207636 Pte. Edward Beech British Army 1st Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers from:Nottingham (d.16th June 1915) 9285 Private Edward Beech was my grandfather's cousin and served with W Company, 1st Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers. He was killed in action at the Battle of Bellewaarde Ridge 16th June 1915. Edward was the son of William Beech, a Coal Miner, and his wife Annie, and was born in Nottingham in 1887. Before joining the army Edward worked as a Printer’s Boy.
Edward joined the 2nd Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers in 1903 and enlisted at Gravesend, Kent. In November 1903 he became an un-paid Lance Corporal with a promotion to Corporal in early February 1904 and completed his tour of duty. Edward married Mabel Grice, in Nottingham in 1907. They had no issue.
Recalled to duty from the reserves at the outbreak of war, Edward was posted to the 1st Battlaion as the 2nd Battalion had left for service in India the previous year. He disembarked for service in France on 13th August 1914 and was among the original contingent of his unit, the 1st Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers.
Although I have not been able to confirm it beyond doubt, Edward probably saw action in all the early battles of the war that the battalion was involved in including Mons, Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914. On 16th June 1915 the battalion, as part of 9th Brigade, attacked Bellewaarde Ridge which had been captured earlier by the Germans creating a bulge in the British Lines. Below is attached an extract from the Battalion War Diary covering this action:
Our artillery started the bombardment at 2:50 Hrs. and with two pauses, continued till 4:15 Hrs. the time laid down for the attack to commence.
The enemy soon replied at first with shrapnel, later with heavy shell. His fire was mostly directed at Railway Wood, and a certain proportion of gas shells were fired.
Owing to the proximity of the enemy’s trenches and the necessity for low bursts to cut the barbed wire entanglements, our own artillery caused us a certain number of casualties before the attack commenced.
At 4.15 a.m. the attack was launched, the front line of the trenches was quickly taken also the alternative trenches behind. In front of the trenches a certain amount of resistance was offered, in others the enemy surrendered almost at once. The battalion suffered rather heavily, many prisoners were taken.
The battalion started for the 2nd line of the enemy’s trenches after a very short interval and letter Z, Co. which was in support came forward to the front line. Z, Co. suffered severely from the very heavy shell fire brought to bear on them by the German artillery, both light and heavy.
Letter W – Y Co. bore to the left and started bombing down the enemy’s trenches. Here there was severe fighting. The tide of battle ebbed and flowed, finally the enemy received reinforcements of men and bombs and that combined with strongly placed machine guns, forced us to abandon the idea of a further advance in that particular direction for the time being. (viz to Y7 and Y8, vide map appendix).
In the meanwhile portions of Z and X Cos. With some of the Liverpool and Scottish advanced and made good a line just W (west) of Beelwarde Farm. Here being exposed to sniping from both flanks and machine gun fire from the left flank they halted near old and shallow French trench and dug themselves in. This trench was only very lightly held owing to the paucity of men.
Casualties though not heavy were frequent. Captain Sloper and a party bombed down a communication trench and rushed the enemy’s third line of trenches. They remained here about an hour. The adjoining troops returned and a good many casualties occurred. So both flanks being in the air a retirement was made to the new trench dug behind Bellewarde Farm. Only thin metal entrenching tools were available to dig this trench and the ground was hard and there had not been time to finish digging the trench properly. During this time the enemy heavily “Crumped†Railway Wood and Bellwarde.
There was a lull as regards direct fire on the advanced trenches for two or three hours, but casualties from fire from the left flank were frequent and Railway Wood and its vicinity were continually “Crumpedâ€.
In the meantime on the left positions Cos. W and Y had consolidated the positions a little N (north) of Y.ll.
Early in the afternoon the enemy marched E (east) of Bellewarde Farm in their trenches and opened a heavy rifle and machine gun fire on our advanced position from close range. Attempts were made to block the assault up a CT (communication Trench) towards Y.ll. With bombs, but all our bombers were killed.
Finally the troops on our right having retired some time previously and so leaving us outflanked on both sides, the front line was withdrawn under heavy fire of rifles, machine guns and artillery, light and heavy, to the first line of German trenches captured in the morning, where the battalion was relieved after dark by the Royal Scots of 8th Infantry Brigade. A number of gas shells were fired during this retirement.
The battalion went into action with 15 Officers and 645 Other Ranks. At the end of the day, the War Diary records that all the officers and 414 men were identified as killed, wounded or missing. I have since identified a further three men who do not appear in the War Diary but are listed on Soldiers Died and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website
as casualties on the day.
The majority of the casualties have no identified graves and are recorded on the Menin Gate. Whilst I am currently working through the list, I have found very few men who have a marked grave. It is intended to publish this research at a later date.
W Company have 119 casualties listed in the War Diary including all the company officers. One of these is 9258 Private Edward Beech, who is listed as a Lance Corporal, so may have served in an unpaid capacity. Edward was listed as killed but either his body was hastily buried and subsequently lost or not recovered, as he is listed on the Menin Gate. To date I have only identified three soldiers in this comapny with a marked grave - one at Tyne Cot (3065 Private Arthur Nettleton) , one in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery(7718 Private R Lambert) and one in Moorseele Military Cemetery (7917 Private J McCullagh) The latter two died in the days following the attack, presumably of wounds received. Moorseele remained behind the lines until 1918, so it is likely that McCullagh was also a POW when he died.
In addition to Edward, my grandfather Thomas Beech, served throughout the war in the 454th Company ASC, 46th Divisional Train, having been a pre war Territorial. His brother Charles served in the same unit having also been a pre war Territorial. A third brother, George, was conscripted in 1918 and after training, joined No.5 Squadron RAF as an armourer arriving in France on 3rd November 1918. A forth brother, Harold joined up as a regular soldier in 1919 and rejoined the army in 1941 seeing service in North Africa and Italy with the RASC. A more distant relative, Private Albert Royston, joined the 1st/7th Battalion Sherwood Foresters - The Robin Hood Rifles - as an underage volunteer in 1914. He was killed in action with the battalion at Gommecourt on 1st July 1916, he was 17 years of age.
Today, all these men are long gone, my grandfather died in 1946 when my father was five, and very few people remember them or the deeds they performed. To me, it is important that we remember the sacrifices they made.
Lest We Forget
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