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Mjr. William Claud Kennedy Birch MC.
British Army 2nd Btn. Yorkshire Regiment
(d.5th January 1918)
Major William Birch of the Yorkshire Regiment, was seconded to the Royal Flying Corp and got his wings at the Grahame-White school, Hendon in December 1912. He then joined No. 3 Squadron, which flew to France at the start of the war. He saw active service as a pilot through 1914 and 1915, being mentioned in dispatches twice.
On 14th of January 1915 his Morane aircraft was hit by enemy fire and he landed east of the lines. He took to the countryside and made it to Flushing on the Dutch coast. Disguised as Fireman James Buckle, he worked his passage to England and was back flying in combat on 1st March 1915. In June of that year, he was back in Britain with training squadrons but was back in combat in 1916.
In 1917, he returned to the Yorkshire Regiment as Captain and was promoted to acting Major. On 5th of January 1918, his men were sheltering in Hedge Street tunnel when an electrical fire was noticed and it quickly took hold. Major Birch escaped but when he realised men were still trapped, he returned to the tunnel and was not seen alive again. The fire burnt with such intensity that the tunnel had to be closed off to stop it spreading and his body was discovered when the tunnel was reopened. He is buried at Railway Dugouts Burial Ground (Transport Farm) Belgium.
Claud, as he was known to the family, was my maternal grandmothers brother.
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