Military History

Theatre of War	Medals	Commonwealth War Grave or Memorial
France and Flanders	1914 Star & Clasp, British War & Victory Medals	Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial
Arrived in Theatre	Medal Citation (if app)	SWFHS Area Memorials
26 Aug 1914	~	Long Itchington
Action, Battle or Other Reason Killed	Date and Place Mobilised from Reserves	Other War Memorials
Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele)	4 Aug 1914 at Warwick	~
Place of Death	Previous Regiments or Units
near Ypres	~

Circumstances Leading to Death (Normally from War Diary)          

Richard was listed as being killed in action on 31 July 1917 and the war diary entry for that day is transcribed below in full.

[Map Reference] 28.A.12.d [NE of Poperinghe] – Line – 31 July: Zero Hour 3.15am our barrage came down in German line. 1^st Scots Guards and 2^nd Bn Irish Guards took the blue line and pushed on to the black line where some resistance was encountered and No.3 Coy 1^st Bn Coldstream Guards, coming forward with the leading wave of the battalion men did material assistance including the enemy. No 2 Coy were employed in mopping up behind the 1st Scots Guards and 2^nd Bn Irish Guards. These two battalions remained in and consolidated the black line. The 1^st Bn Coldstream Guards formed up behind the black line and after a halt of 1 hour and 15 minutes (approx) there, the 1^st Bn Coldstream Guards (with 3^rd Bn Grenadier Guards on the right, between them and the Staden Railway) advanced to attack the green line, their objective,  which was octane within 40 minutes of their advance from the black line. There the battalion dug in on the heavy shell fire.

At 9.15am the 1^st guards brigade went through the green line and attacked the green dotted line.

The casualties were comparatively slight and many prisoners were taken. 1 officer (Lieut T.K. Barnsley) was killed and 4 (Lt. O.S. Leigh-Bennett, Lt G.G. Boyd, 2/Lt R.S. Maitland-Edwards, 2/Lt C.I.P Smith-Ryland) were wounded. Other ranks (approx) Killed 22, wounded 140 and missing 17. END

This video features the Hertfordshire Regiment but gives an excellent overview of the why the Ypres Salient was so important to both sides.