'Dead End' at Ypres, site of 164th MG Coy HQ July 1917

[A Lancashire Fusilier by Proxy]

On 28/06/2023 at 18:34, Mark Hone said:

Sadly, the school Battlefields Tour will not be continuing, at least in the short term.

That's a pity. It's obviously a lot of work to prepare these tours, as well as the time away from home leading them, but it would be nice to think that someone might start running them again at some time in the future. At least they would have the extensive information available on your Roll of Honour to give them a head start.

[brianmorris547]

On 25/06/2023 at 16:48, Mark Hone said:

Thanks, Brian. This looks definitive to me. How do you think that this matches up with what I have written on John Hartington's Roll of Honour entry in the School Archives:

http://bgsarchive.co.uk/Filename.ashx?tableName=ta_boys_rollofhonour&columnName=filename&recordId=58

 

Mark

I am browsing the Heywood Advertiser at the moment. The picture of John E Hartington that is on your ROH is from the HA 15/12/1916. There was an earlier mention with photo (not a very good one) and biography without the citation in the HA 24/11/1916. The HA 15/06/1917 has a report that he was presented with his MC by the King and the HA 20/07/1917 reported his death. On 15/02/1918 the HA reported that his brother George Oscar Hartington had escaped from a POW camp in Germany and made it back to England via Holland. 

Brian

[Mark Hone]

Brian, 

Thanks for this. George, captured on the Somme, was the only Hartington sibling not to attend Bury Grammar School. Was there a photo of him accompanying the article?

[brianmorris547]

Mark

No it was just a brief report under Local War Items. Attached courtesy BNL via FMP. I will keep my eyes open.

I had noticed in the HA 04/01/1918 a picture and biography of Sgt Wilfred Johnson who had been awarded the MM. He was serving in the Machine Gun Corps but had gone to France with the LFs in May 1915. His MM Card showed 164 Co MGC. On the 1914-15 MGC Medal Rolls WO 329/2827 (pp 103 to 105) he is named with twenty other men from 5 LFs with a disembarkation date of 03/05/1915. I presume these men were the original MG Section of 2/5 LFs who went to 164 Co MGC. 

I read the 164 Co WD to see if any were named and when reading the WD of 55 Div A&QMG for mentions of John Hartington, Routine Order dated 11/11/1916 (p 182/860) for the MC and (p 612) for his initial wounding, I remembered this thread because of the explosion of shells in the ammunition dump.

Brian