Military History

Theatre of War	Medals	Commonwealth War Grave of Memorial
France and Flanders	British War & Victory Medals	Soissons Memorial
Arrived in Theatre	Medal Citation (if app)	SWFHS Area Memorials
After 1 Jan 1916	~	Temple Grafton
Action, Battle or Other Reason Killed	Date and Place Enlisted Date	Other War Memorials
Third Battle of the Aisne	Dec 1915 at Stratford on Avon	~
Place of Death	Previous Regiments or Units
near Bergères, Champagne	Drv. T4/160078 Army Service Corps
	Drv. 47789 Royal Irish Rifles

Circumstances Leading to Death (Normally from War Diary)           

The battalion had been engaged in the fighting during the Third Battle of the Aisne since the last days of May by the end of which they had suffered casualties of 1 killed, 34 wounded and 551 missing . The remaining 73 officers and men formed a composite battalion with the 2nd & 8th Battalions, Worcestershire who were led by Colonel Grogan who won his Victoria Cross on 29th May. The Battalion had faced what was effectively the end of the German Spring Offensive.

On the day William is listed as being killed, 6th June 1918, the war diary states that the battalion were holding a line on the western edge of Bois de Courton to Bergeres. No mention of casualties is made in the war diary but the Worcestershire World 1 Centenary website gives the names of all 78 men from Worcestershire battalions who are listed by the CWGC as being killed on that day, click here. However the 6th cannot be confirmed to be anything other than the last day it was possible for him to be killed and it is more accurate to say that William was killed at sometime between the 27th May and 6th June. The composite battalion was withdrawn from the line two days later on the 8th June 1918.