25188 Sgt Fred Mossop DCM, MM, 1st Bn, King's (Liverpool) Regt

Eight hundred and twenty-eight British army officers and men died on the 30th November 1917. Highly decorated, 25188 Sgt Fred Mossop DCM, MM of the 1st Battalion, King's (Liverpool) Regiment, was one of the men killed in action on this day.

The following information, and the photograph above, are taken from Alan Mossop's Mossop family history website which I came across when searching for Fred on the web.

Fred Mossop was born on the 25th September 1896 at 8 Station Terrace, Moor Row, Cumberland. He was the son of Emily Ann Vickers and he was registered as Fred Vickers at birth, although his surname was changed to Mossop when Emily married his father, Charlie Mossop.

On the 1901 census he is shown living at 9 Dalzell Street, Moor Row, Cumberland with his parents and his sister.

Fred joined the King's (Liverpool) Regiment at Darwen in Lancashire. His number indicates that he must have joined at the end of March 1915 and by the 31st May 1915 he was in France.

Fred was a highly decorated infantryman and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal twice, and the Military Medal. His mother also believed that he had been Mentioned in Dispatches and she would later try (unsuccessfully) to have this acknowledged.

The citation for the award of the DCM which appeared in the Supplement to The London Gazette on the 27th July 1916 reads:

25188 Cpl. F Mossop, 1st Bn., L'pool R, (attached 6/2nd Light Mortar Battery)
For conspicuous gallantry. He went out under heavy shell fire to recover a mortar from an advanced position when the man who was bringing it down was killed. He has proved himself on many occasions to be a cool brave man.

Fred's local newspaper, The Whitehaven News, carried an article about his award of the DCM on Thursday, August 3, 1916:

THE DCM FOR A PARTON LAD. A LOCAL YOUTH'S BRAVERY

The "Darwen Gazette" says:- The roll of Darwen heroes who have distinguished themselves by conspicuous bravery on the field of battle is assuming one of commendable proportions, and it is our pleasure this week to announce that to the list of local heroes is to be added the name of Corporal Fred Mossop, of the Light Trench Mortar Battery. The son of Mr and Mrs Mossop, of 12 Alexandra View, and formerly of 192 Duckworth Street, the Corporal had had a distinguished part in the war. He won promotion from the rank of Private by bravery on the field some time ago, and has been prominent in later occasions and mentioned for honours. Now the announcement is made that he has been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, popularly referred to as the D.C.M., for bravery on the 1st and 2nd ult. In a letter to his home the young Corporal says that the honour has been conferred upon him for "getting my gun back to the support line during a heavy bombardment after other men had fallen". After his great success under most perilous conditions his Brigadier General approached him and said "I will shake hands with a brave man". The matter was brought to the notice of Major-General W. G. Walker, who wrote to Corporal Mossop on the 9th ult., saying "Your commanding officer and brigade commanders have informed me that you have distinguished yourself by conspicuous bravery on the field. I have read their reports and I should like you to know that your gallant action is recognised, and how greatly it is appreciated".

Corporal Mossop, who is referred to above, is 18 years of age, and was born at Parton, where his parents resided for many years. For a time he was in the employ of Messrs Musgrave and Dobson, wholesale grocers, West Strand, Whitehaven, and was serving his time with Messrs H. and T. Burns, Duke-street, Whitehaven, as a plumber, when his family left Parton for Darwen, to which place he ultimately followed them.

Corporal Mossop had previously received the Military Medal, and his stripes were both won on the field of battle. The father of Corporal Mossop is Mr Charles Mossop, a native of Keswick, and well known as a fell racer, and who was employed for several years at Preston-street goods station and at Moor Row. The gallant young Corporal has two uncles still resident at Parton, Mr Thomas Vickers and Mr John [unclear]. During his term of service Corporal Mossop was wounded in the head and back by shrapnel, while acting as a bomb thrower.

In the fourth Supplement to The London Gazette dated 30th April 1918, notification of a second DCM was published:

25188 Sjt. F. Mossop, DCM, MM, L'pool R. (Darwen)
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. On the enemy suddenly attacking in mass formation and overwhelming the front line by weight of numbers, he checked their advance to the second line by firing upon them steadily with a Stokes gun, which caused a great number of casualties. Seeing that he was in danger of being out flanked, he used his rifle with good effect, while his men withdrew the gun. He then rejoined his team, and after obtaining a new supply of ammunition continued to fire on the enemy. He displayed conspicuous courage and set a heroic example to his men.

Citations for the award of Military Medals rarely appear in the London Gazette, and Fred Mossop's award is no exception. It was however, gazetted on the 10th August 1916.

Fred's medal index card at the National Archives indicates that his mother claimed an emblem (that is, the oak leaves awarded to a soldier who had been mentioned in dispatches) in August 1919. She applied again in 1924 but Fred was inelligible for this award and the oak leaves were not sent.

Fred Mossop is buried in Hermies Hill British Cemetery, France. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission notes that he was 21 years old, the son of Charlie and Emily Ann Mossop, of 412 Beaver Street, Sewickley, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. He is also commemorated on the war memorial in Parton, Whitehaven, Cumberland.

On 10th January 1918, The Whitehaven News carried Fred's obituary.

SERGT. F. MOSSOP, DCM & MM, KILLED IN ACTION IN FRANCE.
A SPLENDID RECORD.
Mr. and Mrs. Mossop, Post Office House, Parton, have received the sad news that their son, Sergt. F. Mossop, D.C.M. and M.M., King's Own [sic] Liverpool Regiment, late of Darwen, was killed in action on 30th November 1917. Sergt. Mossop enlisted shortly after the declaration of war and has seen much fighting, being the holder of two medals. He was also recommended for distinction a third time on the 30th October last. The letter from his captain conveying the sorrowful news is as follows:- "Dear Mrs. Mossop, - It is my sad duty to have to write to tell you that your son, Sergeant F. Mossop, was killed in action early this morning. He was firing his gun when he met his end, and he could not have died in a nobler or braver manner. His body is lying well cared for, and will be buried by the C of E Chaplain as soon as circumstances permit. Your son was a splendid fellow, and about the bravest I've met. He was always cheerful and foremost in any games when we were behind the lines. He was really loved by all the officers, N.C.O's and men in the battery, and we all feel our great loss tremendously. With heartfelt sympathy in your great sorrow".
N.C. HARRISON, Capt.

I have italicised one sentence above. The reference to the recommendation for the distinction is probably what would later lead Fred Mossop's mother to apply for the oak leaves emblem in 1919 and 1924.

Another letter received from Lieutenant Arthur Robinson reads:-

"Dear Mrs. Mossop, - It is with the very deepest sorrow I write to inform you of the death of your son, Fred, in action on the night of the 29th-30th December. I was in charge of a gun a few yards from him, and was the first to get to him. He died practically instantaneously and as bravely as he lived. He only asked me how the fellow with him was, and then said "Jack," "Jack". In your great sorrow it may be a consolation to you to know that your son was the finest man it has ever been my lot to meet. He has done the most magnificent work during the last six weeks, and was the cheeriest of the whole battery, no matter how unpleasant things were. His place cannot be filled, and there is not a single man who had such a hold on men. They would one and all have gone through anything for him. I feel his loss as though he was my own brother, and so did Captain Harrison. If there is any further information I can give you I will do so to the best of my ability, and perhaps I may have the chance some day to see you and tell you about Fred. The C.O. myself, and all the battery offer you and your family our deepest sympathy, and he will always be in our memories. - Yours truly."
ARTHUR ROBINSON, Lt.

The Whitehaven News also carried a death announcement from his family on the same day:

MOSSOP - In loving memory of Fred (Sergeant) Mossop, aged 21 years, the beloved son of Charles and Emmie Mossop, Parton, who was killed in action in France, December 30th, 1917. "They miss him most who loved him most" Ever remembered by Father, Mother and Sister (Parton), and by Elsie Bibby, Duke Street, Whitehaven.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War
My grateful thanks to Alan Mossop for allowing me to quote so extensively from The Mossops of West Cumberland website.