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7th (Leeds Rifles) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment
7th Battalion, (Leeds Rifles) West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own), a territorial battalion was at Carlton Barracks, Leeds in August 1914 when war broke out. On the 10th of August they moved to Selby, and end of the month to Strenshall, in late October they moved to York. In March 1915 they moved to Gainsborough before proceeding to France, sailing from Folkestone on the 15th of April 1915, landing at Boulogne with the 146th Brigade, 49th (West Riding) Division.They served on the Western Front throughout the conflict, seeing action at Aubers Ridge, on the Somme, the Flanders Coast, the Third Battle of Ypres, the Battle of the Lys and the final advance in Picardy.
4th Aug 1914 West Yorkshire Territorials march into Scarborough The Territorials of the West Riding Brigade, 5th, 7th and 8th Battalions West Yorkshire Regiment broke camp near Scarborough and marched to Scarborough railway station to entrain for the journey home.
10th Aug 1914 West Yorks Territorials concentrate at Selby The territorials of the West Yorkshire Regiment arrive at Selby on the 10th of August, the 5th Battalion arriving from York, the 6th Battalion from Bradford, the 7th and 8th Battalions from their base at Carlton Barracks.
25th Dec 1914 In Billets
27th Apr 1915 Instruction
2nd May 1915 On the March 
8th May 1915 Orders
9th May 1915 Attack Made
17th May 1915 Orders
16th Oct 1915 The Derby Scheme
1st Dec 1915 Derby Scheme Armlets
11th Sep 1915 Last day of Derby Scheme Recruitment
19th Dec 1915 Gas Attack
30th Dec 1915 Late Christmas Dinner
10th Jan 1916 Group System Reopens
28th Jan 1916 A Sad Day at Rest Camp
9th February 1916 Call Ups
1st Jul 1916 In Action
1st July 1916 Terrible Losses
22nd July 1916 Reliefs
27th of September 1916 On the Move
29th of September 1916 Consolidation
25th Mar 1917 Enemy Attack
4th June 1917 Entertainment
7th June 1917 Working Parties
13th June 1917 Horse Show
14th June 1917 Horse Show
15th June 1917 Reconnaissance
1st Nov 1917 Inspection
2nd Nov 1917 Training
3rd Nov 1917 Orders
4th Nov 1917 Orders
5th Nov 1917 Demonstration
6th Nov 1917 Orders
7th Nov 1917 Orders
8th Nov 1917 On the Move
9th Nov 1917 Reliefs
11th Nov 1917 Reliefs
12th Nov 1917 Reliefs
13th Nov 1917 Some Shelling
14th Nov 1917 Shelling
15th Nov 1917 Reliefs
16th Nov 1917 Shelling
17th Nov 1917 Prisoners
18th Nov 1917 Shelling
19th Nov 1917 Prisoners
24th Nov 1917 Shelling
25th Nov 1917 Shelling
28th Nov 1917 Reliefs
29th Nov 1917 Reliefs
1st Mar 1918 Raid
6th Mar 1918 Shelling
7th Mar 1918 Information
8th Mar 1918 Artillery Active
9th Mar 1918 Counter Attack
10th Mar 1918 Quiet
12th Mar 1918 Balloon
13th Mar 1918 Trench Raid
14th Mar 1918 Shellfire
15th Mar 1918 Artillery Active
16th Mar 1918 Artillery Active
17th Mar 1918 Raid
18th Mar 1918 Shelling
19th Mar 1918 Quieter
20th Mar 1918 Shelling
21st Mar 1918 Gas
22nd Mar 1918 Enemy Quieter
23rd Mar 1918 Enemy Quieter
24th Mar 1918 Prisoners
25th Mar 1918 Raids
26th Mar 1918 Orders
27th Mar 1918 Reliefs
28th Mar 1918 Quiet
29th Mar 1918 Quiet
30th Mar 1918 Reliefs
31st Mar 1918 Quiet
1st Apr 1918 Reliefs
2nd Apr 1918 Intermittent Shelling
3rd Apr 1918 Reliefs
4th Apr 1918 Quiet
5th Apr 1918 Reliefs
6th Apr 1918 Reliefs
7th Apr 1918 Raid
8th Apr 1918 Prisoners
9th Apr 1918 Orders
10th Apr 1918 Attack Made
11th Apr 1918 Rearguard Action
12th Apr 1918 Line Holding
13th Apr 1918 Line Holding
19th Apr 1918 Reliefs
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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| Want to know more about 7th (Leeds Rifles) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment? There are:5319 items tagged 7th (Leeds Rifles) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War.
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Those known to have served with7th (Leeds Rifles) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment during the Great War 1914-1918. - Atkinson John Henry. L Cpl
- Binns Ernest. Rfm. (d.15th Aug 1915)
- Binns Walter. Pte. (d.13th November 1917)
- Brannigan Ernest Edward. 2nd Lt. (d.3rd Sep 1916)
- Brannigan Ernest Edward. 2nd Lt. (d.3rd Sep 1916)
- Clayton Alfred.
- Eaglen James. Pte.
- Knight Thomas. Rflmn (d.12th Oct 1917)
- Learmonth Charles Allen. 2nd Lt. (d.9th Oct 1917)
- Lofthouse John Arthur. Pte.
- Oliver Edward. Rflmn (d.2nd July 1916)
- Senior Joseph Fearns. Lance Corpral (d.17  Nov 1917)
- Smith Norman. Pte. (d.26th May 1915)
- Smith Norman. Pte. (d.26th May 1915 )
- Upton Alfred James. Pte. (d.13 October 1918)
- Walters DCM. Leonard.
All names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
please Add a Name to this List
Records of 7th (Leeds Rifles) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment from other sources.
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Rfm. Ernest Binns 1/7th Btn. B Coy West Yorkshire Regiment (d.15th Aug 1915) I have recently returned from a trip to the Ypres salient. Whilst I was there I photographed a number of West Yorks Regiment gravestones. I visited the grave of Ernest Binns in particular (at New Irish Farm cemetery) as he was killed next to my wife's grandfather whilst rescuing other members of the regiment, (they were both stretcher bearers I believe but this may not have been the case). My wife's Grandfather Leonard Waters won the DCM for this and other actions.
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Leonard Walters DCM. 1/7th Btn. West Yorkshire Regiment My wife's Grandfather Leonard Waters won the DCM for his actions as a stretcher barer near Irish Farm in the Ypres Salient.
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L Cpl John Henry "Jack" Atkinson 7th Btn 9th Platoon West Yorkshire Regiment My grandfather John Atkinson was born in 1892, he survived the war and became an engineer. He married Hester Holroyd and lived in Seacroft Leeds for many years before moving south to live near their daughter. He died in Ottery St Mary, Devon in 1985.
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Pte. John Arthur Lofthouse 7th Btn. West Yorkshire Regiment John Arthur Lofthouse is my maternal grandfather who served in both World Wars. He enlisted in 1916(?) and saw action at Ypres but never spoke of his time in the Great War.
He was under age, as were many others, but joined up with his friends, having worked in the coal mines from the age of 12.
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Pte. Norman Smith 1/7th Btn. West Yorkshire (d.26th May 1915 ) Norman Smith is the son of my great great aunt, Mary Elizabeth Crabtree, her husband was Lawrence Arthur Smith. He was born in Batley. Mary was born in Warwickshire. They had Lucy and Norman.
I am desperate to find a photograph of Norman Smith. It is important that this young man and all those who fought are never forgotten by us.
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Pte. Norman Smith 1st/7th Btn. West Yorkshire Regiment (d.26th May 1915) Sadly, I know very little about Norman Smith. His mother was Mary Elizabeth Crabtree, who was born in Atherstone, Warwickshire in 1869. His father was Arthur Lawrence Smith, who was born in Batley, Yorkshire in 1867. His parents met and married while his mother was a nurse at Menston, Yorkshire. His father worked as a porter. He had a sister, Lucy, who was born in 1893. In the 1911 Census his father was church caretaker at Trinity Church House, Hillary Place, Leeds, Yorkshire. (This is now a nightclub, apparently.)
On the date of Norman's death, his parents had moved to Albion Street, Leeds. Norman Smith joined up in 1914 at Leeds. I do not have any photographs of him, I wish I had, but do have one of his mother Mary Elizabeth Crabtree - her father William Henry Crabtree was my great great grandfather. Mary Elizabeth Crabtree was born to William Henry and Annie Watts. She had a sister, Ellen Crabtree, who married Thomas Bowcott. No one seems to know about Norman Smith, one of the sadly forgotten, but as his great great niece I wish him to be remembered.
Norman was 19 when he was killed - he is buried in Rue-Petillon Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix.
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2nd Lt. Charles Allen Learmonth (d.9th Oct 1917) 2nd Lieut. Charles Learmonth, of the 1st/7th West Yorkshire Regt. (Leeds Rifles) fell in action at Paschendaele on the 9th of October 1917. He also served as a Volunteer in the Transvaal Scottish in the South West African campaign.
He was of a lovable disposition and deeply regretted by his colonel and
Brother officers.
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2nd Lt. Ernest Edward Brannigan 1/7th (Leeds Rifles) Btn. West Yorkshire Regiment (d.3rd Sep 1916) 2nd Lieut. Ernest Edward Brannigan, a native of Dublin, was the only son of Major J. H. Brannigan late RAMC.
He fell in action on the Somme on the 3rd September 1916.
The CO of the 49 division considered it was a great loss to the division and his colonel and brother officers deeply regretted him.
He had also served as a volunteer in the South African War 1899-1902 receiving The Queen’s Medal and 6 clasps, the King Edward VII Medal with 2 clasps. In 1914 he served as a volunteer in the Transvaal Scottish he served under General Botha in the South West African campaign.
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Alfred Clayton 7th (Leeds Rifles) Btn. West Yorkshire Regiment Alfred Clayton was born in Leeds on the 24th of April 1887, the son of John Clayton and Rosa Lavina Moore.
He served with the 7th Btn, West Yorkshire Regiment, the Leeds Rifles, in France and after the war was a district supervisior
of a hardware chain store. He moved to Canada in 1930.
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Rflmn Thomas Knight 1/8th Btn. West Yorks Regiment (d.12th Oct 1917) Thomas Knight died of wounds received at the Battle of Poelcappelle, aged 38.
He is buried at Nine Elms British Cemetery, Poperinghe, Belgium.
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Pte. James Eaglen 7th Btn. West Yorkshire Regiment James Eaglen was invalided home and after several months of treatment was discharged unfit for further action in February 1917.
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2nd Lt. Ernest Edward Brannigan 7th Battalion (Leeds Rifles) West Yorkshire Regiment (d.3rd Sep 1916) Ernest Brannigan was born in Dublin, the only son of Major J.H. Brannigan, late R.A.M.C.
He served as a volunteer in the South African War 1899-1902. In 1914 he served in the South West African Campaign as a volunteer in the Transvaal Scottish.
While serving with the West Yorkshire Regiment 7th Battalion (Leeds Rifles) (Territorial) he was killed in action in France in September 1916.
He is commemorated on a private memorial in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.
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Lance Corpral Joseph Fearns Senior 1st / 7th Bn West Yorkshire Regt (Prince of Wales Own) (d.17  Nov 1917)
Would like to find out my relations military history
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