1824 Pte Harry K Liversedge, 6th Bn, King's (Liverpool Regt)

1824 Private Harry Kinder Liversedge of the 6th Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment), died at home on the 10th September 1914. He was born in Liverpool, living in Great Crosby and enlisted at Liverpool. His number dates to around the 7th or 8th August 1914 and he presumably died as a result of accident or sickness. I have been unable to find this man on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's roll of honour.

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

Sources:

Ancestry (MIC)
Soldiers Died in The Great War
Army Service Numbers
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Lt Col Charles E Goff MC, 1st Bn, King's (Liverpool Regt)

Over one thousand men died on the 8th August 1916, the majority of these on the Somme in northern France. Lieutenant Colonel Charles Edward Goff MC of the 1st Battalion, King's Liverpool Regiment was one of the most senior ranking officers to die. He was 26 years old, the son of Crosbie Goff and Mrs Goff of Clonard, Killiney, Co. Dublin. His name appears on the Thiepval Memorial and on a brass plaque in St Matthias' Church, Dublin.

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

Sources:

Ancestry (MIC)
Officers Died in The Great War
Army Service Numbers
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

306091 Pte Joseph L Prince, 2/8th Bn, King's (Liverpool Regt)

306091 Private Joseph Leo Prince of the 2/8th Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment), was killed in action on the 22nd July 1917. He was 19 years old, the son of John and Mary Prince of 111 Elliott Street, Preston, Lancashire. He is buried in the Cite Bonjean Military Cemetery at Armentieres.

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

Sources:

Ancestry (MIC)
Soldiers Died in The Great War
Army Service Numbers
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

3406 Pte Guy Barclay Pollexfen, 10th Bn, King's (Liverpool) Regt

3406 Private Guy Barclay Pollexfen of the 10th Battalion, King's (Liverpool) Regiment, was killed in action on the 26th January 1915. He was the son of Francis Harry and Elizabeth Pollexfen.

Guy's partial service record survives in WO 363 and so we can see that he joined the 10th King's at Liverpool on the 30th August 1914, giving his address as New Brighton, 3 Shrewsbury Road, Oxtow, Cheshire.

Guy arrived overseas on the 1st November 1914 and thus qualified for the 1914 Star as well as the British War and Victory medals. Some while after his death, in August 1916, a kit bag containing Guy's personal effects and his identity disc were received by - presumably - his brother, P E Pollexfen, who was then a captain serving with the Cheshire Regiment.

Guy Pollexfen is buried in Kemmel Chateau Military Cemetery in Belgium.

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

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC, WO 363)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

1758 L/Cpl Myles Mack, 10th Bn, King's (Liverpool) Regt

1758 Lance-Corporal Myles Mack of the 10th Battalion, King's (Liverpool) Regiment, was killed in action on the 9th January 1915.

Myles was a long-serving Territorial who had originally enlisted with the 10th King's on the 23rd February 1909. He was 21 years and two months old at the time of enlistment, and was working as a railway signalman. His address is noted on his attestation papers as Old Swan, Liverpool. Myles stood five feet ten and a half inches tall and had good physical development.

Myles enlisted under an alias, his real name being Myles McNamara, and it is by this latter name that he is commemorated by the Commonwealth war Graves Commission. The Commission notes that he was 27 years old at the time of his death and "(Served as MACK). Son of Thomas and Mary McNamara; husband of Ethel M. McNamara, of 52, Farnworth Street, Farnworth, Widnes." Ethel would later be awarded a pension of ten shillings a week, effective from 10th July 1916.

Myles McNamara is buried in Kemmel Chateau Military Cemetery.

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

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC, WO 363)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

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.

12268 Pte Benjamin Rimmer, 11th Bn, King's (Liverpool) Regt

12268 Private Benjamin Rimmer of the 11th Battalion, King's (Liverpool) Regiment, died of wounds on the 23rd December 1917. He was born in Kirkdale, Liverpool, and enlisted at Seaforth. He was a resident of Liverpool.

Benjamin's number indicates that he was an early volunteer for King and Country, probably joining the 11th King's (the regiment's first service battalion) in early to mid August 1914. He first arrived overseas on the 19th May 1915.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission gives no additional details about this man, but he was possibly the same Benjamin Rimmer whose birth was registered in the September quarter of 1892 and who would therefore have been 25 years old at the time of his death. He is buried in Ypres Reservoir Cemetery.

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

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC, 1901 census)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

95489 Pte Horatio Fitzhughes, 5th Bn, King's (Liverpool) Regiment

Twenty two days after the Armistice was declared, 15 British soldiers died of their wounds. 95489 Private Horatio Fitzhughes of the 5th Bn, King's (Liverpool) Regiment, succumbed to his injuries on the 3rd December 1918.

Horatio was a Manchester man who had enlisted at Manchester. He had previously served with the Lancashire Fusiliers (number 19263) and appears to have enlisted under an alias. A note on his Commonwealth War Graves Commission record states that the family name was Hughes. His medal index card records Horatio Fitz-Hughes. No service record survives.

Horatio is buried at Terlincthun British Cemetery on the outskirts of Boulogne. The cemetery was begun in June 1918 and was chiefly used for burials from base hospitals.

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

K/13859 Pte James Murt, 4th Bn, King's (Liverpool) Regiment

K/13859 Private James Murt of B Company, the 4th Battalion, King's (Liverpool) Regiment, died on this day - 28th August - 1916.

James was born in Kirkdale, Lancashire and was 34 years and 16 days old when he attested at Seaforth on the last day of August 1914. He was five feet, six and a quarter inches tall and weighed 137 pounds. He had a "fresh" complexion, grey eyes and dark brown hair. He had married Mary Brown at St Mary's, Kirkdale on 21st July 1898 and the couple had four children: Robert Murt, born on 6th August 1899, Christopher Murt, born on 17th May 1901, William Murt, born on 30th June 1910, and Thomas Murt born on 31st July 1912. At the time of James's enlistment, Mary was pregnant again and would give birth to another child on 5th October 1914.

James has some minor misdemeanours noted on his service record including an unauthorised absence of 15 days between 4th January and 18th January 1915 for which he was punished with seven days' Field Punishment No 2.

James arrived in France on 4th March 1915 and was certainly awarded one leave between 19th February and 26th Feb 1916. This would have been the last time that Mary and her children saw him alive and after he was killed, Mary was awarded a pension which was subsequently raised slightly to 25 shillings a week for herself and four children, effective from 26th March 1917.

On 30th August 1918, James Murt's identity disc was returned to his widow and in time she would also receive his 1914-15 Star, British War and Victory Medals and memorial plaque with scroll.

James is buried in Bulls Road Cemetery, Flers; grave reference H.H.9.

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

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC, Service Record in WO 363)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Bulls Road Cemetery photograph from Australians on the Western Front 1914-1918.