrieve his service record, or at least a digital photo of the "Casualty Form - Active Service" that confirms his death as October 7 1916.

 

[laughton]

I have sent in the report to the CWGC:

 

http://www.laughton.ca/reports/Lieutenant Eaves Warlencourt British Cemetery Plot 5 Row K Grave 20.pdf

 

If at some time his Service Record becomes available we can add the page of the Casualty Report with the date of October 7, 1916.

[ss002d6252]

The CWGC have probably taken the earliest known date for his death - the official record seem to have shown a range from 3-9 Oct 16 (as per the effects records, which would have used a report confirming when he had been killed). Will the CWGC will vary the date based on 'non-official' accounts ?

 

Craig

[laughton]

I would like to have official documents regarding the date of death but I can not get them here in Canada and all efforts to get the sheets from Kew have failed. However, it does not impact on the findings, other than there was no action at that location on 3 October 1916.

 

I would be pleased to see any official documents that members may be able to provide.

 

Richard

[laughton]

Update:

Quote

From: David Avery
Sent: Friday, February 17, 2017 5:40 AM
To: Richard Laughton
Subject: RE: Lieutenant Eaves Warlencourt British Cemetery Plot 5 Row K Grave 20

 

Dear Richard,

 

Thank you for this case submission. Please be aware that I have allocated the reference: CWGC ID Case No. 365. and will review your findings in due course.

 

As always, thank you for your continued support and patience.

 

Kind regards,

 

 

Dave

 

 

David Avery
Commemorations Officer

Commonwealth War Graves Commission
2 Marlow Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 7DX, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 1628 634221  |  Ext: 1174  |  Direct: +44 1628 507174  |  Fax:  +44 1628 771208  |  Website: www.cwgc.org

 

Edited 11 March , 2017 by laughton
removed email address

[laughton]

Thanks to Eaves family member "Kev R", we now have the documents that confirm the date of death as 7 October 1916.

 

The documents are here for anyone who wishes to see them:

 

Eaves Record of Death and Other Personal Letters Etc.

 

I will update the report and send the amendment to David Avery at the CWGC.

 

Kev, if you can send me your real name and email address I will add that to the report and let David know that you are a relative. How close a relative?

 

Edited 12 May , 2017 by laughton
added copy of telegraph to post

[laughton]

The report has now been updated and submitted to David Avery at the CWGC. It is available as a PDF here:

 

http://www.laughton.ca/reports/Lieutenant Eaves Warlencourt British Cemetery Plot 5 Row K Grave 20.pdf

 

Thanks to all who assisted with this project, truly an international team from the UK, Australia, USA and Canada!

[Sæ Wylf]

My greatuncle was at the Battle of Transloy Ridges with 10th Battalion, Queens. Is it possible to get a copy of the map showing Gird and Factory Trenches without the blue additions?

[laughton]

Most certainly - Attachment #5 or #6?

 

They are from the UKNA DVD collection.

 

Richard

rlaughton@cefresearch.ca