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Pte Eric BIGLAND, died 05/01/1918


Stephen Nulty

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GWF

Pte Eric Herbert BIGLAND 14410 4 Bn, Yorkshire Regt, who died aged 24 on 05.01.18. Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Belgium

CWGC

Name: BIGLAND, ERIC HERBERT

Initials: E H

Nationality: United Kingdom

Rank: Private

Regiment: Yorkshire Regiment

Unit Text: 4th Bn.

Age: 24

Date of Death: 05/01/1918

Service No: 14410

Additional information: Son of Herbert and Mary Bigland, of Park Villas, Middlesbrough, Yorks.

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: XXVI. D.D. 4.

Cemetery: LIJSSENTHOEK MILITARY CEMETERY

Cemetery

During the First World War, the village of Lijssenthoek was situated on the main communication line between the Allied military bases in the rear and the Ypres battlefields. Close to the Front, but out of the extreme range of most German field artillery, it became a natural place to establish casualty clearing stations. The cemetery was first used by the French 15th Hopital D'Evacuation and in June 1915, it began to be used by casualty clearing stations of the Commonwealth forces. From April to August 1918, the casualty clearing stations fell back before the German advance and field ambulances (including a French ambulance) took their places. The cemetery contains 9,901 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, a few of which were brought in from the battlefields after the Armistice, and 883 war graves of other nationalities, mostly French and German. It is the second largest Commonwealth cemetery in Belgium. The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield.

Family

Eric Herbert Bigland’s birth was recorded in the September quarter of 1893 in Middlesborough, Volume 9d, Page 562. His father Herbert was a Steamship broker. Herbert and Mary (nee Stewart) had married in 1878 and already had two daughters, Laura and Mabel, and a son Ronald.

4th Battalion

A brief historyu of the 4th Battalion can be found at http://www.greatwar.eril.net/post.htm

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4th battalion spent late December early January around Brandhoek and at this time lost two officers and twelve other ranks killed or died of wounds.

Eric Bigland is remembered on Middlesbrough War Memorial.

Bob.

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Eric Bigland's online MIC index entry can be seen here

Strange...........it has his rank as 2nd Corporal............I thought this to be a Royal Engineers rank only..............Also CWGC & the GWF daily remembrance have Eric's rank as Private.................anyone have any ideas why there is this difference?

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Also CWGC & the GWF daily remembrance have Eric's rank as Private

SDGW also has his rank as "Private".

Dave.

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Nothing of particular interest mentioned in the Regimental history for this date, but it is mentioned that for the latter part of December and the beginning of January, the 1/4th Bn were at Brandhoek on the Ypres/Poperinge road.

Dave.

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