Pte Reginald walker Duke of wellingtons

[marine pete]

Pte Reginald Walker 18832 Duke of Wellingtons 2nd Bn KIA 1/7/16 Formerly North Staffs Regiment 8678 Born Honley Yorkshire Any Information Please Regards Peter.

[devonmaid]

http://content.ancestry.co.uk/iexec/?htx=V...amp;pid=5184444

Name: WALKER, REGINALD

Initials: R

Nationality: United Kingdom

Rank: Private

Regiment/Service: Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)

Unit Text: 2nd Bn.

Date of Death: 01/07/1916

Service No: 18832

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: Pier and Face 6 A and 6 B.

Memorial: THIEPVAL MEMORIAL

Ellie

[devonmaid]

Name: Reginald Walker

Age: 4

Estimated Birth Year: 1897

Relation: Son

Father's Name: Joseph

Mother's Name: Mary A

Gender: Male

Where born: Honley, Yorkshire, England

Civil Parish: Honley

Ecclesiastical parish: Honley St Mary

County/Island: Yorkshire

Country: England

Street address:

Occupation:

Condition as to marriage:

Education:

Employment status: View Image

Registration district: Huddersfield

Sub registration district: Honley

ED, institution, or vessel: 17

Neighbors: View others on page

Household schedule number: 62

Household Members: Name Age

Joseph Walker 40

Mary A Walker 36

Herber L Walker 18

Edith Walker 16

Arthur Walker 14

Georg W Walker 10

Lucy Walker 8

Reginald Walker 4

Kathleen M Walker 3

Ellie

[Tony Lund]

On July 1st 1916, the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, was now part of the 12th Infantry Brigade. Prior to the attack the 2nd Battalion had a breakfast of hot tea with meat and vegetables at 5:30 a.m. and advanced at 8:55 a.m. from their assembly trenches east of a sugar beet factory on the Mailly Maillet to Serre Road, and moved into the Quadrilateral trench system, known to the German Army as the Heidenkopf.

The 12th Infantry Brigade, together with the 10th and 11th Infantry Brigades, constituted the 4th Division. In the VIII Corps sector, the 4th Division was to attack between the villages of Beaumont Hamel and Serre. The four battalions of the 11th Infantry Brigade together with two battalions from the 48th Division made the first assault on the German trenches. The 11th Brigade attacked at 7:40 a.m. and immediately suffered heavy losses from enemy machine-gun fire, although some small groups were able to enter the trench system known as the Quadrilateral.

The 10th and 12th Brigades moved up to the front line, they were due to cross No Man’s Land at 9:30 a.m. But in view of the fate of the 11th Brigade the Divisional Headquarters sent down a runner with a message telling the 10th and 12th Brigades not to attack until the situation had clarified. Unfortunately the message did not arrive in time and only one company of the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington’s was successfully stopped, and the attack went ahead on schedule at 9:30 a.m. with the three remaining companies. By the time the message reached them they were under shellfire and the officers decided it would be better to continue going forward. It came under heavy fire but portions of the battalion and other 4th Division units did occupy the German trenches, especially around the area of the Quadrilateral.

The Quadrilateral was known to the German Army as the Heidenkopf. Situated near the Serre Road, and close by the post war Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery known as the Serre Road Number 2 Cemetery. Today the cemetery contains 7,127 British and Empire graves from the First World War, mostly from 1916, and 4,944 of these are unknown soldiers.

2nd Battalion’s Headquarters were established in Taupin Trench, and from there it was possible to see the battalion’s men pulling back to the German second line, clearly they had passed beyond that point before being forced back. The attacks from the divisions on their flanks had failed, and consequently the Germans were able to attack the 4th Division’s men from three sides at once. By nightfall they were left holding Burrow, Wulf and Legend trenches. Willie Barrowclough got a chance to go over and check the bodies that night, and sometime later they retired from the position.

One of the battalion’s men later wrote: “After crossing our front line trench we got into artillery formation, 20 yards distance from each section, and that’s the way we went on until we got to the German wire. After that we extended, and then the serious business began. The few Germans who were left alive after our guns had done their work we soon put out, and then we went on to the second line, leaving a couple of men to bomb the dug-outs. When we got to the second line the fighting became desperate, and when we had finished there we went forward again to the third line, and here we had to wait for reinforcements, which were not long in coming up.

“After getting into formation again, we advanced right into a German attack, for the ___ Division on our right were still taking Beaumont Hamel, and in our rush we had got right past them and when the Germans saw us in front of the third line to their right, they turned their guns round and clean on to us, and we suffered heavy losses. We got into the trenches, however, at the finish, and had to stay there until Beaumont Hamel was cleared. In the meantime the enemy took advantage of our having to stay in the trenches, and rushed up his reinforcements for his last two lines of trenches, and our men were again severely punished. Although our efforts to take Puisieux, Serre, and Beaumont Hamel failed at this time, we succeeded in capturing these important positions later.”

There is a picture of the Honley War Memorial at the bottom of the page in this link.

Honley War Memorial.

Tony.

[marine pete]

On July 1st 1916, the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington's West Riding Regiment, was now part of the 12th Infantry Brigade. Prior to the attack the 2nd Battalion had a breakfast of hot tea with meat and vegetables at 5:30 a.m. and advanced at 8:55 a.m. from their assembly trenches east of a sugar beet factory on the Mailly Maillet to Serre Road, and moved into the Quadrilateral trench system, known to the German Army as the Heidenkopf.

The 12th Infantry Brigade, together with the 10th and 11th Infantry Brigades, constituted the 4th Division. In the VIII Corps sector, the 4th Division was to attack between the villages of Beaumont Hamel and Serre. The four battalions of the 11th Infantry Brigade together with two battalions from the 48th Division made the first assault on the German trenches. The 11th Brigade attacked at 7:40 a.m. and immediately suffered heavy losses from enemy machine-gun fire, although some small groups were able to enter the trench system known as the Quadrilateral.

The 10th and 12th Brigades moved up to the front line, they were due to cross No Man's Land at 9:30 a.m. But in view of the fate of the 11th Brigade the Divisional Headquarters sent down a runner with a message telling the 10th and 12th Brigades not to attack until the situation had clarified. Unfortunately the message did not arrive in time and only one company of the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington's was successfully stopped, and the attack went ahead on schedule at 9:30 a.m. with the three remaining companies. By the time the message reached them they were under shellfire and the officers decided it would be better to continue going forward. It came under heavy fire but portions of the battalion and other 4th Division units did occupy the German trenches, especially around the area of the Quadrilateral.

The Quadrilateral was known to the German Army as the Heidenkopf. Situated near the Serre Road, and close by the post war Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery known as the Serre Road Number 2 Cemetery. Today the cemetery contains 7,127 British and Empire graves from the First World War, mostly from 1916, and 4,944 of these are unknown soldiers.

2nd Battalion's Headquarters were established in Taupin Trench, and from there it was possible to see the battalion's men pulling back to the German second line, clearly they had passed beyond that point before being forced back. The attacks from the divisions on their flanks had failed, and consequently the Germans were able to attack the 4th Division's men from three sides at once. By nightfall they were left holding Burrow, Wulf and Legend trenches. Willie Barrowclough got a chance to go over and check the bodies that night, and sometime later they retired from the position.

One of the battalion's men later wrote: "After crossing our front line trench we got into artillery formation, 20 yards distance from each section, and that's the way we went on until we got to the German wire. After that we extended, and then the serious business began. The few Germans who were left alive after our guns had done their work we soon put out, and then we went on to the second line, leaving a couple of men to bomb the dug-outs. When we got to the second line the fighting became desperate, and when we had finished there we went forward again to the third line, and here we had to wait for reinforcements, which were not long in coming up.

"After getting into formation again, we advanced right into a German attack, for the ___ Division on our right were still taking Beaumont Hamel, and in our rush we had got right past them and when the Germans saw us in front of the third line to their right, they turned their guns round and clean on to us, and we suffered heavy losses. We got into the trenches, however, at the finish, and had to stay there until Beaumont Hamel was cleared. In the meantime the enemy took advantage of our having to stay in the trenches, and rushed up his reinforcements for his last two lines of trenches, and our men were again severely punished. Although our efforts to take Puisieux, Serre, and Beaumont Hamel failed at this time, we succeeded in capturing these important positions later."

There is a picture of the Honley War Memorial at the bottom of the page in this link.

Honley War Memorial.

Tony.

Thanks Tony for the Information Regards Peter.