170 Brigade Royal Artillery at battle of the Scarpe

[Brenda A]

My father Will Harry Bridge Wilkinson L/17056 was awarded the Military medal for saving a soldier (may have been a sergeant) and I would like to know who this was and what happened. My father was in D Battery, 170 Brigade Royal Field Artillery 31st division, at the third battle of the Scarpe. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you

[mancpal]

Hello Brenda,

i think perhaps the best way for you to proceed would be by searching local newspapers for a mention as it’s most unlikely his citation survived. Good luck,

 

Simon

[Acknown]

Brenda,

Welcome to the Forum. I suspect that you have quite a lot of information about Will, but I'll tell you what I've discovered.

First, it is very difficult to discover the circumstances of a MM award unless you can find a newspaper report or some such. Citations are seldom available. If you haven't done so, have a look at this guide: https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/research-award-military-medal-mm/.

Notwithstanding, during the Third Battle of the Scarpe, the 170th Brigade was operating in the Willerval - Bailleul sector (west of Lille) and supporting the infantry attacks. You can read the May 17 War Diary here (Ancestry): War Diary You can also purchase a copy from the National Archives or visit there to read it for free. Here it is: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14054635.

The 170th Brigade recorded its awards, and within the WD record, there is a page listing them. You can read it here (Ancestry): War Diary Award. It indeed states that Will won a MM that month, but gives no further details.

For newspaper research, I am no expert, but you might start here: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/. You either pay a fee or can probably search it for free at your local library, where you might also find copies of WW1 newspapers for the local area, if you still live where Will did. Ancestry access is often free at a library.

Good luck!

Acknown

  

[David Porter]

11 minutes ago, Acknown said:

The 170th Brigade recorded its awards, and within the WD record, there is a page listing them. You can read it here (Ancestry): War Diary Award. It indeed states that Will won a MM that month, but gives no further details.

 

I was also going to say that War Diaries don't go into that kind of detail. However, that page also gives those members of D/170 who became casualties.

 

 

It does indeed name two Sergeants who were wounded in that period along with a Bombardier and Gunner. Sadly, another Gunner was killed but there are even map references for these events given. Very useful (and lucky) to have this to work with.

[RobertBr]

That's an area near Arras I have visited several times.

B.15.d.0.7