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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Sydney Brereton, Sapper


Ken Lees

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303 Sapper Sydney Brereton served with the 1st (North Midland) Field Coy.

He died 21/04/16 and is buried at Ecoivres Military Cemetery, Mont-St Eloi.

That's all the information I was given by a colleague who is a distant relation of Brereton.

Can anyone add anything to the information?

My colleague intends to visit the National Archives in due course but I would appreciate any info that I can pass on.

Ken

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Ken

A long search but eventually decoded 2/1 North Midlands to be renumbered as 468 Field Company Royal Engineers,a part of the 46 Division set-up. So when your colleague visits Kew he can look up the War Diary under WO95/2678,which covers the period Feb 1915 to Jun 1919.

Best wishes

Sotonmate

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Ken,

The 46th Division was coming to the end of a particularly nasty tour on Vimy Ridge (Area Mont St Eloi to Carency) where they had been subject to the setting of a number of German mines under their trenches. A mine was blown under the front line trenches then occupied by the 4th Lincolns on the night of the 20th/21st April. The reports to the Adjutant of the 46th Division gave the results as 2nd Lt. W R Wright missing and 2nd Lt. J N Leleu wounded, 9 other ranks killed, 22 other ranks wounded and 16 missing. In fact, 2nd Lt. Wright and 15 of his men had been buried some eight feet down by the mine. None survived. In addition, other units lost:

6th S Staffs 1 OR wounded

4th Leicesters 5 OR killed, 10 OR wounded

5th Leicesters 2nd Lt Pickworth wounded, 3 OR wounded

8th Sherwoods 1 OR wounded

1/1st NM Coy RE (465th Coy) 2 OR wounded

No record, according to the 46th Div Adjutant of a 2/1st NM Coy RE casualty that night or indeed at any time during March or April but Adjutant's lists were not fool proof. I don't have the April War Diary for the RE units.

Bill

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Thanks Bill, that starts to put some flesh onto the bones.

Obviously, the War Diary is a must to get to the bottom of this.

My colleague will, in the first instance, obtain a copy of the MIC which will hopefully bracket his service start/finish and be the basis of her research.

Thanks again,

Ken

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