3782 Pte Joseph Bardsley, 2nd Bn, Lancashire Fus

3782 Private Joseph Bardsley of the 2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, was killed in action on the 10th October 1915. He was a Manchester man, 28 years old when he was killed, and he is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. He had been in France since the 21st May 1915.

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

204004 Pte Walter Davy, 2/5th Bn, Lancashire Fusiliers

Over 1500 British Army officers and men died on this day in 1916. Soldiers Died reports that 204004 Private Walter Davy of the 2/5th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, was killed in action on this day. Walter was born in Nelson, Lancashire and enlisted there with the East Lancashire Regiment (number 4545). He is buried in Delville Wood Cemetery in Longueval, France.

The fact that Soldiers Died and CWGC give his six digit number (which wasn't introduced until some months after Walter had been killed) suggests that he was originally posted missing, his body presumably recovered and buried some time afterwards.

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

Capt Rowland H M Moody, 2nd Bn, Lancashire Fusiliers

Capt Rowland Harry Mainwaring Moody of the 2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, died on the 31st August 1914. He was 39 years old, the husband of Sybil Marie Moody (nee Bishop). He has no known grave and is commemorated on the La Ferte-sous-Jouarre Memorial in France.

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

4899 Pte George Veevers, 2nd Bn, Lancashire Fusiliers

4899 Private George Veevers of the 2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, died of wounds on the 18th July 1915. He was born in Manchester and living in Todmorden. He enlisted at Pendleton.

George arrived overseas in May 1915. His number probably dates to August 1914. He was the son of Thomas and Mary Veevers of 3BK 259, Halifax Road, Todmorden, Yorks. He is buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery.


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

2184 Pte Irving Frank Noakes, 1/7th Bn, Lancashire Fusiliers

2184 Private Irving Frank Noakes of the 1/7th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, died of wounds at Gallipoli on the 31st May 1917. He was born in Bridgenorth, Shropshire, and enlisted at Salford, probably on the 6th or 7th of August 1914. His medal card records his name as Frank Noakes and indicates that he arrived in the Balkans on the 5th May 1915. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records him as Irving Noakes and gives the additional information that he was the son of John and Eliza Noakes of Burwarton, Salop. He is buried in the Lancashire Landing Cemetery in Turkey.

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

9827 Pte William Critchley, 11th Bn, Lancashire Fusiliers

9827 Private William Critchley of the 11th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, was killed in action on the 6th May 1916. He was born in St Helens and enlisted at Warrington in November 1914. He was the son of James and Mary Ellen Critchley of St. Helens, and he is buried in Ecoivres Military Cemetery in St Eloi.

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

Sources:

Ancestry (MIC, WO 363)
Soldiers Died in The Great War
Army Service Numbers
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

27473 Pte James Lupton, 15th Bn, Lancashire Fusiliers

27473 Private James Lupton of the 15th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, was killed in action on the 30th April 1916. He lost his life on the Somme and has no known grave. He is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.

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 Leslie St Leger Blakeney, 2nd Bn, Lancashire Fusiliers

Lieutenant Leslie St Leger Blakeney of the 2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, drowned on the 28th March 1915. He was 23 years old, the son of the Reverend William Purdon Blakeney and Elizabeth Adeline Blakeney (nee Wilson), of Woodside, Bideford, North Devon. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission gives the additional information that he was educated at Marlborough College and Sandhurst.

Leslie's birth was registered in the "Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire - West Riding" district in the June quarter of 1890 and he appears on the 1891 census as an eleven month old infant living at 4 Pierpoint Terrace in Cheltenham. He is recorded as the grand nephew of Emma Wilson, a 61-year-old widow living on her own means. Leslie's place of birth is recorded as Thorpe Salvin, a small village which today lies within the metropolitan borough of Rotherham and which in 2001 had a population of just 502. There would have been even fewer residents, of course, in 1890. William Blakeney, Leslie's father, was the resident vicar - presumably of St Peter's Church - at Thorpe Salvin between 1886 and 1916.

The Peerage website tells us that Leslie was born on the 13th April 1890. At the time of his death he was attached to the Gold Coast Regiment, The West African Frontier Force, and drowned when the SS Falaba was torpedoed off Liverpool. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Hollybrook Memorial in Southampton. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission's information about this memorial states:

"The Hollybrook Memorial commemorates by name almost 1,900 servicemen and women of the Commonwealth land and air forces whose graves are not known, many of whom were lost in transports or other vessels torpedoed or mined in home waters."

Dixons Medals which, at one time, had Lieutenant Blakeney's medals for sale stated:

"The Elder Line steamship Falaba was en route from Liverpool to Sierra Leone, carrying 151 passengers and 96 crew, and with a cargo valued at £50,000. At 11.40 on the morning of the 28 March 1915, when 38 miles west of the Smalls Lighthouse, she was signalled to stop by the German submarine U-28 (Cdr. Baron von Forstner). Unable to out-run the submarine, Captain Davis of the Falaba complied with the order and was attempting to abandon ship when the U-Boat, unprovoked, fired a torpedo at a range of 150 yards.

"The resulting hit and explosion sent the Falaba to the bottom in less than 10 minutes. Captain Davis and Lieutenant Blakeney were two of the 104 persons who perished in the attack.

Leslie's medal index card indicates that he arrived in Africa as a second lieutenant on the 12th August 1914 and that therefore he must have been promoted to Lieutenant after this date. He had been commissioned with the Lancashire Fusiliers in 1910 and served with the Togoland Force in Africa. There is useful discussion concerning the sinking of the SS Falaba on the Great War Forum.

In 1922, an application was made - presumably by Leslie's father - for the oak leaf, signifying a mention in dispatches. This was duly awarded as can be seen from the attached photo, courtesy of Dixons.

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

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

27136 Pte Granville Schofield, 11th Bn, Lancashire Fusiliers

27136 Private Granville Schofield of the 11th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, died of wounds on the 22nd October 1916. He was 36 years old and the husband of Mary Ann Schofield of 45 Rutland Street, Werneth, Oldham.

Soldiers Died in The Great War records that Granville was born in Oldham and enlisted at Hollinwood in Lancashire. He is buried in Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension (Nord), one of 4343 identified casualties. Bailleul was, according to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, home to the 2nd, 3rd, 8th, 11th, 53rd, 1st Canadian and 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Stations and it seems likely that Granville died of his wounds whilst at one of these clearing stations.

The war memorial at Hollinwood, lists 141 men who died during the First World War and Granville Schofield is probably one of those remembered on it. His army number indicates that he must have joined the Lancashire Fusiliers around May 1916 and therefore he probably hadn't been overseas very long before he was fatally wounded. His joining date indicates that he was either conscripted or had previously attested under the Derby Scheme and was then called up.

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

433 CQMS William Abell Frettingham, 6th Bn, Lancashire Fusiliers

433 Company Quartermaster Serjeant William Abell Frettingham of the 6th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers died in a German POW camp on the 5th November 1918. His medal index card indicates that he arrived overseas on or after 1st January 1916 but I am at total loss trying to work out, from his army number, when he joined up.

It's possible that he joined in late November or early December 1914, and his rank suggests that he may have had prior military experience. However, this is pure supposition on my part. Soldiers Died in The Great War gives his rank as Colour Sergeant and notes that he was born in Long Eaton, Derbyshire and enlisted at Lichfield.

William Frettingham is buried in Niederzwehren Cemetery at Kassel and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has this to say about it:

"The cemetery was begun by the Germans in 1915 for the burial of prisoners of war who died at the local camp. During the war almost 3,000 Allied soldiers and civilians, including French, Russian and Commonwealth, were buried there In 1922-23 it was decided that the graves of Commonwealth servicemen who had died all over Germany should be brought together into four permanent cemeteries. Niederzwehren was one of those chosen and in the following four years, more than 1,500 graves were brought into the cemetery from 190 burial grounds in Baden, Bavaria, Hanover, Hesse and Saxony. There are now 1,796 First World War servicemen buried or commemorated in the Commonwealth plot at Niederzwehren. This total includes special memorials to 13 casualties buried in other cemeteries in Germany whose graves could not be found. The following cemeteries are among those from which graves were brought to Niederzwehren: BAYREUTH TOWN CEMETERY, Bavaria. 24 burials of 1918. DARMSTADT FOREST CEMETERY, Hesse. In use from 1915. 102 burials. DIETKIRCHEN PRISONERS OF WAR CEMETERY, Hesse-Nassau. 45 burials (28 of Irish regiments) of 1914-18. FREIBURG IN BREISGAU MAIN CEMETERY, Baden, 43 burials of 1918. GERMERSHEIM CEMETERY, Palatinate. 26 burials of 1915-1918. GIESSEN MILITARY CEMETERY, Hesse. 99 burials of 1914-1919. GOTTINGEN MILITARY CEMETERY, Hanover. 88 burials of 1914-1919. HAMELN PRISONERS OF WAR CEMETERY, Hanover. 70 burials of 1915-1918. INGOLSTADT CEMETERY, Bavaria. 23 burials of 1917-1918. LANGENSALZA PRISONERS OF WAR CEMETERIES No. 1 and No. 2, Prussian Saxony. 225 burials of 1915-1918. MAINZ MILITARY CEMETERY, Rhein-Hessen. 23 burials of 1915-1919. MANNHEIM MAIN CEMETERY, Baden. 21 burials of 1916-1918. MESCHEDE PRISONERS OF WAR CEMETERY, Westphalia. 49 burials of 1917-1918. OHRDRUF PRISONERS OF WAR CEMETERY, Thuringia. 107 burials of 1915-1918. PADERBORN CEMETERY, Westphalia. 29 soldiers burials of 1914-18. QUEDLINBURG CENTRAL CEMETERY, Prussian Saxony. 102 burials of 1914-1918. SENNELAGER PRISONERS OF WAR CEMETERY, Westphalia. 32 burials of 1914-1918."

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

27523 Pte Albert Henry Brocklehurst, 9th Bn, Lancashire Fusiliers

27523 Pte Albert Henry Brocklehurst of the 9th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers was killed in action on 4th October 1917, one of 3111 British soldiers to die on this date. He was born in Chester and living in Pendleton, Lancashire when he enlisted.

Both Soldiers Died in The Great War and The Commonwealth War Graves Commission give his battalion as the 9th Lancashire Fusiliers. His medal index card though, notes the 15th Battalion and so it seems likely that he went overseas with the 15th and later transferred to the 9th. He originally arrived in France on the 23rd November 1915. His number, which looks to fall within a 'rogue' out-of-sequence batch, dates to around May 1915.

Albert Brocklehurst is buried in Cement House Cemetery at Langemarck; grave reference X.F.27. The War Graves Photographic Project has a photo of his last resting place.

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