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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment
Cpl. Albert Oates
British Army 7th Btn, D Company Northamptonshire Regiment
from:Northampton
(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.
2nd Lt. Christian Edwin Oates MC.
British Army Northumberland Fusiliers
My Grandfather, Christian Edwin Oates, was awarded the Military Cross and promoted from 2nd Lieutenant to Lieutenant following the capture of an Austrian machine gun at the Battle of the Piave River.
Joseph Oates
3rd Balloon Squadron
My husbands grandfather Joseph Oates marriage certificate has him based as follows: 3rd Balloon Squadron Abbey Wood, London.1918 I have tried hard to find any mention of this squadron or anything to do with balloon squad at Abbey Wood. My husband seems to think his grandfather was initially in the Cavalry Can any one point me in the right direction? Thank You Jennifer Oates
L/Cpl. Percy Edmunson Oates
British Army 589 HT Coy. Army Service Corps
Robert Storey Oates
British Army Royal Artillery
Rflmn. Sam Oates MM.
British Army 2/7th Btn. West Yorkshire Regiment
(d.28th November 1917)
RSM. John Henry James Oatley MM.
British Army 16 Siege Bty. Royal Garrison Artillery
from:Plymouth, Devon
John Oatley (my maternal grandfather) joined the Army on short service on 8th July 1894 at the age of 18 years and 5 months. He was given the service number 5052 and joined the 5th Btn. Royal Fusiliers. After serving in the Boer war, he then served in WW1 rising up through the ranks and was discharged in Bermuda on 17th December 1920 with the rank of Warrant Officer Class 2, Battery Sgt Major.
He was mentioned in dispatches three times: 10th September 1901, 16th August 1914 awarded the French Medaille Militaire for bravery and also on 14th December 1917. I am trying to find out what was the brave action.
Sgt. William Oatway
British Army 5th Battalion Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
from:Manchester
(d.3rd Nov 1918)
My great uncle, William Oatway, served with the 5th Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders in WW1. I have no details of his service but know that he died of his war wounds at home in Manchester just days before the end of the war on November 3 1918. He was buried in the family grave in Philip's Park Cemetery, Manchester and is commemorated on the war memorial there, as well as on the Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh castle.
Pte. P. OBrien
British Army 24th (Tyneside Irish) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers
from:Gateshead
Pte. J. OConnor
British Army 24th (Tyneside Irish) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers
from:Seaham
J OConnor was wounded in his left leg, and was discharged in 1917
Pte. P. OConnor
British Army 24th (Tyneside Irish) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers
from:South Shields
P OConnor was discharged in 1917 Sick
Pte. Patrick OConnor
British Army 24th (Tyneside Irish) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers
from:Wrekenton
Patrick OConnor enlisted in 1914
Pte. Edmund Odam MM.
British Army Sherwood Forresters
Pte. Arthur William Odell
British Army 8th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
from:Marston Moreteyne, Bedfordshire
(d.25th Sep 1916)
Arthur William Odell was born on 17 April 1892, in Marston Moreteyne, Bedfordshire. His was a family struggling with extreme poverty. He was one of 14 children, only 7 of whom survived infancy, the others succumbing to malnutrition in the first months of their lives. His father, Charles, was a farm labourer, his mother, Ada, a dress maker. His elder brother, Albert had left home by the age of 15, to become an apprentice tailor in Luton.
In 1907, the family suffered a heavy blow, losing their father to a debilitating illness. Arthur was the oldest remaining son, and the main support for his mother, his two older sisters, and 3 younger brothers. He worked in the nearby brick yards from an early age.
Between 23rd and 25th October 1915, he enlisted in the Bedfordshire Regiment at Ampthill, and was assigned to ‘C’ Company, 8th Battalion. Initially he would have gone for training in Surrey. The earliest he would have been sent to France was February 1916, though it is more likely that he went a couple of months later. The strongest possibility is that he went, with other reinforcements, after the heavy hand-to-hand fighting of the night of 19th/20th April 1916, during which the 8th Battalion had suffered very heavy casualties. The first of these reinforcements arrived in France on 13th May.
He would have been involved in the front line action on 15th September 1916, the first time the new ‘tanks’ were put into use – his Company was running down the right hand side of the leading ‘tank’. An extract from the Battalion war diary for this date reads –
‘15 September – major offensive against German lines, which went badly wrong, causing heavy casualties. Late in the day, 8th Bn was withdrawn to reserve trenches south east of Guillemont.’ 122 names of those killed in action on this date are recorded, including Henry Charles Randall, a close friend of the family; Charles Whittington, Alfred Two, John Jellis, Leonard Hardy, Herbert Hare, Philip Evans and Arthur Busby – all locals who would have been known to the family at home.
In Arthur’s final letter home to his mother he is said to have written that he did not think he would survive much longer, because the artillery fire was so bad. He was killed on the night of 25th September 1916 at Morval, aged 24. The Battalion war diary has the following entry for this date – ‘25 September – trenches between Morval to Lesboeufs. Battalion in reserve to 16IB in attack on German lines between Morval and Les Boeff. Attack commenced at 12.35pm and Battalion moved up to original front line when second objective had been taken about 2.35pm. Casualties from enemy barrage very slight. Attack proved successful and many prisoners were taken. At night Battalion furnished carrying parties to front line Battalion with ammunition and water. C Platoon detached to 1/London Coy RE as working party in captured trenches. C Coy suffered very heavily from enemy shell fire.’ Only one of C Company, 8th Battalion’s 23 dead on this evening is recorded as having been identified and buried in a marked grave. All others are only remembered on the memorial at Thiepval. Photographs of Morval on the morning of the 25th September show it was a clear, sunny, dry day.
Unfortunately, his name has been engraved incorrectly on the village war memorial, the Parish Church memorial plaque, and the Stewartby Brickworks plaque – all of which read ‘A J Odell’ rather than ‘A W Odell’.
My great-uncle Arthur was the person who started my family history search, after the death of my last grandparent in 1998. I had a need to ‘resurrect’ him, as all who knew him had now gone. The only thing I knew at the start was that he was my paternal grandfather’s older brother, that he had died in the war, and that his name was wrong on the war memorial (I have corrected this on the Roll of Honour website). My father told me that he had asked about his lost uncle more than once, but his father would just sit and cry, so he was unable to offer any more information. I discovered a small, black-bordered ‘In Remembrance’ card amongst some of my grandmother’s papers, which gave me his full name and date of death, so I sent off to ask for copies of his army records. This was when I found out that Arthur’s service and pension records were destroyed in the Blitz. I began in the days when there was little available on the internet, but after 12 years of hunting and letter writing, and occasional checks for new, relevant websites, I finally managed to put his wartime service story together.
During this time I was also looking for a photograph, something I dearly wanted to find, but with no luck. Then, many years later when sorting through my grandmother’s old, pre-marriage birthday cards, looking in particular for those written by family members, I found two photographs of a soldier in the uniform of the Bedfordshire Regiment tucked inside one. The resemblance to my grandfather as a young man in his 20s was striking, and having checked the other brothers on both sides of my grandparent’s families, and their cousins who were also of an age to serve, I managed to rule out every single one except for Arthur. Therefore I have no doubt that these photos are of Arthur and that my grandmother had kept them hidden away, not wanting them out to cause upset, but keeping them safely among her own memories.
T. Odlam
Australian Imperial Force. 3rd Salvage Coy.
Pte. H. ODonnell
British Army 24th (Tyneside Irish) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers
from:Ashington
H ODonnell was wounded in 1916
Spr. Arthur Odwell
British Army Camouflage Section Royal Engineers
from:3, Malling Fields, Lewes
(d.12th Feb 1919)
Pte. J. H. Oelofse
South African Infantry 3rd Regt.
(d.11th May 1917)
Private Oelofse is buried in the Jansenville Cemetery, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Pte. M. OFarrell
British Army 24th (Tyneside Irish) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers
M OFarrell was discharged in 1917 due to Mialga
Pte. Moma Offa
The West African Frontier Force 4th Btn. Nigerian Regiment
(d.23rd November 1918)
Moma Offa was buried in the Limbe Botanical Gardens Burial Grounds in the Cameroons.
Cpl. William Bernard Offutt
US Army Coy B 306th Infantry Regiment
from:New York, USA
William Offutt served with Coy B, 306th Infantry Regiment.
Pte. David Ogden
British Army 20th (5th City) Btn. Manchester Regiment
from:4 Mercer St, Hulme, Manchester
(d.3rd Sep 1916)
David Ogden was my second cousin twice removed and he was killed in WW1. He served with the 20th Battalion Manchester Regiment. He died 3rd of September 1916 aged 31 years and is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial Pin France. Husband of Mary Ellen Ogden of 4 Mercer St., Hulme, Manchester.
CSM. George Ogden
British Army 6th Btn. Lincolnshire Regiment
from:Rossington, Doncaster
(d.16th Oct 1915)
George Ogden was born in 1881 in Rossington, Yorks and was the son of Samuel and Sarah Ogden. He lived in Maltby and enlisted at Grimsby. He was killed in action in Gallipoli. There is no known grave and he is commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Gallipoli, Canakkale, Turkey.
Pte Harry Ogden
British Army 19th Btn Northumberland Fusiliers
from:6, Clough Cottages, Manchester Rd., Mossley, Manchester
(d.27th March 1918)
Ogden, Harry. Private, 267975, Aged 22 years, Killed in action on 27th March 1918. Battalion Service history show service number as 47975
Remembered on the Pozieres Memorial panel 16 to 18.
Son of Herbert F. and Sarah Ogden, of 6, Clough Cottages, Manchester Rd., Mossley, Manchester.
From the Northumberland Fusiliers Roll of Honour
Pte. Henry Valentine Ogden
British Army 6th Battalion Loyal North Lancashire Regiment
from:Ashton-under-Lyne
James Ogden
British Army 6th Btn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
(d.15th Aug 1915)
My great uncle, James Ogden died of wounds nr Sulva Bay, Gallipoli.
Pte. John William Ogden
British Army 2nd/5th Btn. Warwickshire Regiment
from:Jarrow
(d.3rd Dec 1917)
John William Ogden enlisted at Jarrow and joined the 2nd/5th Battalion Warwickshire Regiment. He died on the 3rd December 1917 age 19 and is remembered at Palmer Cenotaph, St. Paul's Church and at the Cambrai Memorial at Louveral.
His Medal Card shows him awarded the British War and Victory Medals (Mutt and Jeff). It also indicates former service as No. 3/31705 with the North Staffordshire Regiment.
The 1911 census show him as the youngest son, 13 years old and a student. He has two older brothers, Frederick either 17 or 19 working in Steelworks, Robert 14 working in a mineral water company and one sister Doretta aged 16 probably helping her mother at home. His widowed mother Catherine aged 56 has married John Hutchinson 59 who works as a watchman at a blast furnace works. His natural father was John Ogden who died some years earlier and his mothers maiden name was James.
Sgt. Robert Ogden MM.
British Army 1st Btn. Lincolnshire
from:Grimsby
My great uncle, Robert Ogden, joined the Lincolnshire Regiment in 1904. At the time of enrollment, he gave his year of birth as 1885 although it was in fact 1887. The reason, I believe, would have been that, at that time, you needed to be 19 years old to serve abroad. He served with the Lincolnshire Regiment throughout the years leading up to the Great War, including a period of time in India.
At the outbreak of war, the Lincolnshire Regiment was at Portsmouth and immediately started preparations for transfer to France. At 0615 hours on 13th August 1914, they marched out of barracks to the railway station, where they were transferred to Southampton and boarded the SS Norman for the overnight voyage to Le Havre. From Le Havre they were transported, by train, to the Mons area where they were heavily involved in the early engagements of the war.
He served throughout the conflict, finishing as Sergeant at the end of the war. He was awarded the Military Medal (an entry appeared in the London Gazette in February 1919). I have been unable to, as yet, trace a citation or official record for the award but I believe that it was awarded for recovering an injured soldier, under fire, from no man’s land. He was discharged on 31st March 1920.
Robert George Ogg
British Army Highland Guards
from:Glasgow
My Pop serviced in Gallipolli and was injured and sent to Ulster for rehab. He served in the Highland guards in Stirling Castle. He and family migrated to West Australia in 1921.
Cpl David Ogilvie
British Army 12th Btn Northumberland Fusiliers
from:27 Frederick St South, Meadowfield, Brandon Colliery, Co. Durham
David Ogilvie was my grandfather. He survived the war, but I never met him. He died in 1953, when he was 54. He joined the Northumberland Fusiliers in 1915, when he was 16, and was sent to France in early October 1915, just after the Battle of Loos. He served with the 12th Battalion NF at the Battle of the Somme and took part in the capture of Fricourt, of Mametz Wood and several other actions in that part of the line. He was promoted to corporal on 23 October 1916. Just before the Battle of Arras in April 1917, he was sent home with a very nasty case of trench foot. He was discharged on 12 October 1917, officially 21 years old, but actually 18. He later joined the RAF. After the war, he married my grandmother and settled in Lincolnshire, working as a policeman. Emotionally, he was broken by his experiences on the Western Front and, by all accounts, he was very difficult to live with. My grandmother left him in the 1940s and he moved to Liverpool, where he died.
I have always been a bit obsessed with my grandfather and would love to find out more about him.
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