DaniSmithers Posted 1 May , 2021 Share Posted 1 May , 2021 Hello, Hope you are all well! I'm currently research my great uncle, Harold Jackson Wyatt. Born: 1894 and was killed in action on the 18th Oct 1916. Through my own research i have found that the 9th battalion Essex regiment was trying to gain control of bayonet trench on the date that he was killed. From asking my grandmother from what I can make out was that sadly he got hit by either a grenade or bomb and sadly there was nothing left of him. I am hoping that someone could shed a little more light on the days leading up to his death and maybe someone has pictures of the 9th battalion as my family and I only have one picture of him and we would love to see some more. His reg number is 43420 and his rank was Pte Any help would be greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helpjpl Posted 1 May , 2021 Share Posted 1 May , 2021 1. This may be of interest - War Diary 17 and 18 October 1916: 2. The War Diary can be viewed on ancestry: https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc=ZLt8802&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&indiv=1&dbid=60779&cp=0&_F0007CF4=Essex Regiment&_F0007CF4_x=1&new=1&rank=1&uidh=icz&redir=false&msT=1&gss=angs-d&pcat=39&fh=10&h=529570&recoff=&ml_rpos=11&queryId=071f80bfe4b834a029d228c67f538d38 3. You can get a free copy from The National Archives: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14053497 Register here if you don't already have an account: https://secure.nationalarchives.gov.uk/Login/register?wtrealm=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk%2F&wreply=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk%2F 3. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1556261/HAROLD JACKSON WYATT/ JP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helpjpl Posted 1 May , 2021 Share Posted 1 May , 2021 1. Medal Index Card (ancestry): 2. Thiepval Memorial: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12379912/harold-jackson-wyatt 3. Edit - photo https://www.everyoneremembered.org/profiles/soldier/1556261/ JP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaniSmithers Posted 2 May , 2021 Author Share Posted 2 May , 2021 Many thanks for your quick response! Its extremely interesting to discover all these details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swinesheadvillage Posted 4 May , 2021 Share Posted 4 May , 2021 Hi Dani From Harold's effects statement you will see that his mother, Annie, received a gratuity of £3. Hopefully somebody will come along to translate this into a length of service more accurately than I can. There are also two pension claims by Annie. You may be interested to know that, from CWGC records, 26 men of the 9th Essex died that day, with only 5 having known graves. Looking at the concentration reports of the three subsequently reburied at Grevillers British Cemetery, there are two map references used: 57c N 20 A 6 0 and 57c N 20 C 2 4. Using a site such as Tmapper, you can get a current map view and trench map view of where the bodies were concentrated from. Hope This helps Kind Regards Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay dubaya Posted 4 May , 2021 Share Posted 4 May , 2021 Sadly the War Gratuity payment of £3 only suggests less than 12 months service, a look at similar Leicestershire numbers may suggest an enlistment of early February 1916 but without further evidence it's impossible to say which Leicestershire battalion he went overseas with. There may appear to have been a draft of reinforcements from the Leicestershires to the Essex - see 43412 Pte Ward, 9th Essex, KiA same date, his concentration and grave registration reports both have him as 24634 Leicestershire. The concentration report for 43551 Pte Fenton also shows at least 3 unknown Essex casualties recovered from the same location, I haven't yet looked at all the concentration reports for the cemetery and it may be that Harold is buried as one of these unknown Essex soldiers. These remains along with those named were recovered from No Man's Land in front of Bayonet Trench by the 182nd Labour Company around mid October 1919 and finally laid to rest at Grevillers british Cemetery. The map references mentioned by Derek are consistent with the immediate area around Bayonet Trench just north west of Gueudecourt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaniSmithers Posted 4 May , 2021 Author Share Posted 4 May , 2021 Thank you all for your amazing work and help! My family and I are finding this really interesting! kind regards, Dani Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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