Military History

William was taken prisoner at Messines on 10 Apr 1918 during the German Spring Offensive.  On 30 Sep 1918 he was being held at Friedrichsfeld Prisoner of War Camp (Click here for the Red Cross Record). William's Register of Effects states that he died at Heiligenstadt of Inflammation of the Lungs.

William was taken prisoner on 10 Apr 1918. The following information about that day is reproduced courtesy of Worcestershire Regiment website

THE BATTLE OF MESSINES (1918)
Dawn of 10th April 1918 was shrouded in a thick white mist. The first light had hardly found a way through that mist when, at 5.30 a.m., a terrific barrage crashed down upon the defences of the 19th Division. For half-an-hour the storm raged! Then behind their curtain of bursting shells the German infantry came flooding forward.

On the front held by the 57th Brigade, the German attack was made by no fewer than thirteen battalions; two of which were "Stoss-trüppen"—picked fighting men specially trained. The dense waves of the attack poured forward in the mist, surged through the gaps between the defensive posts of the British battalions, and then flooded over the defences from flank and rear. There were many desperate struggles in the mist as the little groups of defenders fought back-to-back until finally overwhelmed.

The regimental officers went down fighting at the head of their men. After all the officers of the two forward Companies had fallen, Company-Sergeant-Major S. W. Brush and Company- Serge ant-Major F. Yeates took command and inspired the remnant of their men to resist as long as defence was possible. Sergeant B. King took command of his platoon after his officer had been killed, held up two successive attacks and then covered the withdrawal of the troops on either flank (C.S.M. Brush was awarded the M.C. and C.S.M. Yeates and Sgt. King were awarded the D.C.M.). Inspired by such leaders the platoons fought on, selling their lives at bitter cost.

Soon after half-past six the last defences of the forward zone had fallen, and the enemy came crowding up the slope through the fog to storm the reserve trenches of the Brigade. Those trenches had already suffered severely from the bombardment; but their garrisons held them desperately fighting to the last man against great odds. Eventually the sheer weight of the attack carried it forward. The grey wave swept over the reserve trenches, killing most.of the defenders arid breaking the line. The casualties of the 10th Worcestershire Regiment on April 10th included: Killed—Lieut. W. A. Beaman and 2/Lieut. H. J. Luckman. Missing—Capt. G. M. I. Blackburne, Capt. A. M. Dickinson and 2/Lieut. P. E. Thompson. Wounded—Capt. L. H. Salmon, Lieut. T. Bishop, Lieut. W. J. F. Heap, 2/Lieut. H. Bryant, 2/Lieut. C. J. Cullis.