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Royal Warwickshire 10th Battalion

L

ladyflippers

Brummie babby
Hello everyone,

My great grandfather was killed in action on 20/09/1918. He was a soldier in the 10th Battalion of the RWR, does anyone know where he (they) would have been on that day?

Regards
Jen
 
He was Pte. Samuel Wilkes was 4712 then renumbered to 201218. He originally joined the 5th then 2/6th and finally 10th battalion. He is buried at Le Touret Military Cemetery Richebourg-L'avoue in France.
 
https://www.ww1cemeteries.com/ww1frenchcemeteries/letouret.h

The Cemetery was started in 1915 and used until April.1918 when it fell into German hands. After its recapture only a few more burials were added in September and October. This would be about the time that the last big German Offensive, which almost succeeded, ran out of steam and was being pushed back quickly by the Allies. I think it safe to say Private Wilkes would have been killed or died of wounds somewhere in the vicinity of where he now lies.
I have not discovered exactly what the 10th Battalion were up to but I would think everyone was taking advantage of the chance to take ground from the Germans as seen by the retaking of the Cemetery grounds.
Sorry its not much but I enjoy digging around and sometimes come up with a nugget.

2/5th Battalion
Formed in Birmingham in October 1914 as a second line battalion.
Became part of 2nd Warwickshire Brigade, 2nd South Midland Division.
August 1915 : redesignated as 182nd Brigade, 61st (2nd South Midland) Division.
Landed in France on 21 May 1916.
20 February 1918 : disbanded in France.

10th (Service) Battalion
Formed at Warwick in September 1914 as part of K2 and attached to 57th Brigade, 19th (Western) Division.
Landed in France on 17 July 1915.

The Le Touret Memorial is a World War I memorial, located near the former commune of Richebourg-l'Avoué, in the Pas-de-Calais region of France. The memorial lists 13,389 names of British and Commonwealth soldiers with no known grave who were killed in the area prior to the start of the Battle of Loos on 25 September 1915. The exceptions are Canadian soldiers, whose names are commemorated at the Vimy Memorial, and Indian Army soldiers, whose names appear on the Neuve-Chapelle Memorial. Those commemorated on this memorial include the Victoria Cross recipients Abraham Acton, William Anderson, Jacob Rivers, and Edward Barber.

Designed by J. R. Truelove, the memorial is a loggia surrounding an open rectangular court. The inscription is over the entrance, and given in both French and English. The memorial was unveiled on 22 March 1930 by Lord Tyrrell, a diplomat who was present in his role as British Ambassador to France.The Le Touret Memorial is a World War I memorial, located near the former commune of Richebourg-l'Avoué, in the Pas-de-Calais region of France. The memorial lists 13,389 names of British and Commonwealth soldiers with no known grave who were killed in the area prior to the start of the Battle of Loos on 25 September 1915. The exceptions are Canadian soldiers, whose names are commemorated at the Vimy Memorial, and Indian Army soldiers, whose names appear on the Neuve-Chapelle Memorial. Those commemorated on this memorial include the Victoria Cross recipients Abraham Acton, William Anderson, Jacob Rivers, and Edward Barber.
 
On September 20 1918 10th RWR led the 57th Brigade attack on German positions called the Distillery, Nora Trench and Shepherd's Redoubt near the La Bassee road. These were south of La Tourelle which was between Neuve Chapelle and Festubert. This was part of the final phase of the war 'The Hundred Days' and was part of the Allied attempt to force the Germans back from their spring gains in the Lys Salient. 15 were killed that day. A big German counter-attack took back two of the three objectives successfully taken by 8 a.m. and Nora Trench was re-captured on the next day. 79 German POWs were captured.
 
Wow, thanks you so much Alan and Arkrite. It's amazing to think what Samuel was doing on the day he died.

EDIT: I've just been looking on a map and the German positions you wrote about are just a couple of km's from the graveyeard Samuel is buried in. So he died defending the cemetry he was later buried in, how sad.
 
Hello Ladyflippers..if you send me your email address via instant message I can send you a photo of the grave of Samuel Wilkes.

Regards,
Margaret.
 
Hi Margaret,

Thanks for your kind offer, however I already have a photo of the grave. I am amazed at how helpful all of you are! Thank you all so much :)

Regards
Jen
 
Thomas Hanks was my Grandfather and was born in Bromsgrove in 1880. According to his WW1 Medal Index Card served in France from 18/07/1915 and was Discharged on the 10/07/1918. Ater the war lived in Aston,Birmingham. I know very little of his service in WW1. I am told he may have had a head Injury . I would be Greatfull if anyone could tell me where his regiment was at the time of his discharge on the 10th July 1918. Due to flash backs of the war he was taken into St Mathews Hospital,Burntwood in abt 1938 where he stayed untill he died in 1957. His details are Regiment or Corps:10/R War R .Regimental Number:6054
Regards John
 
Last edited:
10th Warwicks were in 19th Division which took part in the Battle of the Aisne May 27-June 6 1918. At the end of the month they moved to the Fauquembergues area out of the line. On July 11 19th Division was transferred to XIII Corps and moved to the Bony-Auchel area and a sector near Locre. Therefore the date of discharge does not relate to where the battalion was on that date but suggests a wound earlier. There should be a Silver War Medal entry at the National Archives which should have been referenced on his MIC.
 
Hello Alan.
Thank you for the advice about the silver war badge,on his record it says SWB List LA/496. on checking the reference on the National Archives it tells me the reference WO 329/3119 . unfortunatley the office is now closed untill Tuesday. so will just have to wait. The only photograph I have seen of him was taken in a church hall somewhere in Aston ,where all the men in the photograph were wearing their SWB.
Thanks again for the information on his regiment.
Regards John.
 
Hello John

Your grandfather's name and number was listed in the Birmingham Daily post casualty list on 6 September 1916. The actual date of when he was wounded would be around 1 to 2 weeks prior to the publication date.

All I can say at the moment, is that he was wounded on the Somme. I will check to see what the battalion was doing in August 1916

Regards

Terry
 
Hello Terry.
Only last week my wife and I were on a tour of the western front. Which took us through the battlefields of Belgium and France ,Including the Somme. It is hard to believe that anyone could live through the horrors that they went through. Horrors that must have lived with some day and night . I would like to say thank you for all the information .
Regards John
 
hello again John

I will be visiting the Somme on 10/11/12 September. The 10th Royal Warwicks were involved in an attack upon the German lines on the evening of 29/30 July 1916. In the vicinity of the village of Bazentin le Petit. As you might guess it ended in failure and the battalion suffered very heavy casualties with quite a few of the officers killed or wounded. As this was a period of time when many British battalions on the Somme front were taking loads of casualties, information of who was killed, wounded or missing took time in all the chaos. I firmly believe your grandfather would have been wounded in that attack as afterwards the remnants of the battalion and division went out of the line during August.

on your battlefield tour, did you stop at a place called Crucifix Corner? It is the original cast crucifix from before WW1 and has shrapnel holes in it. If you did, then you was not too far from Bazentin le petit.

I will be walking the area when i visit

Regards

Terry
 
Hello Terry.
I have just been tracing the route we took on our tour. We passed through Guillemont, Longueval along to La Boisselle so passed by Bazentin . We took qiuite a few photographs of the area.
I am sure we shall return again . I shall now go to The central library in Birmingham and try to find the Birmingham Daily post casualty list . I will let you know how I get on. I have tried to upload my photograph of a group of men in a church hall taken in Aston ,but I am told the file is to big. It would be nice to see if anyone on the Forum could recognise family. hopefully i can work It out and post it.
Once again Thank you for researching the information for me.
Regards John.
 
If he was discharged in 1918 he obviously recovered from his Somme wound. If his MIC shows one service number it is fair to assume he was in the 10th Bn on the Somme. If there is another number listed he may have been wounded in one battalion and transferred later to the 10th.
 
So went out with 10th and did not change battalion otherwise he would have another number cited. Very unusual MIC which does not usually give battalion. I have done some work on the 10th from 1915-spring 1917. These are their movements....

July 1915-January 1916 - Neuve Chapelle and Festubert
April-June - on the Somme
July 1-5 1916 La Boiselle
July 1916 - out of the line then Mametz Wood, Bazentin le Petit and High Wood
August-September 1916 - sent to the Ypres salient
October 6 1916 - return to the Somme.
November 1916 - took part in the Battle of the Ancre
March 9 1917 - Pulled out of the Somme after being there for the first few days of the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line - sent to the Belgian sector near the Scherpenburg
 
Hi Everyone
I hope someone will be able to offer me a little help on the above mentioned Soldier Private George Henry Sparks. I have managed to find his name on the Thiepval Memorial and believe he was killed in action on the 23rd July 1916 at the Somme. It may have been in the area around High Wood or Mouquet Farm. I think more likely High wood trying to take the Switch Line

Any information would be really welcome
Many thanks
 
Bit of a mystery soldier as no additional info on CWGC and only Bham born and enlisted on Soldiers Died. There is no report of his death in the Bham Weekly Post.

What happened on July 23....

On the evening of July 22 the battalion relieved the 10/Worcs in the line ‘due to unforeseen circumstances’. They werenow due to ‘go over the top’ at 12.30 a.m. on July 23 as part of III Corpsattack on the strong German line Switch Line behind High Wood. However, the battalioncould only get into position at 1.05 a.m. by which time the barrage had lifted.Guides from the Worcestershad not known the way and heavy shelling was taking place. The battalion nowwent over the top but heavy machine gun fire forced them back to their originaljumping off trench. They were ordered to hold on ‘at all costs’. Wyrallbelieves that the last minute ‘eleventh hour relief of the 10/Worcesters andthe late knowledge of the presence of a German ‘intermediate line’ “had much todo with the failure of the attack” (741). At 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. flares lit uptheir position and heavy German shelling followed causing many casualties.

At9.45 a.m. on July 23 Lieutenant Colonel Albert Henderson , aged 46, waskilled. In 1911 Hendersonwas living at Ashton House, Stretton-on-Fosse, Leicestershire on ‘privatemeans’ with his wife, Gertrude, and five servants. He was Scottish born and in1881 was a ten year old boarder at Highbury House school, at Hastings. There were over 100 other boardersin this school for ‘ young gentlemen’. His older brother, Arthur,attended the same school.

CaptainDakeyne was urgently summoned from the transport lines where presumably thereserve ‘cadre’ were based. He arrived to take command at 1.15 p.m. During theday time was spent strengthening the position in the front line. That evening apatrol had been detailed to take a German strongpoint but the whole battalionwas relieved before this could take place. Back at Becourt Wood the casualties were noted for July 23 as three officers killed, six wounded and nine otherranks killed, 81 wounded and 31 missing.
 
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