THOMAS WILLIAM YATES

THOMAS WILLIAM YATES

Private 200266

1st/4th Battalion Oxford & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry

Thomas William Yates was born in the summer of 1889, the first son of George and Sarah Yates.  George married Sarah Essam on 14th August 1888 at Woodford in Northamptonshire.  George was working as a railway engine fireman at the time, a career which would bring favourable opportunities. 

Within the next year, just before Thomas was born, the newly weds moved to live on Wellington Street in New Whittington.  George had been promoted to a railway engine driver, the family were doing well for themselves.  A few years later in 1894 a second son was born, named Charles Henry and by 1901 the family was complete after baby girl Rhoda Emma was born in 1900.  The Yates family were living at 69 Wellington Street.

"A plus" scholar....

Thomas was lucky and gained an education at the local grammar school.  It is possible that he had been admitted into the school by a free scholarship which was awarded to the children of the elementary schools who were deemed as high achievers.  This education would become the basis for Thomas' later life when he worked as a teacher at both Old Whittington and Whittington Moor schools.

1911 the eve of war....

Thomas now aged 21 years old was recorded as "William" on the actual census return.  The 1911 census was the first census to be completed by the home owner rather than an enumerator, so it's likely that Thomas may well have used his middle name William as his everyday name.  He was recorded as being a student on this census, most likely receiving his further education in teaching.

The whole family had moved home once again and lived at 39 High Street, still in the village of New Whittington.  George was still employed as a train driver for the Midland Railway.  Charles was an apprentice architect and Rhoda aged 11 attended school.

Thomas' war....

Unfortunately the service records for Thomas have not survived but we can piece together some of his war service using other contemporary records such as; medal cards, medal rolls, CWGC records, newspaper reports and war diaries.

Thomas enlisted not long after the outbreak of WW1.  He was a student at the time studying at Culham College in Oxford.  It may be that a recruitment officer visited the college to encourage the men to enlist as he signed his papers at Culham.

Thomas not surprisingly joined up with a local battalion to Culham College, he enlisted with the 1/4th Battalion Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (Oxford & Bucks LI).  He is noted as having two different service numbers; 1935 and 200266, the latter being his regimental number on his death.  Thomas served as a Private rank, however many of his fellow students may well have been placed straight into Officer ranks due to their class and education.  

Once he had enlisted he would be sent to training camp where he would be taught how to become an effective soldier; use of a weapon, discipline and physical drills would be a daily ritual.  The 1/4th Battalion Oxford & Bucks were stationed at Whittle near Chelmsford until they were mobilsed for war at the end of March 1915.  The battalion took part in a parade which would be full of fanfare and celebration as the local community saw the brave soldiers off to war.  They then took a train to Folkestone where they boarded the SS Onward.  

Thomas' medal card states that he "entered the theatre of war - France" on 29th March 1915.  This was the day when 2 Officers and 84 other ranks of the 1/4th left the shores of England to arrive in Boulogne, France at 11 pm that night.  Thomas was one of the 84 other ranks to join the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F) with the first group of men from the 1/4th Oxford & Bucks LI.

The 1/4th were part of the 145th Brigade 48th (South Midlands) Division.  They saw service in some of the most bloody battles of WW1 including being present on the Somme during 1916.

The Battle of Albert as it became known was the opening battle of the Somme offensive.  The 1/4th spent the month of June 1916 working on laying cables and moving equipment such as heavy guns and weapons.  At 9.20 am on 1st July the men began their march to Mailley-Mallet, each man carrying "2 grenades, 2 sandbags apiece, while one Platoon A Company, carried picks and shovels".  The roads were crammed full of moving army convoys, the column of troops was often stopped to allow passing ammunition trucks through their path.  The war diary tells that "Many contradictory rumours circulated as to progress of the fighting, but no official news".  Thomas and his comrades would have no idea that this very day would result in such a massive number of casualties for the B.E.F. they suffered over 19,000 fatalities on the 1st July 1916.  Nor would they be aware of how very infamous that day would become or the consequences of such a battle with its stalemate progress.  

The next day orders were received that the Brigade would attack on 3rd July, its target was to take the 1st line German trenches north of the Ancre.  By 11.30 pm however, these orders had been withdrawn and the battalion were returned to billets at Couin & St Ledger.  On 4th they moved into trenches near Hebuterne and relieved the 1/7th Warwickshire Regiment.

On 18th July the battalion received orders for the following day; to attack in between Ovillers and Poziers.  The war diary states that at 1.30 am "attack launched but held up" and at around 3 am "2nd attack ordered, but not practicable, owing to congestion of trench rendering reorganisation impossible".   It was chaos; by 4.15 am the attack had again been called off.  The men returned to billets at Bouzincourt where they rested.

In action on the west of Poziers....

The battle of Poziers Ridge began on 23rd July 1916.  The 1/4th battalion launched their attack at 12.30 am, the first hour seeing some success and some failures when the platoons became disorganised as the planned sequence of attack became mixed up.  The left hand platoons were said to have suffered high casualties due to this situation.  The battalion were relieved on 24th and retired to a "field outside Albert".  They were then moved on to another area and by the end of July were in billets at Agenville.  

On the first day of the Battle of Poziers the 1/4th Battalion Oxford & Bucks LI war diary records the following casualties:

"Other ranks - 

40 killed

5 missing believed killed

3 missing believed wounded

164 wounded

18 missing

TOTAL - 230 men"

Dawn of 1917....

The month of January was a relatively peaceful one for the battalion.  Up until 9th January they were based in camp at Bresle when they moved on to the town of Cerisy-Buleux.  They remained their until the 29th when they moved on again to the town of Hamel.  The month was spent undertaking training and lectures, with some spare time football matches thrown in.  The weather was wet in the early days but became snowy and very cold towards the end of the month.

In February the war diary records that the men "carried out the new French preventative treatment for trench feet".  They were part of a trial carried out whereby the old method of rubbing whale oil was compared to a new French idea.  The new method required the men to wash and thoroughly dry their feet before applying a powder which was made from borated talc and castor oil.  Socks would then be placed over the newly cleaned and protected feet.  The trial concluded that their were no benefits to using the new method and so the British Army stuck with the tried and tested whale oil method.  

For most of February and on into March the battalion took tours of the trenches stationed in "Sophie trench" at Herbecourt and then returned to billets at Marly Camp.  They saw some heavy artillery fire and recorded many men wounded and killed during those two months.  The weather was still bad with snow at times, this caused the trenches to be a terrible state and made relief manoeuvres very slow.

April 1917....

Thomas and his comrades spent an enjoyable Easter Sunday in camp near Villers - Faucon.  The men took mass; the Wesleyan service at 10 am and the Church of England in the evening at 7 pm.  There was also entertainment when "Pte Kennedy gave a concert with assistance from his friend "Ragtime" and others".  The war diary also noted the change in weather "Everyone very glad to see a bit of sun & hoping for spring weather at last".  But as with April weather, the next day was "Very cold and squally weather again".

On 18th April a patrol of men from A Company (Coy) were sent out towards Gillemont Farm where they found the area to be strongly held by the enemy.  Later that day orders were received "for an attack on the farm tonight by D Coy".  The actual plans for this attack were changed several times until the attack was eventually called of for the time being.

19th April 1917....

The morning of 19th April saw A Coy return to view the enemy at Gillemont Farm to gain more detailed information.  They now noted that there were machine guns placed on top of the ridge.  It was then decided once more that D Coy would attack that evening, with C Coy in support and B Coy would commence any consolidation work afterwards.

At 19.30 pm the war diary records "D Coy in position in two lines with 5 paces interval.  When ridge was reached heavy MG fire was opened.  Lines moved on, support platoons having reinforced so as to make one line".  The heavy fire continued, despite the enemy being seen leaving their trenches on the north west of the farm.  The 1/4th battalion continued to advance under the heavy machine gun fire but suffered badly until at 21.30 pm the men were eventually ordered to withdraw when it "became impossible to maintain the advance".  

A Coy were complimented on their efforts in assisting the stretcher bears rescuing the wounded and "all were successfully evacuated".  The war diary for the day of 19th April 1917 records the following numbers of casualties;

"Other ranks -
9 killed
3 missing
48 wounded"

Private 200266 Thomas William Yates was killed in action on 19th April 1917, he was 28 years of age.

Thomas has no known grave, he is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France.  His memorial ref is; Pier and Face 10A and 10D.

Private Thomas William Yates 200266 was awarded the 15 Star, Victory and British War medals for his service.

Thomas was remembered in the Derbyshire Times dated 5th May 1917 page 8.  The obituary included a photograph of Thomas and read....

"A promising career in the educational world

has been prematurely ended by the death

of Pte. T.W Yates son of Mr and Mrs G Yates,

Handley Road, New Whittington.

Aged 28 years Pte. Yates was educated at Chesterfield

Grammar School, and afterwards was a teacher

at Old Whittington and Whittington Moor.

On the outbreak of war he was studying at Culham College,

but immediately enlisted in the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry.

He went to France just over two years ago and had

been twice wounded, viz., in the head and face"

Thomas was also remembered on the Chesterfield Grammar School's Roll of Honour.

Life went on....

George and Sarah Yates I have not been able to pin point an exact death for either of Thomas' parents, due their being several possibilities the death certificates would need to be purchased.

Charles Yates continued to live in the family home of 39 High Street.  He married Keturah Bridgett in 1921 and had a son named Charles D in 1923.  Charles snr worked as an architect and surveyor.  In 1939 both father and son were doing their bit for the war effort on the home front; Charles snr was an air raid warden and his son was an auxiliary fireman both in the local town of Chesterfield.

Charles snr died in 1967 aged 73 years of age.  

Rhoda Yates married William Fuller a clerk at St Bartholomew's Church in Old Whittington on 1st October 1923.  Her brother Charles was present at the happy event and signed the marriage register as a witness.  

Rhoda and William had three children; Kathleen, Geoffrey and Barbara and lived at 29 Netherthorpe Road in Staveley in 1939.  William had worked his way up the career ladder and was chief clerk at the colliery.  Rhoda died in 1978 aged 78.

*****

If you may be connected to this family or have any further information on Thomas William Yates or his family please do either leave comments via the pen icon below or drop me an email.

I hope that I have not given details of living persons, if so please advise and I will remove immediately.

Please note all information has been taken from online indexes and sources.  Due to the sheer numbers of people to be researched I am unable to purchase vital event certificates to confirm my research.



*****

With special thanks to Wendy Pockson for her help 
regarding Thomas' Grammar School Roll of Honour 
and for use of the photograph.

*****

Ref and further reading  -

Census

Parish registers

Medal rolls
Medal cards

Soldiers who died in the Great war

Register of soldiers effects
War diaries www.ancestry.co.uk

Newspaper articles - 
Derbyshire Times - 5th May 1917 page 8

CWGC  http://www.cwgc.org

War diaries - 1/4th Battalion Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry WO 95 / 2764/1

Also available is the transcript of the war diary to read freely http://www.weymouthsands.co.uk/diary/

1/4th Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry

Rollof honour - http://oxfordandbucks.co.uk/Roll_of_Honour.htm

Culham College http://www.culhamcollege.co.uk/

Battle of Poziers Ridge http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/pozieres.htm

French preventative treatment for trench foot https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=LgcrBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA198&lpg=PA198&dq=1917+French+treatment+for+trench+foot&source=bl&ots=_QBNDAmaAr&sig=O063tdMTkYmXEsG4pIVuulS1K5I&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjwqpv6iNDaAhUjKMAKHYY-D5kQ6AEIbzAI#v=onepage&q=1917%20French%20treatment%20for%20trench%20foot&f=false

WILLIAM NEEDHAM

WILLIAM NEEDHAM

Private 14982

10th Battalion Sherwood Forester Regiment

Killed in action - 9th August 1916

William Needham was living in Cresswell when he enlisted with the Sherwood Foresters.  He was born in New Whittington around 1885. His life prior to WW1 has not been easy to follow, but in 1911 he was living with his siblings at 4 Cross London Street in New Whittington.  I have not found William recorded on a census living with his parents.  

Assuming that William shared the same mother and father as his siblings then he was the son of Joseph and Sarah Needham.  Joseph was a carpenter/joiner born in Sittinglow, Derbyshire.  Sarah was born in Chinley near Chapel-en-le-Frith on the outskirts of the Peak District.  Sarah nee Royle married Joseph Needham on 6th February 1866 at Chapel-En-Le-Frith in Derbyshire.

In 1871 Sarah was living at West Street, Whittington with her two children; John aged 4 and Mary aged 2. John was born in Combs, Derbyshire around 1867 and so it would appear that the family moved to New Whittington some time around 1868/9 as Mary was born in the village.  Joseph was not living with Sarah on census night, he may well have been working away from home.  

More children followed; Joseph in 1872, Sarah Ann in 1877, Herbert in 1878, Alice in 1880, Martha in 1882. William was born at some time around the end of 1884 to the beginning of 1885 and another son named James Wilfred was born at the end of 1885 **please see the bottom if this post for my comments regarding James Wilfred and William. 

Sadly two of the children died; Mary died in 1873 aged just 4 years old. She was buried at New Whittington on 10th August 1873.  On 4th September 1885 eldest son John died aged just 18 years old.  He was admitted to Chesterfield Royal Hospital where he later died.

By 1891 Sarah and had moved to London Street, still in the same village of New Whittington.  However, neither William or his father Joseph are noted on the census returns.  

1901 finds Sarah now living at 69 South Street and described on the census as "widow".  It looks likely that her husband Joseph had recently died that same year.  Her two children; Martha and James W were still living at home with her.  Once more there is no mention of William Needham.

Joseph her son was living a few doors away at number 66, he had married Edith Wrigglesworth on 21st October 1895. The couple had a young son named Herbert aged 4 years old.  

Sarah Ann, William's sister had married John William Thompson on 24th September 1899 at Chapeltown, Near Sheffield.  John was a pattern maker and they had one son named Charlie, he was one year old on the 1901 census.  The young family were living at Bredbury in Cheshire.


Herbert had married Minnie Fletcher on Christmas Eve 1900, the newly weds were living at 87 High Street, New Whittington.  Herbert worked as a coal miner hewer.

Alice had also married, she had become step mother to another of the soldiers named on the St Barnabas Memorial when she married Thomas O'Brien in 1900.  Alice and Thomas O'Brien were living at 16 Bamford Street in 1901, with Thomas' children from his first marriage; Mary, Catherine and Thomas and their own child a son named William.  (Thomas jnr was killed in action on 22nd February 1916, his story can be read here). 

1911 the eve of war....

Move on ten years to 1911 and William is finally found on the census returns living with his siblings; Herbert and Joe.  Their mother Sarah was not living in New Whittington, whether she had died or moved is not known at this time.

William was enumerated on the census return as "Willie" aged 25 he worked as a coal miner.  They were all living in Herbert's home at 4 Cross London Street, New Whittington.  Herbert and Minnie Needham now had a son; 10 year old Arthur. 

William's other brother Joe and his son Herbert were also living in the same household.  

Sarah and John Thompson were still living in Bredbury at 4 Dark Lane. They had two more children by now; William aged 3 and Evelyn aged 1 year.  

Alice and Thomas O'Brien were living at 116 Crown Yard, Thomas was employed as an locomotive engine driver.  They had his son Thomas living with them along with Annie, Margaret and John from their own marriage.

Martha was living at 65 South Street, New Whittington in 1911.  She had married her sweet heart Solomon Ward on 15th July 1903.  The couple had two sons; Enoch aged 7 and Arthur 6 months of age.

James Wilfred was not recorded on the 1911 census.

William's war....

Unfortunately William's service records have not survived, nor does he appear to have been given an obituary in any of the local newspapers. William served with the 10th Battalion Sherwood Forester Regiment, many of the local men also served in this regiment.  William was known as Private 14928.  

Not knowing when William enlisted or when he first went into action it is difficult to ascertain what service he saw.  On 1st July 1916 the 10th Battalion were given orders to move to prepare for battle.  They collected supplies from Becourt Wood and moved out towards Fricourt. On 2nd July the battalion began their advance on Fricourt Wood at 12 noon.  The advance was slow though and held up several times due to the positions being held by the enemy.

On the 3rd July they were given orders to attack Railway Alley along with the 7th Border Regiment and 7th Lincolnshire Regiment.  The war diary states that the attack was "in every way successful and the casualties comparatively light".  The attack resulted in the garrison of the enemy showing the white flag and surrendering.  The battalion were able to move on and occupy Crucifix Trench.  The night was spent consolidating and patrolling the newly acquired ground, however they were under continued bombardment from enemy attack and sniper fire. On 4th July the men were relieved from their duties and marched weary in the rain to billets at Ville.

August 1916 came and the battalion received orders to move from their billets near Albert to the trenches at Pommiers Redoubt.  That night and the following morning the men spent time collecting supplies.  On 3rd August they were given further orders that they were to leave by daylight on 4th August and move to relieve the 22nd Royal Fusiliers near to Mine Trench.  

No rest for the battalion as on 5th August they were moved on once more to relieve the 9th Duke of Wellington Regiment at Longueval.  This was no easy task as the ground had been so heavily shelled there was some large shell holes which were joining together which "made work extremely difficult".

The following days were spent carrying out several unsuccessful attacks on Delville Wood.  Each time the battalion were unable to push forward and "establish a line of posts outside the wood".  On 8th August the battalion were to relieve the 7th Lincolnshire Regiment.  This was once again not an easy manoeuvre and the battalion did not arrive in the trenches vacated until 7.30am on 9th August.  Within the battalion three of the companies were now stationed in the trenches at Montauban Alley, the fourth company was stationed in a new trench situated in between Longueval and Montauban.

The war diary gives the following statistics for casualties for the days of 4th to the 9th August 1916 -

"Officers - 7 wounded (1 of which with shell shock)

Other Ranks - 

38 killed,

5 died of wounds,

148 wounded,

23 missing"

William was killed in action on 9th August 1916.  He has no known grave but is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial, France.  Ref pier and face 10C 10D and 11A.

Private 14928, William Needham was awarded the Victory and British Medals for his service.

Siblings names noted on Soldiers Effects register
co www.ancestry.co.uk

Piecing together the life of William Needham has not been a simple task, he does not appear on all of the British census returns.  However, the register of his effects and whom received the pension payments after William's death do confirm that his siblings were; Joseph, Herbert, Sarah A Thompson and Martha A Ward.  

Life went on....

Joseph Needham and Edith were still living in New Whittington at the time of WW1.  What became of them after that time in unknown for now.  If they remained in the New Whittington area then Joseph may have died in 1946.

Sarah Ann and John Thompson remained living in Bredbury, Cheshire. John died in 1922 aged just 51 years old.  Sarah was living alone at 4 Vernon Road, Bredbury in 1939.  Sarah may have died in 1958 but this would need further confirmation.

Herbert Needham appears to have remained in New Whittington.  On the 1939 Register Herbert and Minnie were living at 87 London Street. Herbert was out of work at the time.  

Alice and Thomas went on to have what appears to be a very turbulent marriage.  However, they had five children; William, Annie, Margaret, John and Sarah.  John died less than one year old in 1911.  Alice also died at a young age in 1915, she was just 36 years old.  Alice's story can be read in more detail here.

Martha and Solomon Ward also continued to live in New Whittington. They had another son named George in 1913.  The family were living at 63 South Street in 1939.  Martha died in 1951 aged 69 years of age.

James Wilfred Needham remain a mystery, if anyone can add anything to their story please contact me.

** MY THOUGHTS..... is William "Willie" Needham actually James Wilfred Needham??  No census records both males living with their siblings in the same year.  A check of the General Register Office birth registers confirm that the children of Joseph and Sarah Royle all had the birth mother as Royle; the only name not registered is William Needham.  This however could be an error, or maybe they never got round to registering both boys in 1885?? 

*****

If you may be connected to this family or have any further information on William Needham or his family please do either leave comments via the pen icon below or drop me an email.

I hope that I have not given details of living persons, if so please advise and I will remove immediately.

Please note all information has been taken from online indexes and sources.  Due to the sheer numbers of people to be researched I am unable to purchase vital event certificates to confirm my research.

*****

Ref and further reading  -

Census

Parish registers
Medal rolls
Soldiers who died in the Great war

Register of soldiers effects
Service record - www.ancestry.co.uk

Newspaper articles - Derbyshire Times 12th September 1885, page 5

CWGC  http://www.cwgc.org

War diaries - Piece WO-95-2008 

10th Battalion Sherwood Foresters http://www.naval-military-press.com/10th-s-bn-the-sherwood-foresters.-the-history-of-the-battalion-during-the-war.html

The capture and defence of Montauban July 1916 http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/battles/battles-of-the-western-front-in-france-and-flanders/the-battles-of-the-somme-1916/the-capture-and-defence-of-montauban-1-13-july-1916/

GEORGE HENRY MEARS

GEORGE HENRY MEARS

Private 9192

9th Battalion Sherwood Forester Regiment

Killed in action - 26th September 1916

George was the first born child of Elizabeth and Henry Mears.  Born in Staveley sometime around early 1885, he was one of five children, a relatively small family for the times.  He was named after his maternal grandfather George and his own father Henry.

George's parents Henry Mears and Elizabeth Ann Horner married on 3rd November 1884 at Staveley.  Henry was originally from Apethorpe in Northamptonshire, he was boarding with the Moorcroft family on Handley Road in 1881.  Henry was employed by the Midland Railway as a guard.  Elizabeth was born in Staveley, the daughter of George and Mary Horner.  Her family lived in the coal miner's residence, Hartington Cottages, George was a coal miner deputy.

The family soon grew; Arthur Alec was born in 1886, Sarah Ellen in 1890, Elsie in 1894 and Reginald in 1897.  Sadly baby Reginald died as an infant baby, he was buried at Whittington on 11th September 1897.

The 1901 census records George as living at 58 South Street, New Whittington.  He was aged 16 years old and employed along with his brother Arthur as a labourer at the furnaces.  His father was noted as married, but Elizabeth his wife is not living with the family on this night. The two daughters; Sarah and Elsie were also in the household. 

George's father Henry died in the summer of 1908.  

George joins the army....

Aged 19 years and 1 month George enlisted to serve for King & Country.  He signed up to serve 3 years with the Colours and would remain in the Army Reserves for 9 years after.  

He was serving with the local Notts & Derbys Regiment (The Sherwood Foresters); Private 9192.  His service began in February 1904 and would offer George more excitement than his job back in New Whittington where he worked as a pipe moulder.  

The service records describe George as 5ft 4 1/4" in height and weighing 125lbs.  He had a fresh complexion, blue eyes and brown hair.  

1911 the eve of war....

George does not appear on the 1911 census, his service records are unclear as to whether he extended his army service to this date.

His siblings had all moved on with their own lives to; Arthur married Maria Starkey in 1910, they were living with her parents John and Mary at Melbourne Villas, Albert Avenue in 1911. Arthur worked as an iron pipe maker. On 22nd April 1913 the couple had a baby son, named William Robert.

Sarah married Albert Brent also in 1910.  Albert was from the neighbouring village of Barrow Hill.  A son was born in 1911 named William Edward.

Elsie was 17 years old and worked as a servant for a widowed Irish coal miner named Michael Kelly.  They lived at 8 Bamford Street, New Whittington.  In 1914 she married Joseph Whitehouse, a local boy he was living at 64 South Street in 1911.  Not long after, the couple had their first child; a daughter named Edna was born on 18th March 1915.

Wedding bells also rang for George when on 9th October 1911 he married Emma Short.  Emma was the daughter of Jepson Short.  She was born in New Whittington around 1888.  The witnesses to the weding were Arthur James Mitchell and his sister Edith Mitchell, only three years later tragically Arthur was to become the first man of the village to lose his life to the Great War, he is also named on St Barnabas Church War Memorial.  

Emma had spent some time in London; aged 16 years old, she was living at 74 Acre Lane, Lambeth and was undertaking training in domestic service. By 1911 she was back home in New Whittington, working at the Royal Hotel.  

Emma and George were soon to find themselves parents; on 3rd March 1912 a son was born, named after his father George Henry Mears. George jnr was baptised on 4th April 1912.  A second son named Thomas Arthur was born on 24th March 1915.

George's war....

Service record
www.ancestry.co.uk

As part of George's terms he had agreed to remain in the Army Reserve for 9 years after his earlier service had ended.  And so he would find himself receiving his call up as soon as the war had been declared.  He was called to mobilise at Derby on 5th August 1914.  

As a time served soldier, George was mobilised to Sheffield on the very day that war was declared, he was posted to the 2^nd Battalion Sherwood Forester Regiment, keeping his rank and number, Private 9192.

On 8^th September 1914 George and his comrades set sail to join the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F) in France; the country in high spirits of a quick victory, he would be back by Christmas…. or so they believed.  He would leave his young son George aged 2 and his wife who would be around three months pregnant at the time.

The 2^nd Battalion were part of the 18th Brigade, 6th Division who landed at St Nazaire, France and were thrust straight into the battlefront being present at the Aisne Heights offensive on 20^th September 1914.  Not long after in October they relieved the 2nd Battalion Durham Light Infantry at Ennetiere, the location of the Battle of Armentieres.  The battalion were forced back by the enemy, but soon found themselves surrounded, many men were forced to surrender; the war diary notes “Casualties 710 NCOs and men missing”.

At the end of July 1915 George received a mosquito bite to his right hand, he was transferred back to England on 5th August for medical care at Bagthorpe Hospital (now Nottingham City Hospital).  This hospital was reasonably local for George, being situated on Hucknall Road in Nottingham.  George soon recovered from his illness and was deemed fit to return to the battlefront.

It was at this time that George was relocated to the 9th Battalion Sherwood Foresters.  On 14th November 1915 he was sent to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force; the Gallipoli Campaign.  The battalion had landed at Suvla Bay in August 1915, they were subject to heavy fighting and many soldiers succumbed to illness.  In December 1915 the battalion were forced to retreat to the island of Imbros before moving on to Egypt, where in February 1916 they took over part of the defence of Suez Canal.

The Somme, 1916....

Service record
www.ancestry.co.uk

According to his service records George and his comrades once again set off for France, they began the journey on 26th June and arrived on 4th July 1916.  They were being called upon after the tragic day, the 1st July, the first day of the Battle of the Somme.  The 9th Battalion Sherwood Foresters were much needed reinforcements for the British.

August 1916 a month into the Somme attack, many thousands of soldiers wounded, missing and killed in action.  The 9th Sherwood's had relieved the 9th Rifle Brigade in the trenches near to Arras on 28th July. The month was relatively quiet, regular enemy aircraft flying overhead, occasional gas attack alerts, enemy fire and time spent as working parties, fixing wire and making good the trenches.  The men were relieved on 18th August and returned to Headquarters at Berneville.

The battalion then spent 10 days at Gouy-En-Artios where they received several days worth of training, which the war diary records as having included numerous lectures.  On to Astree Wamin and more training and then on 3rd September the battalion arrived at Acheux where they received lectures on Battalion Attack.  It would appear that the allies were taking no chances and wanted their men to be fully educated and ready to produce an effective attack on the enemy.  A small rest bite from combat, but no time for relaxation.

School time over....

George's combat education was at an end, it was time to put the new skills into practise; on 6th September the battalion relieved the 13th Cheshire Regiment in the trenches just south of Thiepval.  They remained in the trenches under some very heavy enemy fire.  On 12th September just before they were to be relieved the battalion war diary tells "Enemy send over large number of tear shells which exploded in our trenches.  It was suspected that poisonous gas shells were mixed up with these.  Gas helmets were worn and no casualties occurred".  At 6am the men fell into the reserve trenches when they were relieved by the 6th Lincolnshire Regiment. 

Over the coming days the men were moved in and out of trenches. There was great artillery fire by the British, which were a success and enemy prisoners were taken.  The Germans then retaliated bombarding the 9th Battalions occupied trench, "Constance Trench.....was heavily shelled by enemy with whizz-bangs".  

On 22nd September the men were relieved once more and returned to Mailley Mallet where they rested and undertook a parade, with new clothing issued.  On 24th September the men rehearsed the forthcoming attack on Thiepval.  Orders were given that the men should be ready to move at short notice, George and his friends would be aware that the coming attack was to be the culmination of the weeks of training and rehearsals.  

26th September 1916....

The men found themselves once more stationed in Constance Trench, ready for the coming attack on Thiepval.  They were reported as all being in position by 3.30am on the morning of 26th September.  They were then given "M & V rations* and tea was sent up during the morning" .

Once fed, the men were moved into position ready for "the whistle signal at ZERO 12.35pm".  During the attack the battalion received many casualties, however it also took many prisoners and large scale items of equipment were also claimed from the enemy.  The battalion were part of the 33rd Brigade of the 11th Division which successfully captured Zollern and Hessian Trenches, despite heavy machine gun fire at times. It is said to have suffered 600 casualties. 

The battle carried on into 27th September, on 28th the battalion spent time in consolidating Joseph Trench, they were shelled throughout their work.

The heroic fighting by all of the 11th Division was noted in a memo sent from General Sir H Gough, Commanding Reserve Army.  It reads;

"My best congratulations to you and your division on 

their gallant fighting today and throughout the

successful operations in which you have been engaged 

since the capture of the WONDER WORK.

You have all done splendid work"

George was presumed dead on the date of 26th September when he partook in the "splendid work" along with his comrades in arms of the 11th Division.  The action became known as The Battle of Thiepval Ridge.

Private George Henry Mears, 9192 was laid to rest at the Regina Trench Cemetery, Grandcourt; grave ref Vii H 7.  His grave is marked simply with the sign of the cross, no other inscriptions were added by George's family.

Medal card - Private 9192
*See notes below re different Battalion & death date

Private 9192 George Henry Mears was awarded the Victory, British and 14 Star Medals for his service.  

*His medal card appears to show George Mears, Private 9192 as being attached to the 1st Battalion Sherwood Foresters.  Looking at his service records and other documentation, all information for WW1 confirms George served with the 2nd and 9th Battalion. The date of death is recorded as 20th September 1916 not 26th, again all other paperwork states 26th September 1916.

Walter Furness another New Whittington man also served with the 9th Battalion Sherwood Foresters.  He to was presumed missing in action on the same date, 26th September 1916.  His story can be read here.

Arthur James Mitchell the witness at George and Emma Mears wedding was also killed and remembered on the St Barnabas Memorial.  His story can be read here.

Life went on....

What became of George's mother Elizabeth Mears is unknown at this time.  

Emma and her two sons George jnr and Thomas Arthur Mears were awarded a pension of 22s 11p per week commencing on 23rd April 1917.  She lived at this time at 21 Station Lane, New Whittington.  

Emma remarried in early 1918, her husband was Samuel Toseland another New Whittington lad.  The couple went on to have four children; Elsie, James, Samuel and Doris.  More sadness was unfortunately to come into Emma's life when she lost her two sons as young children; James under 1 year and Samuel aged just 4 years old.  Samuel died in 1956, Emma in 1960.

George Henry jnr married Mary Levers in 1935.  On the 1939 Register the newly weds were living at 35 Brearley Street, New Whittington.  George worked as a labourer at the steel works.  George died on 30th November 1981, his address at the time was 27 Wellington Street, New Whittington.  Mary his wife died in 1989.

Thomas Arthur Mears married Alice Hawkins in 1938.  The couple lived at 13 Beetwell Street in Chesterfield town centre.  Thomas worked as a bus conductor.  They had a daughter named Jean.  Thomas died in 1990, Alice in 1993.

George's siblings....

Arthur and Maria had another child, a daughter named Lillian born on 9th June 1915.  The family were living at 2 Albert Avenue on the 1939 Register and Arthur had been promoted to foreman at the iron foundry.

Arthur died on 6th May 1961 at Walton Hospital.  He was aged 74 years old and had moved away from New Whittington, his address was 38 Windermere Road in Newbold.  Maria had died in 1955. Their daughter Lillian Mary died a spinster aged 78 years old in 1993.

Sarah and Albert Brent had more children; Violet in 1912, Henry in 1913, John in 1915 and George in 1920. Albert served during WW1, which would explain the break in children born during those years.  The couple lived at Cotterill Lane in Brimington.  

William Edward Brent, Sarah's son was a Sergeant Instructor in the Royal Artillery.  He had joined the services before WW2 but sadly died at home aged 32 years of age on 3rd April 1943.  His obituary was written in the Derbyshire Times newspaper on 9th April 1943 page 6.  It told how he was a "fine athlete and gymnast" "while in the Army he reached the semi-final of the Light Heavyweight Army Boxing Tournament". He had served in India for six years and was married to Mary Brent.  William was buried at Brimington Cemetery.

Elsie and Joseph Whitehouse had two more children; Winifred in 1917 and Joseph in 1920.  The couple stayed in the village of New Whittington, in 1939 they were living at 98 South Street with their eldest daughter Edna.  Joseph was working as a coal miner.  Elise was written as "Edith E" on the 1939 Register.  There are several possible deaths for (Edith) Elsie Whitehouse, which would need verification with the death certificate, Joseph died in 1969.  

*M & V rations are Meat and Vegetable rations.  See the link to read more about the food and rations during WW1.

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If you may be connected to this family or have any further information on George Henry Mears or his family please do either leave comments via the pen icon below or drop me an email.

I hope that I have not given details of living persons, if so please advise and I will remove immediately.

Please note all information has been taken from online indexes and sources.  Due to the sheer numbers of people to be researched I am unable to purchase vital event certificates to confirm my research.

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Ref and further reading  -

Census

Parish registers
Medal rolls
Soldiers who died in the Great war

Register of soldiers effects
Service record - www.ancestry.co.uk

                               

CWGC  http://www.cwgc.org

War diaries - Piece WO 1813 / 1-4

9th Battalion Sherwood Forester Regiment http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/sherwood-foresters-nottinghamshire-derbyshire-regiment/

Imbros Island http://www.army.mod.uk/firstworldwarresources/gallipoli-1915/general-headquarters-imbros-1915