Geburtsdatum: 01/03/1892

Geburtsort: Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, Vereinigtes Königreich

Beruf: Lokführer

Land: England, Vereinigtes Königreich

Truppe: British Expeditionary Force

Rang: Lance Corporal

Dienstnummer: 770

Einberufung ort: Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, Vereinigtes Königreich

Einheiten:  —  Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 2nd Bn.  (Letzte bekannte Einheit)

Sterbedatum: 09/10/1917

Sterbeort: Judge Copse, Belgien

Todesursache: Im Kampf gefallen

Alter: 25

1914-15 Star Medaille

British War Medal Medaille — 19/12/1920

Victory Medal Medaille — 19/12/1920

Lance Corporal Arthur Raybould served in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 2nd Battalion, part of the 22nd Brigade, of the 7th Division. The 7th Division participated in the Battle of Poelcapelle (9 October 1917), a stage of the Third Battle of Ypres. The Division attacked with the 22nd Brigade from positions East of Polygon Wood towards the village of Beselare. The Brigade’s attack was carried by the 2nd Hounourable Artillery Company on the right and the 2nd Royal Warwickshires on the left; the 9th Devons were in reserve.

The task of the 2nd Royal Warwickshires was to capture Judge Copse, near the hamlet of Reutel, which had to be taken by the 2nd Hounourable Artillery Company. The assault commenced at 5.20. a.m. and elapsed in total chaos. Judge Copse was reportedly passed by 7 a.m. However it quickly became obvious that the Companies of the 2nd Royal Warwickshire had advanced in complete disorganization. Only isolated parties had reached their objectives. Several Companies had lost direction and most of the Battalion had taken up positions near the Reutel Cemetery without properly clearing Judge Copse. Consequently heavy machine-gun fire from Judgse Copse was causing heavy casualties in the 2nd Honourable Artillery Company. With Judge Copse still in German hands the left flank of the entire Brigade was up in the air and the men were in danger of being cut off.

During the afternoon the 9th Devons were sent into gap on the left. They had to clear Judge Copse. Fighting in the copse continued till nightfall and it was already dark when the 9th Devons finally cleared Judge Copse, thusly securing all the 7th Divison’s objectives. The Germans kept on shelling the captured positions during the rest of the night, but they didn’t counter attack and the positions were further consolidated on the next day.

Lance Corporal Arthur Raybould was killed in action during the attack on Judge Copse on the 9th of October 1917. His remains were not found or were never identified and he is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial.

2 Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment , (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/1664/3). https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14303 Weitere Quellen

Kingsford C.L., The Story of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment (Formerly the Sixht Foot), (London, Country Life LTD, 1921), pg. 172. Verwendete Quellen

McCarthy C., The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995), pg. 104-105. Verwendete Quellen

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/830273

Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=d1b5c317-2d60-4f53-9dd3-f08902ea163e

Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/4143315