Thomas Frost Dalzell's Story

[Fran Walsh]

Hello,

 

I'd just like to share the story of my great, great uncle who served and died in world war one. His story is newly discovered following a family history project.

 

I'm currently waiting for the National Archives to get back up and running as I believe I can find more service history there. All this information is predominantly from Ancestry. I'd absolutely love to find a photo one day so will keep on searching!  Any more tips and pointers would be appreciated, or please do tell me if I've made any factual errors in war history - I try to cross reference as much as possible.

 

Here is his story so far - Thomas Frost Dalzell 1896-1918

 

Thomas joins the army in 1914, aged 16, with his older brother Robert Ernest Dalzell, aged 19. They both begin their service in the Yorkshire Dragoons as Privates, albeit in different regiments.

Robert moves on to the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry (Sherwood Rangers) and becomes a Lieutenant before the war's end.

At some point between 1915-1917 Thomas becomes a second lieutenant in Machine Gun Corps (MGC) Infantry, 18th Company. 

 

This company (18th) was formed in February, 1916 and on 1st March 1918 they joined with other companies to form the 6th Machine Gun Battalion at the Western Front.

 

On 21st March 1918 the Spring Offensive began with the German forces launching ‘Operation Michael’ at the front line (the location of which is many of the old Somme battlegrounds). 

 

War diaries written at the time by army officials organising the trenches give a detailed account of how that day unfolded for Thomas and his comrades. 

 

For the 6th division which Thomas’s 18th company fell into, the companies were renamed for operational ease – A, B, C and D. Thomas and his fellow soldiers fell into company B. 

 

On the front line (given as Feuvrieul for 6th Battalion Gun Corps), the set up of 6th Battalion is as follows. First of all, there were 14 guns positioned away from the trenches providing bands of fire across the front of the second line. Positioned 500-800 yards behind these, at intervals, were seven gun batteries, each with four guns. Their job was to put down a barrage in front of no man’s land and to engage the enemy by direct fire if they came across the front line. Roughly 500-700 yards behind these gun batteries, were five pairs of guns in ‘strong points’. Again, 800 yards behind these, were 8 more guns, giving a total of 64 guns on the their part of line, distributed over a depth of 2000 yards. 

 

Thomas would have been positioned at one of the five ‘strong point’ guns as these were managed by B company. 

 

At 2am on 21st March a message was received that the German forces were going to attack at dawn. 

 

At 4.50am heavy bombardment from German forces began. This lasted until 8am. Gas masks had to be worn at all times. Within the first half hour, all telephone wires were cut. The enemy attacked at 10am. Unluckily, the battlefield was blanketed in thick mist which covered the advance of German soldiers through no man’s land and caused chaos on the front line.

 

The diary records as much information as possible about each gun position. There is a fair amount of information about the strong point gun positions of B company, Thomas and his team at one of them.

 

A strong point called Company Headquarters was engaged heavily with German forces for a couple of hours. The left gun team was wiped out. A further gun maintained by B company reported 6 casualties. The team at Brigade Headquarters strong point also suffered casualties.

 

For some gun points sadly no information is available as no soldier returned from that position and nothing is known about what happened to that gun. Such is the case for one of the strong points held by B company called Battalion Headquarters. 

 

The teams of another strong point, Dunelm Headquarters, lasted until the following day before being wiped out, so we know Thomas was not part of this (unless there were unrecorded casualties).

 

This puts Thomas at either Company, Brigade or Battalion Headquarters' gun points.

 

On that one day of 21st March, 38,500 British soldiers lost their lives, the second worst day in British Military history. Thomas Frost Dalzell, at age 22, was one of them.

 

The officer's diary records for the period 21/22 March 1918, 6th Battalion Gun Corps, the deaths of 3 officers and 11 soldiers and records 5 officers and 194 soldiers as missing. 60 out of 64 guns were destroyed or lost.

 

Without a known grave, Thomas Frost Dalzell is commemorated at Pozieres Memorial, close to the village of Pozieres which fell to German forces on 24/25th March. 

 

Thomas was married to Evelyn (who later remarried), and also left behind his parents Alfred and Emily and siblings Harry, Hilda, Alfred, Jean, Gaskarth and Robert (who survived the Great War). 

 

 

[alf mcm]

Fran,

  Very interesting.

  Thomas was commissioned as a Temporary 2nd Lt., M.G.C. {I.} on 27th October 1917. His mention in the London Gazette is here:- https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30375/supplement/11649

 

Regards,

 

Alf McM

[Fran Walsh]

19 minutes ago, alf mcm said:

Fran,

  Very interesting.

  Thomas was commissioned as a Temporary 2nd Lt., M.G.C. {I.} on 27th October 1917. His mention in the London Gazette is here:- https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30375/supplement/11649

 

Regards,

 

Alf McM

That's amazing, thank you. A great resource

 

[Keith_history_buff]

1 hour ago, Fran Walsh said:

I'm currently waiting for the National Archives to get back up and running as I believe I can find more service history there.

 

I see his papers are accessible at Kew among the WO 339 series. This should contain not only those papers about his service as an officer, but also his attestation and other elements of his service among the Other Ranks.
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1141543

[Fran Walsh]

2 minutes ago, Keith_history_buff said:

 

I see his papers are accessible at Kew among the WO 339 series. This should contain not only those papers about his service as an officer, but also his attestation and other elements of his service among the Other Ranks.
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1141543

This would really help flesh out some details, thank you

[sadbrewer]

From The Yorkshire Evening Post, April 4th, 1918. Courtesy of The British Newspaper Archive. 

 

 

 

From The same publication, September 7th, 1918.

 

 

Edited 13 May , 2020 by sadbrewer

[Fran Walsh]

3 minutes ago, sadbrewer said:

From The Yorkshire Evening Post, April 4th, 1918. Courtesy of The British Newspaper Archive. 

 

 

Aw, wow. I must tap into newspaper archives, it isn't an avenue of research I am familiar with. Thanks so much, small pieces all building up more of a picture... 

[sadbrewer]

2 minutes ago, Fran Walsh said:

Aw, wow. I must tap into newspaper archives, it isn't an avenue of research I am familiar with. Thanks so much, small pieces all building up more of a picture... 

Just great to hear the stories Fran, better a bit of duplication than nothing to add!!

[Fran Walsh]

2 minutes ago, sadbrewer said:

Just great to hear the stories Fran, better a bit of duplication than nothing to add!!

This is brill, it really does help bring their stories to life. I know it was common to be missing but in Thomas's case I assumed it was known early on that he had died. Perhaps he was in one of the teams manning the gun that were never seen again... Such chaotic times... I can't imagine the poor families waiting and hoping at home for news... 

And you found one about Robert too. Fantastic. That will be my next venture, following his story... 

[sadbrewer]

23 minutes ago, Fran Walsh said:

This is brill, it really does help bring their stories to life. I know it was common to be missing but in Thomas's case I assumed it was known early on that he had died. Perhaps he was in one of the teams manning the gun that were never seen again... Such chaotic times... I can't imagine the poor families waiting and hoping at home for news... 

And you found one about Robert too. Fantastic. That will be my next venture, following his story... 

Bearing that in mind....this one should interest you.

From The Halifax Evening Courier, June 10th 1918.

 

 

 

 

He should be named in this book....link below

https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/262715

 

 

A little more family information from Malcolm Bull's excellent Calderdale Companion.

http://www.calderdalecompanion.co.uk/d.html

 

 

 

Edited 13 May , 2020 by sadbrewer

[sadbrewer]

An interesting snippet about his widow Evelyn.

 

 

[Fran Walsh]

8 minutes ago, sadbrewer said:

An interesting snippet about his widow Evelyn.

 

 

That is certainly very interesting! The only information I have that indicates Evelyn and Thomas were married is from Malcolm Bull's website. I can't find anything on Ancestry to substantiate that Evelyn and Thomas were ever officially married. Malcolm Bull's website indicates Evelyn and Thomas were married in 1918 - given Thomas died in March, they must have been married January/February or very early March, so not married long. I assumed that maybe a marriage could be annulled if it was short-lived, but I'm not sure that would cancel out any records. I was surprised to read she married again in the same year. She seems like a character with maybe some stories to tell!

[Fran Walsh]

42 minutes ago, sadbrewer said:

Bearing that in mind....this one should interest you.

From The Halifax Evening Courier, June 10th 1918.

 

 

 

 

He should be named in this book....link below

https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/262715

 

 

A little more family information from Malcolm Bull's excellent Calderdale Companion.

http://www.calderdalecompanion.co.uk/d.html

 

 

 

Aaah, thank you, that does clear up what happened to Thomas, how sad. An amazing trail you have managed to follow! I am compiling these stories for my Dad, who is a passionate historian but not able to research these days. He will absolutely love being able to read about his great uncle, and such detail about his life at war. I can't thank you enough!

[sadbrewer]

1 hour ago, Fran Walsh said:

Aaah, thank you, that does clear up what happened to Thomas, how sad. An amazing trail you have managed to follow! I am compiling these stories for my Dad, who is a passionate historian but not able to research these days. He will absolutely love being able to read about his great uncle, and such detail about his life at war. I can't thank you enough!

Fran, I've got to tell you there is a bit more of the story around Evelyn and her new husband if you wish to pursue it that far. Also just to let you know there is a registration or transcription error...she is Evelyn A Deacon, not Evelyn PD.

   I'm unsure what happens to Evelyn, but William John Powley does a three and a half year stretch in Parkhurst in 1928 for an offence that led to a young woman's death....plenty of info in the newspaper archive.

Powley was dismissed from the Army in July 1918, my guess is that Evelyn didn't know...or certainly didn't know the truth.

 

https://search.findmypast.co.uk/bna/viewarticle?id=bl%2f0000276%2f19181022%2f060&stringtohighlight=william john powley

 

 

 

 

https://search.findmypast.co.uk/bna/viewarticle?id=bl%2f0002166%2f19280712%2f264&stringtohighlight=william john powley

Edited 14 May , 2020 by sadbrewer

[Fran Walsh]

7 hours ago, sadbrewer said:

Fran, I've got to tell you there is a bit more of the story around Evelyn and her new husband if you wish to pursue it that far. Also just to let you know there is a registration or transcription error...she is Evelyn A Deacon, not Evelyn PD.

   I'm unsure what happens to Evelyn, but William John Powley does a three and a half year stretch in Parkhurst in 1928 for an offence that led to a young woman's death....plenty of info in the newspaper archive.

Powley was dismissed from the Army in July 1918, my guess is that Evelyn didn't know...or certainly didn't know the truth.

 

https://search.findmypast.co.uk/bna/viewarticle?id=bl%2f0000276%2f19181022%2f060&stringtohighlight=william john powley

 

 

 

 

https://search.findmypast.co.uk/bna/viewarticle?id=bl%2f0002166%2f19280712%2f264&stringtohighlight=william john powley

Wow! That certainly is a story! I believe her maiden name was Deacon. She certainly had lots going on in her life over a short period of time. I don't have a find my past account - is it worth having alongside Ancestry? I'll have a look in the newspaper archive for the story. Thanks so much again!

[sadbrewer]

Fran...do you have a British Newspaper Archive subscription?...if not my advice would be to take a month subscription for Findmypast, make sure you buy the one that includes access to the British Newspaper Archive. 

  

There are all sorts of details that show up on one but not the other....Freebmd for instance is completely free and can often find things that both miss.....occasionally you can find things just by google.

   I have both FMP and Ancestry, when I first started I found the best way was to buy a month on one..then cancel it to save auto renewal, and take a month on the other.

   I can't say one is better than the other, they have different attributes...Ancestry is great for the DNA matches and the ability to access other people's trees, the snag being that often the trees are wrong, sometimes laughably so....Findmypast has the edge for purely UK research and the access to the British Newspaper Archive can be a real godsend.

  My advice would be to go as far as you can on one site and then have a crack at the other.

Edit.....having read your last post again, you've got the British Newspaper Archive...apologies!!....all those articles are in there...just search William John Powley....the main dates are 1918, 1928 and he's coming up in 1942 as well.

Edited 14 May , 2020 by sadbrewer

[Fran Walsh]

Thank you - I subscribed to the British Newspaper Archive free trial which gave me access to three articles. But knowing I can access it through Find My Past I will do it that way - it sounds like a good plan to go through Find My Past, cross reference and pick up any new information...

It was a Google search that took me to Malcom Bull's website which gave me a spring board for a lot of Thomas's life story. And also a fascinating story around a third great grandma Martha Ann Dalzell nee Burrow. 

Whilst Evelyn and William Powley aren't ancestors their story is so fascinating I will look it up anyway!

Really appreciate your help and direction, thank you

[clk]

Hi Fran

 

It looks like his family had hoped that Thomas was taken PoW, and contact was made with the Red Cross.

 

Image sourced from the ICRC - link

 

Regards

Chris

[Fran Walsh]

7 minutes ago, clk said:

Hi Fran

 

It looks like his family had hoped that Thomas was taken PoW, and contact was made with the Red Cross.

 

Image sourced from the ICRC - link

 

Regards

Chris

Wow, thank you - another amazing piece of the story. Is that a telegram?

[clk]

Hi Fran,

 

2 hours ago, Fran Walsh said:

Wow, thank you - another amazing piece of the story. Is that a telegram?

 

It's just an index card. You can get to it by clicking on "link" under the image. I don't know how the contact was made.

 

15 hours ago, sadbrewer said:

From The Halifax Evening Courier, June 10th 1918.

 

 

 

 

 

L B Guest seems to be Lawrence Basil Guest, a PoW register page for him is here. It shows him as 'C' Company, 18 Battalion, MGC. "Pte Handscombe" appears to be Leonard Hanscombe (link). His record shows him as being in the same Company, so I guess that Thomas might have been with them too.

 

I think that the CWGC record for Thomas may have led your research astray. It shows:

Image sourced from the CWGC

 

There are known to be errors in some of their MGC records which note the unit as 'Company' whereas is should be 'Battalion'. 

 

19 hours ago, Fran Walsh said:

At some point between 1915-1917 Thomas becomes a second lieutenant in Machine Gun Corps (MGC) Infantry, 18th Company. 

 

This company (18th) was formed in February, 1916 and on 1st March 1918 they joined with other companies to form the 6th Machine Gun Battalion at the Western Front.

 

18 Brigade Machine Gun Company were part of 6 Division, and were merged with the other (6 Division) Brigade Machine Gun Companies in March 1918 to form 6 (Division) Machine Gun Battalion. 18 Machine Gun Battalion was formed from the Machine Gun Companies (53,54, and 55) in 18 Division in February 1918. 

 

In the appendices of the war diary for 18 Machine Gun Battalion, it shows...

 

Image sourced from Ancestry

 

If you register an account with the National Archives (see here) you can currently download the diary (link) free of charge. It might be worth reading it in conjunction with the diary for 18 Division HQ (General Staff) - link.

 

Regards

Chris

Edited 14 May , 2020 by clk

[FROGSMILE]

I just wanted to say Fran how well I thought you conveyed the circumstances for 18th Battalion MGC on 21st March 1918, I felt it was very evocatively laid out.  Thank you for writing it.  It was also especially interesting to read the excerpt relating to Pte Lawrence Guest MGC and his report that the Germans had taken from him the papers that he had collected relating to 2nd Lt Dalzell and the other soldiers.  It was a poignant thing to read and suggests that he was either a company clerk who had taken with him into captivity his field box of basic personnel files, or that he had taken pay books and other personal documents from his comrades bodies after they were killed.  All-in-all it’s a quite moving story.  The nickname of the MGC as ‘the suicide club’ was not without reason.

Edited 14 May , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[Fran Walsh]

5 hours ago, clk said:

Hi Fran,

 

 

It's just an index card. You can get to it by clicking on "link" under the image. I don't know how the contact was made.

 

 

 

L B Guest seems to be Lawrence Basil Guest, a PoW register page for him is here. It shows him as 'C' Company, 18 Battalion, MGC. "Pte Handscombe" appears to be Leonard Hanscombe (link). His record shows him as being in the same Company, so I guess that Thomas might have been with them too.

 

I think that the CWGC record for Thomas may have led your research astray. It shows:

Image sourced from the CWGC

 

There are known to be errors in some of their MGC records which note the unit as 'Company' whereas is should be 'Battalion'. 

 

 

18 Brigade Machine Gun Company were part of 6 Division, and were merged with the other (6 Division) Brigade Machine Gun Companies in March 1918 to form 6 (Division) Machine Gun Battalion. 18 Machine Gun Battalion was formed from the Machine Gun Companies (53,54, and 55) in 18 Division in February 1918. 

 

In the appendices of the war diary for 18 Machine Gun Battalion, it shows...

 

Image sourced from Ancestry

 

If you register an account with the National Archives (see here) you can currently download the diary (link) free of charge. It might be worth reading it in conjunction with the diary for 18 Division HQ (General Staff) - link.

 

Regards

Chris

Ah, I see - that's interesting and makes sense - yes I was going off the '18th Coy' reference (to be honest it took me ages to find out what 'coy' stood for!!!)

 

18 Battalion, rather than company, does seem plausible, especially with the reference to him being missing, in the diary appendices. I will go and have a read of that. At least it is an error that kind of comes full circle to pretty much the same place - luckily! 

 

I'll see if I can find out what happened to L B Guest, just out of interest...

 

Thank you so much. 

[Fran Walsh]

4 hours ago, FROGSMILE said:

I just wanted to say Fran how well I thought you conveyed the circumstances for 18th Battalion MGC on 21st March 1918, I felt it was very evocatively laid out.  Thank you for writing it.  It was also especially interesting to read the excerpt relating to Pte Lawrence Guest MGC and his report that the Germans had taken from him the papers that he had collected relating to 2nd Lt Dalzell and the other soldiers.  It was a poignant thing to read and suggests that he was either a company clerk who had taken with him into captivity his field box of basic personnel files, or that he had taken pay books and other personal documents from his comrades bodies after they were killed.  All-in-all it’s a quite moving story.  The nickname of the MGC as ‘the suicide club’ was not without reason.

Oh, thank you (probably now need to revise it!!). I wondered the same too, whether Pte Guest had collated the papers etc from his comrades. Like you say, all very poignant and moving. I must say it has been an emotional experience.

I imagine the account of Thomas's last day will change when I read and cross reference with the other diary, in which case I will amend and I'll repost in order to have an updated and more accurate version...

[clk]

Hi Fran,

 

28 minutes ago, Fran Walsh said:

I imagine the account of Thomas's last day will change when I read and cross reference with the other diary, in which case I will amend and I'll repost in order to have an updated and more accurate version...

 

I'd be interested to read that. Hopefully you can use the same structure, and just tweak the info.

 

My great uncle was taken PoW on 21st March 1918, but died two days later from a leg wound. For the best part of 100 years, until the release of the ICRC records, his death was accepted as being on 21st March. 

 

From the London Gazette record we know that Thomas was commissioned to the MGC wef 27.10.1917. I wonder if there would be any merit in downloading the then 18 Division Machine Gun Company diaries (53, 54, and 55) from the National Archives (search page) to see if they record when he joined 'in the field' ? Most diaries would note the arrival of an officer by name, although it might be some time after the date of his commission. If I understood it correctly, the 18 (Division) Battalion MGC diary suggests that 'C' Company was formed from the old #55, so it might be worth looking at their diary first.

 

Good luck with your research.

 

Regards

Chris

[Fran Walsh]

20 minutes ago, clk said:

Hi Fran,

 

 

I'd be interested to read that. Hopefully you can use the same structure, and just tweak the info.

 

My great uncle was taken PoW on 21st March 1918, but died two days later from a leg wound. For the best part of 100 years, until the release of the ICRC records, his death was accepted as being on 21st March. 

 

From the London Gazette record we know that Thomas was commissioned to the MGC wef 27.10.1917. I wonder if there would be any merit in downloading the then 18 Division Machine Gun Company diaries (53, 54, and 55) from the National Archives (search page) to see if they record when he joined 'in the field' ? Most diaries would note the arrival of an officer by name, although it might be some time after the date of his commission. If I understood it correctly, the 18 (Division) Battalion MGC diary suggests that 'C' Company was formed from the old #55, so it might be worth looking at their diary first.

 

Good luck with your research.

 

Regards

Chris

Would your great uncle have been on the same front line somewhere...? 

I know nothing about POWs and how they were treated in the Great War... Sad to survive such great battle but to succumb from wounds later...

 

Well, many thanks for directing me to those diaries - it has given me this amazing knowledge:  At 10am on 21st March, whilst commanding the guns A2 and A3 on the front line, 2nd Lt Dalzell managed to send a message back which read " Enemy through, numbers unknown, am knocking hell out of them". No further information was received from any of these guns.

 

I'm completely astounded! I'm so lost for words. To find such a reference to an ancestor and his last moments in the Great War, I just can't believe it. It has brought tears.

 

I can't thank you enough, and everyone who has commented on this thread, who has helped me gather so much more information than I started with. 

 

I will continue reading and piecing together and I will amend his biography in due course.

 

Thanks again.