Henry Francis Stark Langley 7th Bn Royal Fusiliers

[Guest]

I’m desperately seeking anything at all on my Great Uncle Cpl. Henry Francis Stark Langley of the 7th Bn Royal Fusiliers. Can anyone point me in the right direction to find out about his battles etc. He was killed on 25th August 1918. 

[ForeignGong]

Hi Pamela J

Welcome to the forum

His medal index card has no entry date to a theatre of war, so he landed in a war zone on or after 1 Jan 1916. Medals claimed by mother Mrs N Langley 176 Chamberlayn ?? Rd Kensal Rise NW10

CWGC has him buried at Plot I. Row F. Grave 25.Beaulencourt British Cemetery, Ligny-Thilloy

Soldiers Died has residence Kensal Rise, birth place Paddington enlistment place Willesden

 There does not appear to be any service records

 

Peter

[Stebie9173]

Medal rolls show that he served overseas with 7th Battalion Royal Fusiliers from 2 January 1918 until his death on 25 August 1918. He would have trained within the Training Reserve System - his entry in Soldiers Died in the Great War shows that he was previously numbered 27251 in 31st Training Reserve Battalion. Type 1 War Gratuity of £7 0s 0d shown on the Register of Soldiers effects suggests enlistment in March 1917.

 

 

Steve.

[ss002d6252]

I have split this in to it's own thread so it doesn't get lost in the other one.

Craig

[clk]

Hi Pamela,

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

The CWGC records say that Henry was originally buried at map reference 57c.H.32.d.2.3, which is roughly where I've put the green dot on the image below. It is likely to be close to where he originally fell.

 

Base image sourced from the National Library of Scotland

 

This link should open up on the map, where you can use the transparency slider to see how it fits with the modern landscape.

 

If you would like an image of his current resting place, it looks like British War Graves would be able to send you one on a free of charge basis - link

 

21 hours ago, Pamela J said:

Can anyone point me in the right direction to find out about his battles etc. He was killed on 25th August 1918. 

 

There is a potted history of 63 Division on the LLT - see here, On Ancestry the Battalion war diary from his overseas arrival date (January 1918 - as per Steve above) starts here.

 

There is good advise on how to research a soldier on the LLT - see here.

 

Good luck with your research.

 

Regards

Chris

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 20 July , 2019 by clk

[PRC]

 

15 hours ago, Stebie9173 said:

Medal rolls show that he served overseas with 7th Battalion Royal Fusiliers from 2 January 1918 until his death on 25 August 1918. He would have trained within the Training Reserve System - his entry in Soldiers Died in the Great War shows that he was previously numbered 27251 in 31st Training Reserve Battalion. Type 1 War Gratuity of £7 0s 0d shown on the Register of Soldiers effects suggests enlistment in March 1917.

 

 

The only likely match on the General Registrars Index of Births in England and Wales is that of a Henry Francis S. Langley which was registered in the Paddington District in the January to March quarter, (Q1), of 1899. So if his service counts from circa March 1917 that probably reflects that he had become liable for National Service on reaching his 18th Birthday. It looks from the 1901 Census that his mothers first name was Nellie - it probably is on the 1911 Census as well but her husband has got some weird letter shaping going on when he completed the return.The 12 year old Henry Francis Stark Langley was born Paddington and the family were living at 251 Harvist Road, Kensal Rise, Willesden, West London.

 

An attack on the 7th Battalion on the 30th December 1917 had seen the battalion reduced to a trench strength of 11 officers and 167 other ranks and was temporarily amalgamated with the Artists Rifles. (Official Regimental History). It was as part of the subsequent rebuilding that Henry would have arrived, and with gaps in the battalion structure there would have been opportunities for comparatively rapid promotion.

 

22 hours ago, ForeignGong said:

 Medals claimed by mother Mrs N Langley 176 Chamberlayn ?? Rd Kensal Rise NW10

CWGC has him buried at Plot I. Row F. Grave 25.Beaulencourt British Cemetery, Ligny-Thilloy

Soldiers Died has residence Kensal Rise, birth place Paddington enlistment place Willesden

 There does not appear to be any service records

 

As well as the Battalion War Diary and information on the Division, a contemporary Regimental History. The Royal Fusiliers in the Great War, by H.C. O'Neill, can also be read on line or downloaded for free here:

https://archive.org/details/royalfusiliersin00onei/page/n10

 

The 7ths experiences in March 1918 in the face of the German offensive start on page 231, with subsequent mentions as the events of each day are covered and the losses accumulated. They were finally relieved on the 6th April 1918 (page 256).

 

They began to rebuild their effectiveness with a series of successful trench raids in July 1918, (page 283)

 

Battle of Bapaume - 21 August 1918, (page 289)

 

The next mention is Thilloy on the 26th August 1918, (page 300). Apologies if I've missed any.

 

Hope that helps,

(Another) Peter

 

P.S. Welcome to the forum :-)

[Guest]

Everyone has been wonderful, thank you all so much. I had spent so long trying to plot the map references and also trying to find battle information. I have ordered the book referenced above for delivery tomorrow. Thank you again.