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7th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment
| Want to know more about 7th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment? There are:130 items tagged 7th Battalion, Northamptonshire 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 Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment during the Great War 1914-1918. - Brock William John. Pte. (d.18th Aug 1916)
- Care Stanley James Neel. L/cpl (d.4th Nov 1918)
- Costen Wesley. Cpl.
- Harding James Edwin. L/Sgt. (d.2nd Sep 1916)
- Hewitt George Samuel. Pte.
- Hilliard Albert Henry. Pte. (d.27th September 1915)
- Houghton . Pte (d.12th Feb 1918)
- McDougall Malcolm Colville. L/Cpl. (d.18th Aug 1916)
- Oates Albert. Cpl. (d.19th March 1916)
- Parkins Robert Henry. Pte. (d.17th Apr 1917)
- Picton Albert Edward. L/Cpl. (d.12th April 1917)
- Robinson Percy . Pte. (d.25th April 1917)
- Tarry George Alfred. Cpl. (d.31st July 1917)
- Ward John Serley. Pte.
- Wilby Sydney Charles. 2nd Lt.
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, Northamptonshire Regiment from other sources.
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- 19th Nov 2024
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Did you know? We also have a section on World War Two. and a
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Pte. John Serley Ward 7th Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment My Mum said that my great grandmother received a certificate of death from the Army in 1918 for John Serley Ward her husband, but he returned home after the war and frightened the life out of her, as he was meant to be dead. He went on to have another child, which I am trying to track down.
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L/cpl Stanley James Neel Care 7th Btn. Northamptonshire Regiment (d.4th Nov 1918) Stanley enlisted in Eastbourne Sussex on 24th January 1916 where he trained with the Northamptonshire Regiment who had moved to down from Northampton.
He was on home strength of the 7th Battalion from 2nd May 1916 until the 4th August 1916. Battalion moved to France on 6th August 1916.
He died of wounds on 4th November 1918 and is buried at Villers-Pol Communal Cemetery
Extension.
He was the Son of my Great Aunt Caroline Bowden.
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Pte. Percy Robinson 7th Btn. Northamptonshire Regiment (d.25th April 1917) Private Percy Robinson, son of Leonard & Emily Robinson of Ampthill, Bedfordshire; born in Ampthill and enlisted in Luton. Served with the 7th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment (service no.27359). He died of his wounds on 25th April 1917 age 19 years in France and Flanders and is buried in Barlin Communal Cemetery Extension, France. He is remembered on both The War Memorial and The Alamada, St. Andrews Church, Ampthill. Information courtesy of www.roll-of-honour.com
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Pte. George Samuel Hewitt 7th Btn. Northamptonshire Regiment My grandfather, George Hewitt served on the Western Front with 7th Northamptonshire Regiment. He was hospitalised for 2 years with neurasthenia or shell shock. He took the life of a young German man to save his own, an act he never forgot and regretted all his life. He died, aged 68 years, in April 1968.
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Pte Houghton 7th Btn. Northamptonshire Regiment (d.12th Feb 1918) Pte Houghton served with the 7th Northamptonshire Regiment.
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L/Cpl. Albert Edward Picton 7th Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment (d.12th April 1917) Lance Corporal Albert Picton of 7th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment was killed in action on the 12th of April 1917, aged 29. He was born and in enlisted Watford, his residence is given as Brixton Road, Watford. He was the son of Albert and Jane Picton of 20, Brixton Rd., Watford, Herts.
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2nd Lt. Sydney Charles Wilby 7th Btn. Northamptonshire Rgt. Charles Sydney Wilby was born in Finedon, Northamptonshire on 1st July 1896, and his birth was registered on 6th July 1896. When he applied for a duplicate birth certificate after the end of the First World War, he put Sydney Charles Wilby on it. All his military records are listed as Sydney Charles Wilby.
He enlisted in the Army on 14th September 1914, having attested that he was aged 19 years 2 months, not 18 and that his trade was engineering. On his enlistment papers it states that he was 5ft 3 inches tall, of sallow complexion with dark eyes and hair and was a Wesleyan.
He was posted to the 7th Northamptonshire Regiment on 15th August as a Private and appointed (unpaid) Lance Corporal on 1st December 1915 and (paid) Lance Corporal on 24th December 1915. On 18th September 1916, he was promoted to Corporal. On 30th October 1917, he was discharged to a commission in the Northumberland Fusiliers.
The 7/Northamptonshire were formed at the behest of Edgar Mobbs an England Rugby International who was killed in WW1.
Sydney Charles Wilby was first sent to the Western Front on 31st August 1915 and remained on active service until 11th May 1917, when he returned to England for officer training, going back to France in November 1917.
He took part in the Battle of Loos in September 1915. The regiment then moved up to Ypres in early 1916.
On 29th April 1916, he was wounded in action, probably at Hell Fire Corner at Ploegstraat, Belgium. His wounds included a shrapnel wound to the face. He was admitted to a field hospital and transferred to the Military Hospital in Boulogne on 30th April before being moved to Etaples. He was then transferred to the Canadian Field Hospital in Boulogne, where the Doctor was Lieutenant Colonel John McRae, who wrote the famous poem ‘In Flanders Field’. Lance Corporal Wilby was discharged to base on 13th May and returned to duty in the field on 20th May 1916.
The 7th Northants were not present at the start of the Battle of the Somme, but moved there in early August 1916. They were ordered to take the village of Guillemont, attacking east from Trones Wood, which had been captured in July. Other attacks to take Guillemont had failed, as did this one. The casualties were as follows: 45 killed, 49 missing and 258 injured. In September the regiment did another tour at the front, near Delville Wood before moving away from the Somme to Vimy, where they were remained in the trenches for a few weeks and raided German lines. Lance Corporal Wilby was promoted to Corporal on 18th September 1916.
In October 1916 the regiment moved back to Loos where they stayed until March 1917, when again they moved back to Vimy, taking part in the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917.
On 11th May 1917 he was sent to England for appointment to a cadet unit and returned to the front on 30th October 1917 as a 2nd Lieutenant with the 16th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers. During his time with the Northumberland Fusiliers, he took part in the defence of Operation Michael – the German offensive to push the British back from St Quentin to Amiens in late March 1918. He was wounded again on 31st March 1918 in the jaw.
The casualties on the British side were high, and the battalion was sent to Givenchy, near the river Lys, to rebuild. However, they were hit by Operation Mars, a second German offensive in early April 1918. Again there were large numbers of casualties.
After this, the battalion was sent to Notre Dame les Dames on the Aisne, and fought there on 27th May 1918. By now, the battalion was so severely depleted that it was broken up and the remainder transferred to the Lincolns.
He joined the Lincolnshire regiment on 19th June 1918 being posted to D Company on 25th June. During the latter part of 1918, he took part in the final advance on Albert, on the Somme in August 1918, Epehy in September 1918 and Cambrai in October 1918.
On returning to England he was transferred again to the Northumberland Fusiliers and relinquished his commission on 21st December 1920, but retained the rank of 2nd lieutenant.
He was finally notified that as he had reached the ‘age limit of liability’ on 20th November 1945, he could finally relinquish his commission.
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Pte. William John Brock 7th Btn. Northamptonshire Regiment (d.18th Aug 1916) William Brock died in the field. He is remembered on the memorial to the missing of the Somme at Thiepval in France.
His widow Ada and two children who were aged 14 and 8 were granted a pension in March 1917 of just 21 shillings per week after William's 319 days of service before his death, age 38.
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L/Cpl. Malcolm Colville McDougall 7th Btn. Northamptonshire Regiment (d.18th Aug 1916) Lance Corporal Malcolm Colville McDougall was brother to my great grandmother Mary McDougall. He was killed on the 18th of August 1916,
aged 25 whilst serving with the 7th Btn Northamptonshire Regiment. He is
remembered on the Thiepval Memorial and was the son of the late William McDougall & Margaret McTaggart of Greenock.
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Cpl. Albert Oates 7th Btn, D Company Northamptonshire Regiment (d.19th March 1916) The Northampton Independent (Date unknown but probably 1916)
"With the 7th Northamptonshire Regiment In "No Man's Land."
Dead Corporal's Thrilling Story.
The thrilling story we publish below was written by Corporal Albert Oates, a machine gunner of the 7th Northamptons, whose pen, alas will tell no more of the glorious episodes of the war. He died in Etaples Hospital from pneumonia, a few days after the story was written, and his death will be deeply regretted by a large circle of friends. Twenty eight years of age, and the son of Mrs W. Oates of 22 Garrick road, Northampton, he joined "D" Co., 7th Northamptons, in September 1914. he was a well-known footballer, and played for St. Michael's, the Nomads, and Rushden Fosse. The deepest sympathy will be felt with the bereaved mother and other relatives in their great loss.
In his story he tells of how his gun repulsed a German attack, in the following words: "Our gun," he wrote, "was sent to hold the position against a counter-attack, whilst our working party consolidated our side of the crater. To get to the crater we had to crawl through a hole in the bottom our trench and drag the gun and ammunition up a shallow sap almost two feet deep, by which times a German machine gun was traversing fire on it.
"However, the two of us with the gun and Max Ruston, who is our machine gun sergeant, reached the crater safely to find that the working party were just digging a T-shaped trench to consolidate the position. We had no cover, so just placed the gun on the edge of the crater and lay down behind it ready. In the meantime the bombing Corporal fired a powder light which showed us a deep trench running right into the crater from the German trenches. I trained my gun on this and waited. In a few minutes a terrific explosion a few yards from the gun announced the fact that the Germans were about to make a counter-attack with bombs.
"I waited a few minutes, and then pumped my gun at them. I did not heard myself, but the men on my left said it caught the Germans properly, and they screamed with fright; no doubt they never expected we should get a machine gun up so quickly. Well, the attack lasted about a quarter of an hour -bombs bursting all round us, but they could not quite reach the gun within about five yards, which was lucky for us. They soon retired, and we had the honour of repulsing the attack. These spasmodic attacks were attempted several times during the night, but were repulsed each time."
Sergt. Max Ruston, whom he mentions, is one of the six sons of the late Rev. Thomas Ruston serving with the forces.
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Cpl. Wesley Costen 7th Btn. D Co. Northamptonshire Regiment Wesley Costen served with D company of the 7th Northamptonshire Btn and arrived in France on 16 December 1916. He was a corporal at the time of arriving in France and was married with one child (my Grandfather). He was gassed but never seriously wounded (from my limited research). He was transferred to the Sufolk Reg in March 1919 and stayed on in Germany as part of the occupation force. He died in 1972 from a chest infection.I am continuing to research his service.
Regards,
Andrew Costen
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