Military History

William is listed as dying from the effects of heat whilst on active service 0n 17 Jul 1917 having been admitted to hospital in Amara the previous day on the 16th. This was 2 days after the conclusion of the Battle of Ramadi during which more than half the casuatlies were caused by heat stroke. The below is a summary of the Battle contained in a Wikiepedia article.

In the lead up to the First Battle of Ramadi the area was experiencing unexpectedly high temperatures and on the 8th July 1917 they reached 50°C but in the direct heat they reached an incredible high of 71c or 160f which burnt the soles of feet through boots.

One observer noted that the Baghdadis called it "the hottest season in the memory of man" and commented that the extreme heat made most things too hot even to touch: "The rim of a tumbler burnt one's hand in a tent. The dust and sand burn the soles of one's feet through one's boots."

General Maude considered postponing the forthcoming operation but was advised by General Alexander Cobbe to go ahead on the grounds that the weather was unlikely to get cooler and that all possible precautions were being taken to minimise the impact of the heat. A column was assembled at Fallujah consisting of the 7th (Ferozepore) Brigade, two cavalry squadrons, fourteen artillery pieces, four armoured cars and half a sapper and miner company. Three aircraft were also designated to support the force, which was led by Lt Col Charles Levenax Haldane.

The biggest challenge facing the British was how to get the force to Ramadi, as the heat made it impossible to march there from Dhibban, even at night. It was decided to transport them in motor vehicles, ferrying them up to their attacking positions and hopefully delivering them in a fresh enough state to mount an attack. This marked the first serious effort to use motorised infantry in the Mesopotamian theatre. 127 Ford vans and lorries were employed to transport the men, 600 at a time, travelling by night and with tents to shelter against the sun during the daytime. Ice would also be carried to ensure that any cases of heatstroke could be treated immediately.

Course of the battle

Dhibban was occupied without a fight on the night of 7/8 July and the rest of the force arrived there from Falluja on 10 July. A small detachment remained behind to guard Dhibban while the rest pressed on to the Madhij Defile, 11 km (7 miles) to the west. They reached it in the late evening and occupied it without opposition, though Turkish rifle fire was encountered soon afterwards. At 01:00 on 11 July, the advance resumed to Mushaid Point, about 3.2 km (2 miles) east of Ramadi. The column did not reach it until 04:45 due to heavy sand along the route. As the force moved through gardens and farms on the outskirts of Ramadi, the Turks opened fire with six artillery guns, two machine guns, and numerous rifles. By this time, two of the three British aircraft had been forced down after they developed mechanical problems, due to the heat evaporating the water from their radiators. The armoured cars and infantry could make no progress in the face of artillery and machine-gun fire. The Turkish artillery proved far more accurate than expected, repeatedly disabling the British wireless communications. Reinforcements were sent up at 06:45 but could make no further progress.

To make matters worse a dust storm began at 08:00 and continued for most of the rest of the day. British communications broke down and the storm prevented effective counter-battery fire. This in turn made it impossible for the British infantry to attack, as they faced an advance across nearly 1 km (1,000 yards) of open ground in searing heat. The heat also made it impossible to organise a withdrawal during the daytime, so the troops dug in and endured the conditions with water being supplied from the Euphrates. Suggestions that the Turks might be about to withdraw came to nothing and, at 03:15 the following day, the British commander decided to withdraw under the cover of darkness. Although the Turks did not attack the withdrawing British, around 1,500 pro-Turkish Arabs mounted an attack but were "beaten off and severely punished as soon as it got light." They continued to mount sniping attacks against the British as they made their way back to Dhibban, which they reached at 21:30 on 13 July.

Casualties and aftermath

The battle had been a costly failure, exacerbated by the severe weather conditions and the unexpectedly strong Turkish resistance. The British suffered 566 casualties, of whom 321 – over half – were caused by the heat. Enemy fire thus accounted for less than half of the British casualties.  Some men died of heat stroke, while others were reported to have died of thirst or gone mad.