Pte Lawrence Shadbolt, 2nd Battalion Essex Regiment - died 03/05/1917 in the Battle of Arras

[tashhh]

Hello all!

I am researching my great-great-grandfather, Lawrence Shadbolt. I have his medals, medal cards, and register of effects documentation (documents at end of message for perusal). I know he served in the 2nd Battalion Essex Regiment, and his service number was 33049. He died on the 3rd of May 1917, in Arras. I believe this was in one of the battles of Arras, which from Googling, sound like they were horrendous. His body was never found, and he is remembered at the Arras Memorial for lost soldiers.

I bought the war diary for his regiment. The days before his death, they were near the Chemical Works in Arras, and on the day he is marked as dying / going missing, it says:

3/05/1917: Attack commenced at 3.45am. Our barrage heavy. The assaulting companies...met with very heavy M.G. [machine gun] fire and were almost wiped out...At about 5.00am it appeared that the attack had failed. The enemy still held the chemical works on our right...Enemy shelled support trenches during day and night Casualties 5 O.R. killed. 96 O.R. wounded. 106 missing.

 

I was wondering if anyone had done research previously and could advise what his movements and activities were leading up to, and on the day of, his death? I would love to get a feel for exactly what he went through during his service. 

The photo I have included of Lawrence is him with his son, who was only 6 when he died. His widow was devastated and never recovered from his death, and my Great Uncle and his dad would have to make sure to pull up any poppies that had sown themselves in her garden, as the sight of them would cause her to become hysterical. A bit of background info on the man behind the medals.

 

[charlie962]

Thanks for presenting all those documents. Helps us help you! 

One doc you may not have seen is the Red Cross enquiry form (because he was missing) which notes him as being in 'A' Company. This may be relevant to the action described in the war diary? 

Doc is here on Findmypast 

"Record Transcription: British Red Cross & Order Of St John Enquiry List, Wounded & Missing, 1914-1919 | findmypast.co.uk" https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBM%2FNMPWW1ENQUIRY%2F037765

Charlie

Edited 9 August , 2022 by charlie962

[tashhh]

7 minutes ago, charlie962 said:

Thanks for presenting all those documents. Helps us help you! 

One doc you may not have seen is the Red Cross enquiry form (because he was missing) which notes him as being in 'A' Company. This may be relevant to the action described in the war diary? 

Doc is here on Findmypast 

"Record Transcription: British Red Cross & Order Of St John Enquiry List, Wounded & Missing, 1914-1919 | findmypast.co.uk" https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBM%2FNMPWW1ENQUIRY%2F037765

Charlie

Hi Charlie,

Thank you for your reply, and I certainly did not know he was in 'A' Company, that is amazing to narrow it down so well! I can't see that document, unfortunately. Is it a paid service? I have Ancestry, but can't access the file you linked

 

Kind regards,

Tash

[charlie962]

Tashhh, the document tells you nothing else you don't already know so don't rush!

Interestingly the Soldiers Effects page you provided shows another 2nd Essex man, Saunders, presumed died same day. He too was A Company. He also has an enquiry on the ICRC files that says he (Saunders) was 'attached Chemical Works'. I don't know what that's all about. 

I haven't checked ICRC for Shadbolt.....

[charlie962]

It would be worth ploughing through some of the other 2nd Essex men presumed died that day to see if one of them has a service record that gives additional pointers. There may also be a pow - all those missing will either be found alive, found dead or taken pow. One of them must have told a story. I'm afraid I'm not an Essex expert. 

Charlie 

Edit 

A quick search of soldiers died in the Great War SDGW gives me 109 Essex men.- perhaps not just 2nd Bn, I couldn't filter that,! 

Edit edit 

86 men therein 2nd Bn.

 

Edited 9 August , 2022 by charlie962

[tashhh]

4 minutes ago, charlie962 said:

Tashhh, the document tells you nothing else you don't already know so don't rush!

Interestingly the Soldiers Effects page you provided shows another 2nd Essex man, Saunders, presumed died same day. He too was A Company. He also has an enquiry on the ICRC files that says he (Saunders) was 'attached Chemical Works'. I don't know what that's all about. 

I haven't checked ICRC for Shadbolt.....

Thank you, Charlie. I will try to get a free trial and download it for my records, so I can build a collection of documents and stories of what Lawrence got up to  the fact that Saunders was also A Company is reassuring that Lawrence was, too. I did some digging on that Chemical Works factory, and there is a thread on this site that gives some information about it, photos, trench maps, etc, and it seems like it was a stronghold that was just lethal to our guys.

[tashhh]

Now I know his company is A Company, I think I have found out exactly how he died:

 

 

[charlie962]

Probably so!

Here is an example of a man who was A Company and taken pow that day.

Buckoke, Frederick. 41049.

But that hasn't led me to anything useful,?

 

[tashhh]

2 minutes ago, charlie962 said:

Probably so!

Here is an example of a man who was A Company and taken pow that day.

Buckoke, Frederick. 41049.

But that hasn't led me to anything useful,?

 

Thank you for your help with this, much appreciated. I will try to look into that soldier, though I have never encountered POW testimonies before, so that would be super interesting if I find some!  

I think it is fair to say that my great-great-grandfather's war activities were pretty miserable, having looked at the war diary entries for the preceding weeks, and reading up on the battle of Arras. Hopefully I can figure out more of his movements by finding someone in his company that still have service records available. I assume Lawrence's were destroyed in the blitz like so many others.

[charlie962]

By looking at some Essex near numbers and finding a couple of service records, I think your GGF Lawrence Shadbolt probably joined the Bedford's (see SDGW ref for service number and then needs a near number exercise!). He was transferred to a Training Reserve Bn in 1916 but was sent to France late Nov 1916 and compulsorily transferred to 2nd Essex at the same time and issued that Essex number, along with a lot of other men from various units. May have spent a couple of weeks at number 15 Infantry Base Depot at Etaples before joining 2nd Bn ' in the field' during Dec 1916.

So just about 5 mths with the 2nd Essex before he was killed. There may be a note of the arrival of reinforcements in the Dec 1916 war diary? 

Examples of near nos- with svc files:

Hooney 33046.

Edwards 33047. 

Leader.  33048. 

Some are difficult to follow but worth going through slowly to pick up 'parallels'. 

Charlie

 

Edited 9 August , 2022 by charlie962

[Gunner 87]

Hi tashhh, this article from the Chelmsford Chronicle 06th July 1917 listing Essex Regiment casualties has Lawrence perviously reported wounded, now reported wounded and missing. Doesn't take you much further but maybe of interest.  

[tashhh]

11 hours ago, Gunner 87 said:

Hi tashhh, this article from the Chelmsford Chronicle 06th July 1917 listing Essex Regiment casualties has Lawrence perviously reported wounded, now reported wounded and missing. Doesn't take you much further but maybe of interest.  

Thank you! I wonder why that changed? From the war diary, I believe he went over the top on the morning of the third, and his company were pretty much wiped out. Was it standard practice to wait a few days and assume those missing could be wounded on No Man's Land, until any recovered casualties were confirmed not to be the missing?

12 hours ago, charlie962 said:

By looking at some Essex near numbers and finding a couple of service records, I think your GGF Lawrence Shadbolt probably joined the Bedford's (see SDGW ref for service number and then needs a near number exercise!). He was transferred to a Training Reserve Bn in 1916 but was sent to France late Nov 1916 and compulsorily transferred to 2nd Essex at the same time and issued that Essex number, along with a lot of other men from various units. May have spent a couple of weeks at number 15 Infantry Base Depot at Etaples before joining 2nd Bn ' in the field' during Dec 1916.

So just about 5 mths with the 2nd Essex before he was killed. There may be a note of the arrival of reinforcements in the Dec 1916 war diary? 

Examples of near nos- with svc files:

Hooney 33046.

Edwards 33047. 

Leader.  33048. 

Some are difficult to follow but worth going through slowly to pick up 'parallels'. 

Charlie

 

Wow, thank you so much for figuring that out! That gives me a greater insight into his service, and I assume he would have served there for the entirety of that time, not had any breaks to go home? So i can track his company's movements in the war diary for an idea of his activities.

[charlie962]

 Probable scenario.

He was missing at Roll call. Someone reported having seen him hit. In the confusion was he evacuated down the line or not? Nobody sure. So reported Wounded.

Subsequent enquiries show not evacuated. Thus reported Wounded and Missing. 

Subsequent enquiries including via ICRC show not a PoW. Thus reported Presumed Died or killed in action.

Given his very brief 5 months on overseas service it is highly unlikely he ever had leave to UK.

Men would stay with the same company for a while. Promotion was often a reason for change, due to vacancies arising in fixed establishment in another Company in same Bn.

[tashhh]

16 minutes ago, charlie962 said:

 Probable scenario.

He was missing at Roll call. Someone reported having seen him hit. In the confusion was he evacuated down the line or not? Nobody sure. So reported Wounded.

Subsequent enquiries show not evacuated. Thus reported Wounded and Missing. 

Subsequent enquiries including via ICRC show not a PoW. Thus reported Presumed Died or killed in action.

Given his very brief 5 months on overseas service it is highly unlikely he ever had leave to UK.

Men would stay with the same company for a while. Promotion was often a reason for change, due to vacancies arising in fixed establishment in another Company in same Bn.

Thank you for that breakdown, much appreciated. I suppose that makes sense, given how many died, and the chaos. That's great to know he would have been there for the 5 months prior. I can try to track his activities in the war diary. 

Regarding that he was in A Company, were the companies generally close to each other, or would they be miles apart? And generally, how many men made up a company?

 

Thank you 😊

[kenf48]

He was mobilised to the Bedfordshire Regiment on or around 3rd June 1916. He almost certainly attested locally (SDGW says enlistment at Welwyn) in December 1915 under the Derby or Group Scheme

Born on the 17th August 1885 and married he would be placed in Group 36, mobilisation from 29th May 1916

see https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/soldiers/a-soldiers-life-1914-1918/enlisting-into-the-army/the-group-scheme-derby-scheme/

In all probability posted to the 9th (Reserve) Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment which was absorbed into the Training Reserve on 1st September 1916.

The war gratuity in the amount of  £3 confirms less than twelve months service when killed.

If you put 3rd May 1917 into the GWF search box there are many accounts of this, one of the blackest days for the Allies in the entire war.

It's recommended you download the Brigade War Diary as well as the regimental diary (currently free at TNA if you register) the diary contains this map and the Operation Order for the attack The boundary for the 2nd Essex was at map reference 13 B. 8. 2. The 2nd Lanashire Fusiliers were astride the railway line and the attacking Companies of the 2nd Essex to their left.

The Battle overall is referred to as the Third Battle of the Scarpe

 

 

 

 

[tashhh]

22 minutes ago, kenf48 said:

He was mobilised to the Bedfordshire Regiment on or around 3rd June 1916. He almost certainly attested locally (SDGW says enlistment at Welwyn) in December 1915 under the Derby or Group Scheme

Born on the 17th August 1885 and married he would be placed in Group 36, mobilisation from 29th May 1916

see https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/soldiers/a-soldiers-life-1914-1918/enlisting-into-the-army/the-group-scheme-derby-scheme/

In all probability posted to the 9th (Reserve) Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment which was absorbed into the Training Reserve on 1st September 1916.

The war gratuity in the amount of  £3 confirms less than twelve months service when killed.

If you put 3rd May 1917 into the GWF search box there are many accounts of this, one of the blackest days for the Allies in the entire war.

It's recommended you download the Brigade War Diary as well as the regimental diary (currently free at TNA if you register) the diary contains this map and the Operation Order for the attack The boundary for the 2nd Essex was at map reference 13 B. 8. 2. The 2nd Lanashire Fusiliers were astride the railway line and the attacking Companies of the 2nd Essex to their left.

The Battle overall is referred to as the Third Battle of the Scarpe

 

 

 

 

Wow, this is great! Thank you for all of that information. I wish I knew where to find that sort of stuff. I did buy the regimental war diary, can you advise which Brigade I would need to buy? That map is equally fantastic. Regarding the map location of the 2nd Essex Bn. that you mentioned, I am not well versed in this sort of thing, unfortunately. Can you advise how I determine where that is on the map? I can see 13 near the Chemical Works, which makes sense as I know he was near there from the war diary, but I am unsure how to use the other letter and numbers. Thank you in advance!

[kenf48]

4 hours ago, tashhh said:

Can you advise how I determine where that is on the map? I can see 13 near the Chemical Works, which makes sense as I know he was near there from the war diary, but I am unsure how to use the other letter and numbers.

When researching a soldier we always recommend you study the Long Long Trail (LLT) website where you will usually find the answer to your questions

For example this page explains the composition of an infantry battalion  and details the Company structure. It should be noted they were seldom at full strength.

and this page explains how to read a trench map https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/battlefields/how-to-read-a-british-trench-map/

The link to the National Library of Scotland is useful as it allows you to overlay a Google map over the 1917 map. The map is part of Sheet 51B NW4 the lettered square is 'I'

As for the war diary I assumed you had access to Ancestry because of the documents previously posted. It can be found here on Ancestry

That said always better to download it from the National Archives where they are currently free if you register. See Banner at top of the page.  The 2nd Essex Regiment were originally a Regular Battalion and were in 12th Brigade 4th Division (again see LLT). The Headquarters diary has been split into many parts at TNA but the one for the period May 1 1917 to Dec 31 1917 can be found here https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4554654

Home units were not required to maintain war diaries so you won't find much about his earlier service other than reading the memoirs of similar men called up around the same time. Once again the LLT has information on the Training Reserve and the Base Depots in France.

 

 

[tashhh]

23 hours ago, kenf48 said:

When researching a soldier we always recommend you study the Long Long Trail (LLT) website where you will usually find the answer to your questions

For example this page explains the composition of an infantry battalion  and details the Company structure. It should be noted they were seldom at full strength.

and this page explains how to read a trench map https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/battlefields/how-to-read-a-british-trench-map/

The link to the National Library of Scotland is useful as it allows you to overlay a Google map over the 1917 map. The map is part of Sheet 51B NW4 the lettered square is 'I'

As for the war diary I assumed you had access to Ancestry because of the documents previously posted. It can be found here on Ancestry

That said always better to download it from the National Archives where they are currently free if you register. See Banner at top of the page.  The 2nd Essex Regiment were originally a Regular Battalion and were in 12th Brigade 4th Division (again see LLT). The Headquarters diary has been split into many parts at TNA but the one for the period May 1 1917 to Dec 31 1917 can be found here https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4554654

Home units were not required to maintain war diaries so you won't find much about his earlier service other than reading the memoirs of similar men called up around the same time. Once again the LLT has information on the Training Reserve and the Base Depots in France.

 

 

Thank you for the advice, much appreciated. I will try to fill in the gaps and look into the links you provided

[kenf48]

13 hours ago, tashhh said:

Thank you for the advice, much appreciated. I will try to fill in the gaps and look into the links you provided

No problem please come back if you have any further questions.

[tashhh]

Hi all,

 

I have read through brigade diaries and been able to get a better idea of the attack, so thank you for that.

 

I was wondering if anyone had any knowledge of the 3rd of May and whether what I have written up in the attached about my relative seems correct, militarily?

 

Many thanks for any help.

 

Tash

Lawrence Shadbolt History.pdf

[tashhh]

Hello,

I have been researching my great-great-grandfather, and wanted to check with you guys that I have got my maps right! The regimental war diary places him in Arras, near the Chemical Works. His regiment, the 2nd Battalion Essex regiment, commenced the attack at 3:45am on the 3rd of May. He died that day, as did many others. 

The 12th Infantry war diary details the attack, what was MEANT to happen and what DID happen. Their account states the starting position of the 2nd Bn. Essex R. as 

13.b.a.2, which is as below:

 

The battalion suffered heavy losses, and my relative's company were described in the regimental diary as being 'almost wiped out'. The infantry brigade diary states, on its post-attack account:

 

So therefore, I believe that the fighting took place, and he therefore fell, somewhere along the arrowed area I have marked below, with the possibility he may have made it to CROOK or CROW trenches, but no men survived this if it did happen. Have I interpreted this correctly? 

 

Thank you in advance for helping me piece the final parts of his story I have been researching these last few weeks  

Edited 12 August , 2022 by tashhh

[WhiteStarLine]

Hi Tash,

You've done a great bit of research here and full marks for dedication.  Short answer is your interpretation makes sense, with some minor corrections.

Personally I think it is not a good idea to open a total of three separate threads because we can't see the context.  Ken has given you a lot of help in thread #2 and unfortunately you've slightly misquoted the coordinates he gave you and posted it in this thread.  Therefore we can't easily go back and check them.  Also, your black cross - was that an exact point or something on a coordination line?  Hang on, the third thread gives a detailed account suggesting it was a Divisional attack with the Brigade you are interested in on the left, attacking with two battalions forward, lined up on the railway line.

[Edit: Deleted]

This map shows Ken's point at 51b.I.13.b.8.2 on a 9 May 1917 map and Crow Trench is around 250 yards NW of the point on the railway line.

 

 

Edited 13 August , 2022 by WhiteStarLine

[Michelle Young]

As WSL suggests, I’ve merged two of the threads. 

[tashhh]

3 hours ago, WhiteStarLine said:

Hi Tash,

You've done a great bit of research here and full marks for dedication.  Short answer is your interpretation makes sense, with some minor corrections.

Personally I think it is not a good idea to open a total of three separate threads because we can't see the context.  Ken has given you a lot of help in thread #2 and unfortunately you've slightly misquoted the coordinates he gave you and posted it in this thread.  Therefore we can't easily go back and check them.  Also, your black cross - was that an exact point or something on a coordination line?  Hang on, the third thread gives a detailed account suggesting it was a Divisional attack with the Brigade you are interested in on the left, attacking with two battalions forward, lined up on the railway line.

Battalion fighting strength was variable but the fact that a few days later the Brigade recorded over 600 casualties, so there would have been a lot of men lined up behind the railway.  This means that your slightly curved line could not match the actual route they took, which would have been a straight line to the objective.  The Brigade on the right was meant to be keeping pace but fell back, leaving their right flank vulnerable to enemy machine gun fire.

This map shows Ken's point at 51b.I.13.b.8.2 on a 9 May 1917 map and Crow Trench is around 250 yards NW of the point on the railway line.

 

 

 

 

Sorry for creating separate threads, I didn't know if I had to post certain topics under those specific forums, so a lesson for the future!

 

So based on your map, is that the likely STRAIGHT line direction the 2nd Essex Regiment were aiming for? I am just trying to find the area they would have been in and going towards, as I would like to visit the actual place where my relative is sadly possibly still under the ground of.

Also, your second map, with the blue lines, were those blue trenches on that map the allied trenches? Are they what the men were going over the top from?

 

Thank you for your help with this, and again, sorry for creating too many threads, I now know I can keep different topics in the same thread  

[WhiteStarLine]

Hi Tash,

Here is all the data I think you need.  What a hero he was and it is great to see your persistence and that lovely photograph!

You did nothing wrong at all splitting this into threads - however, I had to go right back to first principles of where everyone was and I personally would have given up pulling from 3 separate threads.  Also I've edited my earlier post as once I went through the Brigade Operation Order position by position, your black cross and squiggly line was not relevant and neither was an entire paragraph of mine.

To keep the illustration uncluttered I've shown the same analysis on the Official History, a modern map and a 19 May 1917 trench map as the trenches had not changed in the last 14 or so days.  They advanced from left to right and the top line is the left hand boundary of A Company as they advanced towards Plouvain.  The April / May front line is a long dash with a single dot and the series of red dots were the new front line a few days after he was killed.  Image two shows the area they occupied more clearly.  The line at the bottom represents the right hand boundary of C Company.  Split the triangle into an upper and lower half yourself and the upper half is where Lawrence was.  The assault companies would have started from the front line itself and realistically he probably only lived long enough to last 3 or 400 metres.  The last map shows all named trenches.  His company would have been involved with fighting in Crook trench, particularly the part of the trench heading towards Curly.  He was nowhere near the railway line itself as the LF had one company either side.

Your notes are very comprehensive and I was able to use them to plot Division, Brigade and Battalion boundaries from the trench names you included. 

Cheers, Bill