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Pte. William Nelson Rees
British Army 9th Btn. Welsh Regiment
from:Abergavenny
(d.15th Nov 1916)
William Rees was attested on 5th of August 1914 at Abergavenny Depot, then was recalled to headquarters of the Monmouthshire Regiment at Abergavenny. On 6th August, he went to Pembroke Dock for training as part of the Welsh Border Brigade, and then on 10th August he was sent to training camp at Oswestry. On the 31st, he went for training and equipping to the Northampton race course with the 53rd (Welsh) Division, where they billeted with and were well liked by the local people. In October 1914, he and the 3rd Monmouthshires were sent to Bury St. Edmunds in East Anglia to train on digging trenches and setting up defensive works. On 1st December, they went to Cambridge in January 1915 for rifle training, and on 11th February 1915, they were inspected by King George V.
On 13 February 1915, the 3rd Monmouthshires proceeded by train to Southampton and sailed for France on the S.S. Chyebassa. The next morning, they arrived at Le Havre and proceeded by train to Cassel, where the GHQ of the French Northern Army was located. On 28th February 1915, they left Steenvorde on a fleet of double-decker London buses and went into action in the front lines. During the next seven months, 3rd Battalion participated in the following battles: Messines-Wytschaete Ridge; Wulverghem; Polygon Wood (in which they were attached to the Northumberland Field Company and the 171st Tunnelling Company R.E); Hill 60; Frezenberg Ridge; Hooge Chateau; Vlamertinghe; Poperinghe; Hellfire Corner; Reninghelst; Yser Canal; Caesar’s Nose; Lindenoek; Locre; Kemmel; and Elverdinghe Chateau.
In September 1915, the 3rd Battalion was detached to the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division as a pioneer battalion and engaged in repairing roads and digging trenches and dugouts. In December, the 3rd Battalion rejoined the rest of the Monmouthshire Regiment, which was encamped at Elverdinghe Chateau. On the 29th December, while on parade there, a large German shell fired from a nearby forest exploded, wounding 30 of the Battalion and killing 39, all of whom are buried at Ferme-Olivier cemetery in Belgium. During the first six months of 1916, 3rd Monmouthshires participated in the following actions: Albert; Brucamps; Candas; Neuville; St. Vaast; Agnieres; Pommier; and Foncquevillers. On the 1st July, the Battalion took part in the Battle of the Somme in support of the 36th Ulster Division’s attack on a German strong-point.
In August 1916, the 3rd Battalion fought at Acheux, Hedin, and Capelle. There were failed attacks on enemy trenches and many casualties, and the Battalion was ordered to retire. At the end of the month, 3rd Battalion heard the unwelcome news that, owing to the difficulty in finding replacements, the unit would be broken up and distributed among other Welsh regiments.
On 24th August, Private Rees learned that he was one of 200 men to be assigned to the new 9th Entrenching Battalion, which had been formed from the remnants of the 3rd Monmouthshires. Then on 20th September, he was transferred to the 9th Battalion, Welsh Regiment. On 15th November 1916, Private Rees was with a bomb and bayonet detachment near Le Sars in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, when a hidden German machine gun opened up on the detachment. One officer was wounded. Thirty other soldiers were wounded or missing. One of these was Willie, as he was known. His body was never identified. His name is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.
