sugerand Posted 4 December , 2005 Share Posted 4 December , 2005 My Great Uncle Rifleman Frank Bowe was killed in action on the 17th November 1917, near Passcendaele, aged 23yrs. He belonged to the 1/7 Battallion of the West Yorkshire Rgiment and although his body was never recovered he is commemorated on the memorial wall at Tyne Cott. We understand from the regiment records that it was quiet with no fighting in the area on the date of his death and have no further information on the circumstances of his death. My father, also called Frank Bowe was born 10 years after his death and is still alive but has little information. We have visited Ypres and the Passcendaele area but are planning another visit, hopefully armed with more information. Can anyone add to this for us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatspywar Posted 4 December , 2005 Share Posted 4 December , 2005 Hello, I will look into his case first thing tomorrow. All my books and info are in my office at teh Museum. Kind regards, Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugerand Posted 4 December , 2005 Author Share Posted 4 December , 2005 Hello, I will look into his case first thing tomorrow. All my books and info are in my office at teh Museum. Kind regards, Jan Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatspywar Posted 5 December , 2005 Share Posted 5 December , 2005 Hello, I haven't found anything in the book I have here, but soon some more detailed ones will arrive. The Battle of Passchendaele ended around the 10th of November, but the war did not end then. The 49th Division (of which the 1/7 Battallion of the West Yorkshire Rgiment was part) stayed near Passchendaele till December 1917. The fighting continued till half December. Your Great Uncle was probably killed during this "minor" fighting. As soon as we have more info on the 49th Division I will let you know. Do you have a photograph of your great uncle? Kind regards, Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugerand Posted 5 December , 2005 Author Share Posted 5 December , 2005 Hello, I haven't found anything in the book I have here, but soon some more detailed ones will arrive. The Battle of Passchendaele ended around the 10th of November, but the war did not end then. The 49th Division (of which the 1/7 Battallion of the West Yorkshire Rgiment was part) stayed near Passchendaele till December 1917. The fighting continued till half December. Your Great Uncle was probably killed during this "minor" fighting. As soon as we have more info on the 49th Division I will let you know. Do you have a photograph of your great uncle? Kind regards, Jan Jan Thank you for the information. We had gathered that the battle had ended and wondered if he had been injured and died some time later. It seems ironic that he survived that long in those dreadful conditions only to die so late in the war. My dad has his silk death notice, which is a little frayed after so many years but it does have a picture of him on it wearing his uniform. He has scanned it reasonably successfully if that would be of any use I will forward it. please let me know where to send it. I would be grateful for anything else you can find out. I dont suppose you know exactly where he would have been fighting at the time of his death? Many thanks for you kind interest. Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatspywar Posted 5 December , 2005 Share Posted 5 December , 2005 Hello Sue, At this point I don't know exactly, but it must be in the vicinity of Passchendaele itself(nowadays Passendale), so it's not thé biggest area. As soon as we have done our research we might be able to tell you where "exactly". I guess we have to wait until the books have arrived (they are ordered) and until we are able to go to the archives. Could you send me an email, then I can forward you some documents related to our project with all kinds of information in. archives@passchendaele.be Kind regards, Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gericht 1914 Posted 5 December , 2005 Share Posted 5 December , 2005 On 17th November, the 1/7th West yorks were in support lines (having been relieved by the 1/8th W.Yorks on the 15th Nov.) immediately north of Molenaarelsthoek (basically, 3/4 of a mile south-east of Zonnebeke). The Brigade front at this time ran from here to the Broodseinde road. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatspywar Posted 5 December , 2005 Share Posted 5 December , 2005 Most interesting! Where do you get the info from? Kind regards, Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gericht 1914 Posted 5 December , 2005 Share Posted 5 December , 2005 On 17th November, the 1/7th West yorks were in support lines (having been relieved by the 1/8th W.Yorks on the 15th Nov.) immediately north of Molenaarelsthoek (basically, 3/4 of a mile south-east of Zonnebeke). The Brigade front at this time ran from here to the Broodseinde road. D. Found this...(british front-line is dated 29th November 1917, so it is near your required time, and shows the area held by the West Yorks)... D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gericht 1914 Posted 5 December , 2005 Share Posted 5 December , 2005 Most interesting! Where do you get the info from? Kind regards, Jan The West Yorks' Regimental History (Wyrall) D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatspywar Posted 5 December , 2005 Share Posted 5 December , 2005 The West Yorks' Regimental History (Wyrall) D. Hopefully We have ordered that one as well!! Kind regards, Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugerand Posted 6 December , 2005 Author Share Posted 6 December , 2005 On 17th November, the 1/7th West yorks were in support lines (having been relieved by the 1/8th W.Yorks on the 15th Nov.) immediately north of Molenaarelsthoek (basically, 3/4 of a mile south-east of Zonnebeke). The Brigade front at this time ran from here to the Broodseinde road. D. Thank you for this new information Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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