13 bttn rifle brigade military medal info

[Guest eddieblue]

hi all,A friend of mine has come into possession of a MM awarded to pte s/ 6465 Williams.D 13th bttn rifle brigade aged 24 died 4/11/1918(we think he may have been a member of the 9th bttn before this).Can anyone shed any light on when this award was made.Much appreciated.

[Coldstreamer]

welcome to the forum - the london gazette is down at the moment but will look later for you

[Coldstreamer]

if you didnnt know he was from Bolton - perhaps "old chap" can help

[Stebie9173]

His MM was published in the London Gazette of 2-11-1917

S/6465 Pte. D. Williams, R. Bde. (Bolton).

I can't provide a link because the Gazette site is still on the blink.

Steve.

[stiletto_33853]

Hi Eddie,

There are seven Williams in the Nominal Roll of the 9th Battalion for 19th December 1915 but not your man.

He appears in the 13th Battalion War Diary as a casualty on the 4/11/18 which was the attack on Louvignies. I placed an article from an officer who was in "D" Company for this attack on the forum, although I cannot find it at the moment.

Will see what I have on the 13th for the period your man won the MM.

Andy

[stiletto_33853]

Casualty return

[stiletto_33853]

However,

His medal roll does show that at one time he was in the 9th, must have been posted to the 13th before December 1915.

[chrrip]

As a general rule MMs at this time were gazetted three months after the award was made, so suggest check out where the 13th were in Aug 17; suggest also check War Diary for this period

[stiletto_33853]

War Service record for August 1917:

From 1 to 7 August the Battalion was in Ridge defence line in front of Wytschaete, and succeeded in establishing posts at, and north of Rifle Farm. On the 8th it moved to Locre and on the 26th to the reserve area in Rossignol wood. On the 27th it took over the front line at Denys wood.

Andy

[stiletto_33853]

Typical,

Augusts War Diary for the 13th on another PC and not at home.

Still this could be a likely bit for the MM from "For the Duration" the story of the 13th Battalion :

On August 1st, a date which prompted dreams of holidays in the misty past, we were back in the Wytschaete sector, going up the next day to the Ridge Defence Line, with Battalion Headquarters at Lumm Farm and outposts North of Rifle Farm. While here a selected crowd of our fellows launched a night raid. The affair was most successful and old Jerry got a hammering, though we had a number of wounded, among them Lieut. E. Walpole, who was awarded the M.C. for leading the adventure, and that cheerful lad O'Conner, who received a bar to his M.M.

We came out of the line at the end of the week, and the day after we reached our old encampment on Kemmel Hill, news went around that four of the Battalion's bicycles were missing. Corporal Roff of the runners said that they must have perished during the last bombardment, but the Orderly Room Sergeant replied that explanantion was no good at all to the people at Headquarters, adding that the establishment of nine bicycles would have to be made up immediately due to Brigade.

"Don't worry, Serg.!" said the Corporal. "We'll get them bikes replaced toot sweet."

Gathering his boys around him, he told them of a plan. An hour later they all turned up at the pioneer's shop with four first rate machines, purloined, at a favourable moment, from the R.E. dump down the road. It did not take long to transform those bicycles completely, to paint out the R.E. sign and substitute the R.B.'s nicely camouflaged with dirt, and to exchange parts, here and there, with others from the Battalion's own machines.

[stiletto_33853]

When the Engineer Sergeant called next day in quest of four bicycles which had mysteriously disappeared, he was allowed to inspect each of our nine machines, but he went away completely satisfied that he had done us a wrong in doubting our honesty. For a change, the R.B.'s had "got one in" on the R.E.'s. It was worth a hundred digging parties.

From Kemmel we moved to Birr Barracks, a collection of huts near the village of Locre, the Officer's Mess being housed in the Convent Scholl of St. Anthony. Apart from providing fatigues and carrying out the inevitable training, we kept out of touch with the business of war during the next fortnight, although our minds were brought back to it again when we were asked to attend the funeral of Brig.-Gen. R.C. Maclachlan, D.S.O., Commander of the 112th Infantry Brigade, who had been killed in the trenches. As he was a distinguished soldier of the Rifle Brigade, it was fitting that the bearers and firing party at his burial should come from a Battalion of the Green Jackets.

The Birthday of the Regiment was celebrated on August 25th when bands from Divisional Headquarters and the 8th Somersets enlivened the programme of sports and football. Unfortunately we lost to the Australians at Rugby, our first defeat since arriving in France, but it would probably have been a victory for the R.B.'s had we been able to keep that wonderful team which we had before the Somme, then composed almost entirely of South Africans, with a sprinkling of Welshman.

After Locre came the reserve trenches in Rossignol wood, and then the front line in Denys Wood. The rainy season had now set in, and with the trenches in a bad condition, the dug-outs all lousy and damp, and hot foodscarcely obtainable, there was little comfort to be had. During our period of duty here (on August 29th) we lost Captain H.N. Ries, who was badly wounded by a shell and incapacitated for the rest of the war.

Andy

[greatspywar]

Hi all,

Thank you for sharing this in the Passchendaele topic, but I believe there is no any relation to Passchendaele 1917?

best wishes,

Jan

[chrrip]

Suggest you check out O'Connors Gazette date to see if there is a match; 5 London Gazette dates for Polygon Wood 16.8.17 are 2.11.17 so looks promising