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7th Battalion, West Riding Regiment (Duke of Wellingtons)    7th Battalion West Riding Regiment was a Territorial unit based in Milnsbridge, serving with 2nd West Riding Brigade, West Riding Division. When war broke out in August 1914, the units of the Division had just departed for their annual summer camp, they were at once recalled to their home base and mobilised for war service, taking up possition on the coastal defences near Hull and Grimsby. On the 5th of November they moved to billets in Doncaster for the winter. They trained in the South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in preparation for service overseeas. They proceeded to France on the 17th of April 1915, sailing from Folkestone to Boulogne. The Division concentrated in the area around Estaires. On the 15th of May the formation was renamed 147th Brigade, 49th (West Riding) Division. Their first action was in the The Battle of Aubers Ridge in May 1915. In 1916 They were in action in the Battles of the Somme. In 1917 they were involved in the Operations on the Flanders Coast and the The Battle of Poelcapelle during the Third Battle of Ypres. In 1918 they were in action during the Battles of the Lys, The pursuit to the Selle and the Final Advance in Picardy. At the Armistice, The 49th Division was resting at Douai, demobilisation began in early 1919. 4th Aug 1914 2nd West Riding Brigade leave Marske  The 2nd West Riding Brigade are at their annual camp near Marske on the North Yorkshire Coast, they broke camp this morning. 3000 territorials of the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Battalions, Duke of Wellington's West Riding Regiment marched to Saltburn station and entrained on specially commissioned rolling stock, for their home bases. 11th DLI Martin Bashforth 11th Jun 1915 Relief Complete 17th Jun 1915 Enemy Aircraft 24th Jun 1915 Working Parties 16th Oct 1915 The Derby Scheme 1st Dec 1915 Derby Scheme Armlets 11th Sep 1915 Last day of Derby Scheme Recruitment 10th Jan 1916 Group System Reopens 9th February 1916 Call Ups 1st of June 1916 Lively Shelling   19th Mar 1917 Trench Raid   20th Mar 1917 Patrol 21st Mar 1917 Occasional Shells   4th June 1917 Entertainment 14th June 1917 Horse Show 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 9th Nov 1917 Reliefs 11th Nov 1917 Reliefs   12th Nov 1917 Reliefs   19th Nov 1917 Prisoners   20th Nov 1917 Communications   21st Nov 1917 Orders   23rd Nov 1917 Quiet   24th Nov 1917 Shelling   25th Nov 1917 Shelling   27th Nov 1917 Reliefs   28th Nov 1917 Reliefs   29th Nov 1917 Reliefs   1st Mar 1918 Raid 2nd Mar 1918 Prisoners Taken   6th Mar 1918 Shelling   7th Mar 1918 Information   8th Mar 1918 Artillery Active   9th Mar 1918 Counter Attack   10th Mar 1918 Quiet   11th Mar 1918 Trench Raid   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 Messages 9th Apr 1918 Orders 10th Apr 1918 Orders to Move  Orders were received by the 6th West Ridings at 12.15am to move off from Reninghelct in buses; the buses moved off about 3am. and we arrived at Le Creche at about 5am. We then proceeded to march to the vicinity of Le Veau (map reference B14a, Sheet 36) where the battalion halted and their packs were stacked. Tea was made for the men and the orders for the next moved were issued. Our transport proceeded by road from the Busseboom area to vicinity of Neuve Eglise (map reference T14b, sheet 18). The battalion moved off a little after 9am by platoons at 100 yard intervals and took up an assembly position about L'Epinette cross roads (map reference B27b, sheet 36. 'A' and 'B' companies were to the south and 'C' and 'D' companies to the north. The 1/4th. D. of W. were on our right and the 1/7th. D. of W. were on our left. From 10.30am onwards, Erquinghem-Lys was heavily shelled. Orders were received at about 1pm. and the battalion moved across to the Nieppe defences, which consisted of a strong line well wired. Our left rested on Armentieres Road (map reference B16b, sheet Croix du Bac) after readjustement with 1/7th. Battalion. 'B' Company were on the right with the right part of the railway (map reference B28a)and 'D' Company was on the left with the left part on the Armentieres road. 'C' Company was at first in support but later was pushed in to assist 'B' Company. 'A' Company remained in reserve but sent one platoon to be in close support to 'B' and 'C' Companies. Our trenches filled up all day with stragglers from the 22nd. and 25th. Northumberland Fusiliers and the 15th. and 16th. Royal Scots. One complete company of the 23rd. N. F.'s crowded into the left of our line and came under our C. O.'s orders. A fairly quiet night passed with some shelling on Nieppe and Pont du Nieppe. Gas shells were prevalent. Casualties on this day for 6th Battalion West Riding Regt were 10964 Private H. Kilburn (Killed in Action), 19550 Private W. Marsden (Wounded), 24765 Lance Corporal H. Spink (Wounded), 267843 Private C. Sprigg (Wounded) and 267555 Private A Stocks. (Wounded accidentally) 10th Apr 1918 Messages 10th Apr 1918 In Action 10th Apr 1918 Attack Made   11th Apr 1918 In Action 11th Apr 1918 Rearguard Action   12th Apr 1918 Line Holding   13th Apr 1918 Enemy Attacks  The early morning of the 13th. was very quiet. Rations were delivered to the companies of the 6th West Riding Regt by 4.30am. and the C. O. and the Intelligence Officer went round the lines at about 5am. and found everything in good order and the line well s....ted. It was found that in the readjustment of the line during the night of 12th./ 13th. 'B' Company was in support to 'A' Company and a little behind was their left flank. At about 3pm., the enemy commenced shelling the line and also roads and farms in the rear. The enemy attacked on 7th. D. of W.'s front and also on the 16th. Royal Scots on their left and further to their left again. The enemy was also active on our right about the railway but any contemplated attack was dispersed by rifle and Lewis gun fire, The troops on the battalion's left gave ground and 'D' Company were left with their flank in the air. The Bosche approached to within 100/ 150 yards and suffered very heavy casualties from 'D' Company's rifle and Lewis gun fire. They were held up for some considerable time. Eventually, the enemy worked round both flanks of 'D' Company and forced them to withdraw. It is certain that 'D' Company killed a very large number of the enemy and themselves suffered severe casualties. Sergeant Berry and Sergeant Harding were killed and 2nd. Lieutenant Armitage and 2nd. Lieutenant Sunderland were wounded. [NB. Both these officers, on the casualty list compiled on 21/05/1918 which I have used, are shown as wounded on 12/04/1918). 'B' Company were sent up to reinforce the troops in front and, in spite of heavy machine gun fire, they pushed into a forward position and assisted to hold up the enemy, who had made an advance of about 500 yards. After this, our line remained firm and, at about 9.45pm., orders were received to withdraw in accordance with attached. This withdrawal was carried out without incident and the line was duly established. [NB. No details of where this new line was have survived but the battalion H. Q. was established at Bailleul]. Casualties on this day for 6th Battalion West Riding Regt were Major G. Tanner (Wounded at Duty), Lieutenant A. C. Stalman (Wounded), 2nd. Lt. F. V. Mellors (Wounded at Duty), 265485 Sergeant J. Bury (Killed in Action), 265069 Sergeant A. Davis (Missing, but since rejoined)266754 Lance Sergeant A. Gregson (Wounded), 266537 Corporal J. W. Tillottson (Killed in Action), 265139 Private J. Appleby (Wounded), 20385 Private J. Armitage (n. Y. D. N.), 241737 Private W. L. Beeson (Wounded), 242760 Private H. Bennett (Missing), 203417 Private F. Burls (Wounded), 24302 Private C. Cahalin (Wounded), 267445 Private R. V. Casson (Killed in Action),23871 Private J. W. Carter (Killed in Action), 242030 Private J. Charlesworth (Wounded), 11883 Private C. Connel (Missing), 267912 Private R. Cooper (Wounded), 25503 Private W. Craig (Wounded), 11299 Private W. Crossland (Wounded), 267396 Private A. Crossley (Wounded), 17017 Private W. Dempsie (Wounded), 267522 Private W. Denby (Wounded), 242604 Private H. Ellison (Wounded), 265238 Private F. Gee (Wounded), 267539 Private A. Gill (Wounded), 23888 Private W. Greenwood (Wounded), 26674 Private A. Griffin (Missing), 242755 Private J. Gunningham (Wounded), 266339 Private T. Hargreaves (Wounded), 268279 Private E. Hawkesby (Killed in Action0, 29375 Private F. Haywood (Wounded & died of wounds 14/04/1918), 267592 Private I. Hillary (Wounded), 12170 Private F. Jowett (Wounded), 242520 Private H. Maddeys (Missing), 24208 Private H. Mounsey (Killed in Action), 14895 Private A. V. Nalson (Missing), 25146 Private H. Roundstein (Missing), 267921 Private J. C. Rymer (Killed in Action), 41204 Private A. L. Shaw (Wounded), 242213 Private J. M. Smith (Missing), 26622 Private W. Stephenson (Missing), 29807 Private J. W. Stringer (Wounded at Duty), 267588 Private A. Thornton (Wounded), 24357 Private F. Wall (Wounded), 11671 Private C. H. Walton (Wounded), 41209 Private T. H. Watkins (Wounded), 265619 Private W. Watson (Wounded), 24165 Private H. Westfield (Wounded), 31742 Private H. Wilkinson (Wounded), 300139 Private A. Wood (Killed in Action). 13th Apr 1918 Line Holding   14th Apr 1918 Advance Stopped  The early morning was quiet and all the men were in good form, although tired. As the day proceeded, the enemy became rather more active and shelled heavily in the afternoon. At about (time left blank) it became evident that the enemy was again active on our right and a party of Bosche was seen from 6th Duke of Wellington Battalion's H. Q. to be through our line and only about 400/ 500 yards away from our H. Q. All H. Q. details, under Lieutenant Stewart and Regimental Sergeant Major Richardson were put into position with a view to filling the gap until assistance arrived. They opened rapid fire on the enemy, inflicted casualties and undoubtedly stopped the enemy's advance until a platoon of 'C' Company and a company of the 1/7th. D. of W. and 1/4th. D. of. W. arrived on the scene, when the H. Q. party was withdrawn. Casualties to H. Q. details numbered about 5 wounded by rifle and machine gun fire. The situation then quietened down and Battalion H. Q. was withdrawn about 300 yards back into a cellar. (NB. This entry in the War Diary is the only one available for 14/04/1918 and it seems unlikely that what the rest of the 1/6th. were doing on this day was ever recorded]. Casualties on this day for 6th Battalion West Riding Regt were 265626 Sergeant F. Cryer (Wounded), 303011 Sergeant F. Nicholson (Wounded), 266634 Sergeant A. Taylor (Killed in Action), 14703 Lance Sergeant J. W. Russell (Wounded), 203745 Corporal T. Howard (Killed in Action), 31778 Private F. R. Ainley (Wounded), 23866 Private T. Alderson (Wounded), 267634 Private A. V. Austin (Wounded), 266563 Private H. Baldwin (Wounded), 265142 Private P. Baldwin (Wounded), 26715 Private K. Bartlett (Wounded), 241457 Private H. Beaumont (Wounded), 267015 Private H. A. Boocock (Wounded), 17003 Private J. Boyd (Wounded), 300160 Private S. S. Buffett (Wounded), 265647 Private J. T. Cardus (Wounded), 266920 Private M. Chapman (Wounded), 242636 Private W. Charlesworth (Killed in Action), 267554 Private W. W. Cooper (Killed in Action), 267496 Private A. Crook (Wounded), 203239 Private E. Davison (Wounded and missing), 265986 Private J. W. Emmott (Wounded), 267505 Private F. E. Gaukrodger (Wounded), 240648 Private J. Haigh (Wounded), 267512 Private G. Harker (Wounded), 265387 Private A. Higgins (Wounded), 266726 Private J. W. Hilton (Killed in Action), 267868 Private F. Holden (Wounded), 26569 Private A. Jackson (Wounded), 18185 Private D. Kellett (Wounded), 303006 Private G. Lamb (Killed in Action), 266851 Private J. A. Leach (Wounded), 267829 Private J. Littlewood (Wounded), 268156 Private J. Lockwood (Killed in Action), 266803 Private F. W. Major (Wounded), 267962 Private M. Maloney (Wounded), 266562 Private P. McCann (Wounded), 265290 Private D. McFarland (Wounded), 267884 Private H O'Melia (Wounded & died of wounds 23/04/1918), 267426 Private P. Phillips (Wounded), 265009 Private C. W. Ralph (Wounded), 267888 Private A. Rothery (Wounded), 267734 Private W. Smith (Wounded), 267895 Private W. G. Smith (Killed in Action), 267924 Private C. Stenton (Killed in Action), 268426 Private F. G. Sunderland (Wounded), 41179 Private J. Taylor (Killed in Action), 41138 Private O. Taylor (Wounded), 266199 Private H. Waddington (Wounded), 29943 Private H. Wails (Killed in Action), 26657 Private S. R. Walton (Wounded and missing), 300135 Private C. Ward (Wounded), 266536 Private G. R. Watson (Wounded), 26653 Private H. Westridge (Wounded), 29894 Private W. Whitwam (Wounded), 242412 Private F. Wilkinson (Wounded). 14th Apr 1918 In Action 16th Apr 1918 Attacks Made   17th Apr 1918 Attacks Made   18th Apr 1918 Relief 18th Apr 1918 Attacks Made   19th Apr 1918 Snow   19th Apr 1918 Reliefs   25th Apr 1918 Shelling Continues  The enemy continued the shelling of Poperinghe during the morning and, at 9am., a shell fell in the stables, killing two grooms and severely wounding five others. Two horses were hit and had to be destroyed. Orders were received at 10.15am by the 6th West Ridings to move to Ouderdum, where the Brigade would be placed at the disposal ox IX Division. The Battalion embussed on the Poperinghe to Busseboom road and reached Ouderdum at about 12.15pm. On arrival, orders were received for the 1/7th. D. of W. Battalion and ourselves to form a defensive flank on the line of Milky Way and to establish connection between the left of the French troops at Millekruise crosswords and the right of Cheapsie Line at Beaver Corner. The battalion moved off by platoons to Millekruise crossroads to take up positions but orders were received about 3pm. for our line to run from the French left flank at approximately N7d 4.4 to N8d 4.5 (map references). The 1/7th West Riding Battalion was establishing a line from that point to map reference N15b 0.5. 'A' and 'B' Companies immediately set to work and dug in on this line in support of the Black Watch and the French, with 'C' Company in support at map reference N8a 7.8 'D' Company was kept in battalion reserve at map reference N1b 3.3. At 6.10pm, further orders were received to take over the line occupied by the 4th. Royal Scots (27th. Brigade) and the 8th. Black Watch (26th. Brigade) from N7d 6.6 to N8b 0.2 (map references). This was carried out by 'A' and 'B' Companies, 'C' and 'D' Companies 6th West Ridings in their original positions. Word was received at 8.40pm that the Royal Flying Corp had established that French troops were on Kemmel Hill and in Kemmel village. Lieutenant Spencer was sent to get in touch with the French H. Q. at La Clytte but the French authorities could not confirm this report, stating that the nearest French troops were those with whom 'A' Company were in touch on the right. Casualties of 6th Btn D of W West Riding Regt on this day were 2nd. Lt. G. F. Swaby (Missing), 265234 Acting Lance Sergeant W. Laycock (Wounded), 265236 Private W. Birkby (Wounded), 265480 Private A. Dinsdale (Killed in Action), 265509 Private G. Docksey (Wounded), 265130 Private J. H. Hey (Wounded), 265421 Private H. Leaf (Wounded), 265040 Private W. Moore (Wounded), 265208 Private H. Stansfield (Missing), 265409 Private F. Wardman (Killed in Action). 27th Apr 1918 Readjustment of the Line  A readjustment of the line was made, with the 7th. Brigade taking over 'A' Company, 6th D. of W. West Riding Regt's front from about map reference N7b 8.5, with 'A' Company, on relief, taking over right company front of the 1/7th. D. of W. Battalion on east of Milky Way with the left post on map reference N8d 9.7. 'B' Company 6th D. of W. West Riding Regt held the front as formerly but were reinforced by a platoon of 'C' Company 6th Btn on the left with three sections in line and two sections in support. 'D' Company 6th D of W was moved forward to support line on right of Milky Way. Casualties on this day for 6th D. of W. West Riding Regt were 235504 Sergeant R. Durkin (Killed in Action), 267885 Corporal E. Hird (Killed in Action), 263008 Private W. Blundell (Wounded), 267848 Private T. Clarke (Wounded), 266454 Private E. Howarth (Wounded), 265824 Private W. Johnston (Wounded), 26588 Private L. Middleton (Wounded), 17051 Private A. Murray (Wounded), 265376 Private E. Preston (Wounded), 29918 Private S. Rhodes (Killed in Action), 267756 Private W. Smith (Wounded), 241884 Private R. Welsh (Killed in Action), 267841 Private C. W. Wood (Wounded). 29th of April 1918 Under Fire Again   30th Apr 1918 Counter attack  Word was received by 6th Btn D of W West Riding Regt at 2.45am. that the French 89th. Division on our right would counter-attack with a view to reaching Pompier Farm and that the 75th. Brigade would conform by occupying road at map reference N14a 5.0 to N14b 4.7, The 75th. Brigade reached their objective but were withdrawn owing to the French again failing to get forward. At 7pm., particulars of an operation to be carried out by the 7th. Brigade and French Division were received, with orders for the 6th Battalion D of W to establish a line of posts from map references N14b 6.7 to N9c to connect up with 7th. Brigade on the right and 1/7th. D. of W. Battalion on the left. Zero Hour was to be at 8pm. and therefore arrangements had to be hurriedly made. 'C' Company 6th D of W was detailed to carry out the operation with the Support platoon. This platoon moved forward with Lieutenant Willink and 2nd. Lieutenant Huffam at about 7.50pm. The barrage on the 7th. Brigade and French front brought considerable retaliation but the objective was reached with few casualties and the line was established. Touch could not, however, be got with the troops on the right and it was found that, although they had also reached their objectives, the French troops had failed to get forward and the troops of the 7th. Brigade had been withdrawn. Orders were therefore issued at about 10.45pm to 'C' Company 6th D of W to withdraw to their original position. Casualties on this day for 6th D of W West Riding Regt were: 23930 Sergeant E. Stead (Killed in Action), 203848 Lance Sergeant H. Shaw (Killed in Action), 265178 Corporal W. Gibson (Killed in Action), 242252 Corporal J. W. Lewis (Killed in Action), 13120 Corporal L. S. Mitchell (Wounded), 266368 Lance Corporal H. Crossley (Wounded), 265237 Lance Corporal G. E. Hook (Wounded), 265226 Lance Corporal R. S. Long (Wounded), 266616 Private J. Fuller (Wounded), 29472 Private H. Garnett (Wounded), 242861 Private S. Garnett (Wounded), 267507 Private J. E. Glenton (Wounded at Duty), 26547 Private E. T. Grisdale (Killed in Action), 265701 Private T. Hackston (Killed in Action), 267541 Private W. Haigh (Killed in Action), 26555 Private H. Hainsworth (Wounded at Duty), 31739 Private A. Hallsor (Wounded), 41157 Private W. B. Kent (Wounded), 266742 Private J. H. McCarthy (Wounded), 267580 Private H. Pickles (Killed in Action), 13727 Private J. Tuddenham (Killed in Action)267593 Private A. Whiteley (Wounded), 26654 Private H. Wilks (Wounded at Duty). If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. Want to know more about 7th Battalion, West Riding Regiment (Duke of Wellingtons)? There are:5323 items tagged 7th Battalion, West Riding Regiment (Duke of Wellingtons) available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War. Those known to have served with 7th Battalion, West Riding Regiment (Duke of Wellingtons) during the Great War 1914-1918. Doggett George Patrick. 2nd Lt. (d.4th Jul 1917) Eastick George. Pte. (d.30th June 1918) Goddard Percy. Pte. (d.12th Jun 1916) Hagan Thomas. Pte. (d.13th July 1916) Hawkins Cecil Stephen. Pte (d.2nd Dec 1917) Knight James. Pte. Langley Samuel. Pte. Mason MM George. Pte. (d.14th December 1917) Price Hugh. 2nd Lt (d.11th Oct 1918) Shorrocks John Charles William Cumberland. Pte. (d.18th Sep 1916) Smith Alvin. Pte. (d.17th Sept 1916) Tew Joseph. Pte. (d.11th Oct 1918) Wagstaff John William. Cpl. (d.1st Oct 1915) 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 Battalion, West Riding Regiment (Duke of Wellingtons) from other sources. The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website. 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. 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We also have a section on World War Two. and a Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.   Pte. George Eastick 1st/7th Btn. Duke of Wellington's Regiment. (d.30th June 1918) George Eastick was killed in action 30/06/1918, aged 17. (Age officially given as 19) He was born in Great Yarmouth, the son of James Alfred and Alice Maud Eastick, of 20 Norfolk Place, Boston s flynn Add to this record.   Pte. James Knight 1/7th Battalion West Riding Regiment (Duke of Wellingtons) James Knight's Victory and British Medals ended up in the possession of a grandson of a Canadian WWI veteran. Nothing is known about the connection between the soldiers. James Knight's records are part of the First World War Service Burnt Documents so little is known of him. An address of 116 Old Church Road, Stepney, E1 was given on the 2nd page of his Medal Card. And some details of his service were given such as additional service with Army Service Corps, and Labour Corps. Carolyn Goddard Add to this record.   2nd Lt Hugh Price 3rd (Reserve) Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment (d.11th Oct 1918) My father's eldest brother, 2nd Lieutenant Hugh Price, died in the Battle of Cambrai on 11th October 1918, aged 27, the day before the German High Command requested an armistice. He was serving attached to the 7th Btn. Duke of Wellington's West Riding Regiment. His parents, Daniel and Kate Price lived at 2 Delaval Road, Whitley Bay, along with my father Cecil Price, who was too young to service in the Great War. Daniel was born in Wales and Kate was from Sheffield. Daniel's first language was Welsh. I have never seen a photograph of Hugh or his fiancee and all I know is that he was engaged to be married and that his fiancee never married. Kate Price never got over the loss of Hugh and she died in Whitley Bay in 1953, where she lived in Stanley Crescent with my mother and father. Daniel Price was a draper by trade and I believe Hugh was as well. I recall that Hugh had been working in London before he joined the Army. All the male members of the Price family were in St. Paul's (CofE) choir in Whitley Bay, from about 1903, when they moved from Hartlepool to Whitley Bay. My father Cecil died at the age of 97 in 1999. My mother Vera died in 2018 at the age of 95. I would greatly appreciate being able to see a photograph of 2nd Lieut Hugh Price. Hugh Price Add to this record.   Pte Cecil Stephen Hawkins 2nd/7th Btn Duke of Wellington Regiment (d.2nd Dec 1917) Cecil Stephen Hawkins worked as a clerk prior to joining up. His family worshipped at Stranton All Saints Church where he is remembered on the Roll of Honour. George Bainbridge Add to this record.   Pte. Joseph Tew 1/7th Btn. Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) (d.11th Oct 1918) My Grandmother never saw her father Joseph Tew, she was not born until January 1919 and Joseph had been killed in October 1918. In the 90s my Grandmother went to France to see her fathers grave and was upset that there was no cross on his gravestone. I contacted CWGC and explained this, and a couple of years later we had a photo showing they had put a cross on his grave. She was a happy lady. Glynn May Add to this record.   Pte. Thomas Hagan 7th Battalion West Riding Regiment (d.13th July 1916) Thomas Hagan was my Great Grandmother's brother. He was the first generation of Hagans born in Oldham, Lancashire after his father came over from Ireland for work. Most of his family found employment in the textile industry in Lancashire. Thomas was the first of 3 brothers to join the army during the war years. He joined the 1/7th Battalion, West Riding Regiment in November 1914, aged 20, in Milnsbridge, Yorkshire. His brother James would follow in 1915 and thereafter the youngest of the family, Frank. After initial training the Regiment was deployed to France, from Folkestone, on 15 April 1916, arriving at Boulogne. Records show he was punished a few times for drunken and rowdy behaviour soon after arriving in France but he would soon be in action. He fought in the Battle of the Somme and was shot in the knee, on the 5th July 1916. Repatriated to the general hospital in Colchester, he arrived on the 11th July but unfortunately died of his wounds 2 days later, on the 13 July 1916. Thomas posthumously received the Star and Victory medals and is buried in Colchester cemetery. Saul Thackeray Add to this record.   Cpl. John William Wagstaff 1/7th Battalion Duke of Wellington's West Riding Regiment (d.1st Oct 1915) John Wagstaff was born on the 5th November 1893, he was the son of Joseph & Emma of Cliffe End Longwood, Huddersfield and was educated at Lindley Church of England school. He was then employed as a finisher at J Crowther & sons Milnsbridge. He had been a member of the Territorials since 10th July 1911 and re-enlisted on the 23rd of October 1914. They embarked to France on 15th of April 1915, and he was killed in action, shot in the head by a sniper, on the 1st of October 1915. He is buried at Bard Cottage Cemetery, Boesinghe, Belgium. Geoff Turner Add to this record.   2nd Lt. George Patrick Doggett 69th Trench Mortar Battery Royal Artillery (d.4th Jul 1917) George Doggett enlisted in 1914 and embarked with the Cambridge Territorials on 14th February 1915. He went to officer training in Bristol and joined the 7th West Ridings attached to the 10th West Ridings with duty in the 69th Trench Mortar Battery. He was wounded on 7th of June 1917 at Hill 60. He died of his wounds on 4th July 1917. Michael Contratto Add to this record.   Pte. Samuel Langley 7th Battalion Duke of Wellington West Riding Regiment My Grandfather, Samuel Langley, born in 1891, was a finisher of cloth in a family woollen firm called Hugh Kershaw and Sons Ltd in Mossley, Lancashire, was in the Territorial Army before the outbreak of the Great War. My father had been born in the March of that year. Samuel went to Summer camp in Marske, Yorkshire in 1914 and did not return home, but marched to Immingham and sailed from there to France. He was wounded in the leg in 1916, invalided back to Blighty, to Chichester and then to somewhere near Bentley, Doncaster, where my Grandmother (and presumably my father) went to stay with a mining family who made her very welcome, before Samuel was sent back to the Front. He was the Company barber which I think showed there was some attempt to match civilian skills with life in the army! I think he was at the Somme and Ypres. His brother-in -law was killed on Armistice Day 1918. He returned to his job in the woollen mill and retired from there in his early seventies, having received a gold watch for fifty years'service in 1961. Both my Grandfathers were in the 7th Duke of Wellington Regiment, but did not know each other then. Christine Shepherd Add to this record.   Pte. Alvin Smith 1/7th Btn Duke of Wellington's West Riding Regiment (d.17th Sept 1916) From FOR A SHILLING A DAY (Bank House Books) Private Alvin Smith’s war. Lothersdale, North Yorkshire: This is where it began, in a village where the Smiths had farmed for generations. At Christmas 1915 Alvin Smith, the nineteen-year-old son of farmer Edmund and Sarah Jane Smith was walking with his girlfriend, Amy. The First World War had been raging for more than a year. Alvin’s brother, John (my grandfather), had joined up at the start, but Alvin had been needed to help run Burlington Farm. His dad insisted, it was an embarrassing position, as all the best chaps seemed to be in khaki. It would not take much to make Alvin defy his parents. At Christmas it came. ‘Would you love me if I was a soldier?’ Alvin joked as he walked with Amy. ‘Well,’ teased the pretty eighteen-year-old, in a reply that was to haunt her for the next eighty years, ‘I might respect you a bit more.’ Respect. That did it. Over Christmas dinner with friends and family, Alvin turned to his best pal, Willie Smith, and said, ‘We’d better enjoy this Christmas, Willie, because we probably won’t see the next one.’ ‘There was nothing dramatic about the way he said it,’ Amy told me many years later. ‘It was just a statement of fact.’ Alvin and Willie enlisted together on 29 January 1916, as privates in the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment (West Riding). They were innocents in arms, rushed over to France after a frantic few weeks of training to take part in the long-awaited British offensive, which was already being called The Big Push. Soon it would be known by a name that became a byword for slaughter: the Somme. Thiepval, the Somme: This is where it ended, a placid corner of northern France where the autumn sun blazes down on dry, new-ploughed fields and the potato harvest is piled in tons beside the farm tracks. The scars of the 1916 trenches can still be seen and every year’s ploughing uncovers the ‘iron harvest’ of unexploded shells. A few years ago, walking the route that Private Alvin Smith and his pals followed, I found something white sticking out of the earth bank of a sunken track. As I pulled it, eighteen inches of human thigh bone emerged, a reminder of the carnage on these gentle chalk slopes. In 1916 the Germans held the high ground here, commanding every hill-top and valley slope. The village of Thiepval and the 1,000-yard-long Thiepval Spur, which stuck like a giant finger into the British lines, were bristling with concrete gun emplacements, trenches and deep dugouts, all screened behind vast hedges of barbed wire. Alvin’s battalion, the 1st/7th, was in reserve on the terrible first day of the Somme on 1 July 1916, and was spared the horror that left 20,000 young Britons dead and 40,000 wounded. Alvin’s friend, Willie Smith, was reported killed on 7 July. The division got its first blooding in an attack on 3 September. It failed wretchedly. The British commander-in-chief, General Sir Douglas Haig, was furious. He wrote scathingly in his diary, ‘The total losses of this division are less than 1,000!’ In the grim arithmetic of the Somme, where every yard was measured in deaths, the West Riding lads were not dying quickly enough. To infuriate the top brass further, some of the division’s troops had failed to salute a visiting general, which probably explains the terse entry in the 1st/7th Battalion’s diary for 8 September: ‘Games before breakfast followed by saluting drill.’ On 15 September another Yorkshire battalion seized German trenches south of Thiepval. Three companies of Alvin’s battalion, about 700 men, moved forward that night to take over the trenches and prepare for another attack. It began, disastrously, at 6pm on Sunday 17 September with a terrible misjudgement. The battalion’s mortars got the range wrong and hit their own trenches, exploding a store of hand grenades. Amid the dead and wounded and the confusion of this ‘friendly fire’ incident, Captain Lupton calmly climbed on to the trench parapet and heroically rallied the men. The attack was all over in an hour. It was such a success that a general visited the battalion two days later to offer his congratulations. The West Riding lads had advanced 350 yards beyond their objective. In doing so they lost 220 men. The arithmetic of the Somme was working. They never found Alvin’s body. During a lull in the fighting one of his mates went back for water. When he returned the captured trench had been found by German guns and the occupants blown to shreds. The name of Private Alvin Smith is recorded on the Thiepval Memorial to those who died on the Somme and who have no known grave. There are 73,000 names. A few days after his death, the local newspaper in Yorkshire recorded: ‘He was well known in the village and district and was highly esteemed by all who knew him. He was a well-built youth, of a pleasant and cheerful disposition.’ Peter Rhodes Add to this record.   Pte. Percy Goddard 1/7th Battalion Duke of Wellington West Riding Regiment (d.12th Jun 1916) I know little about my great grandfather, Percy Goddard except that he settled in Swansea and worked on the railways, but having read about the horror of the war I would like his contribution to be recorded. Dianne Bowen Add to this record.   Pte. John Charles William Cumberland Shorrocks (d.18th Sep 1916) John Shorrocks is remembered on the war memorial in the park at Marsden near Huddersfield, but is listed as Sharrocks. V Howley Add to this record. Recomended Reading. Available at discounted prices.

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