2nd Lt
Arthur George Amies
Information about birth
|
Year of birth: 1894 |
|
Place of birth: Dewsbury, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom |
Army information
|
Country: Verenigd Koninkrijk |
|
Force: British Expeditionary Force |
|
Rank: Second Lieutenant |
|
Units: — York and Lancaster Regiment, 1st/5th Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
|
Date of death: 09/10/1917 |
|
Place of death: Marsh Bottom, Passchendaele, Belgium |
|
Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
|
Age: 23 |
Cemetery
|
Tyne Cot Cemetery Plot: XX Row: B Grave: 8 |
Distinctions and medals 2
|
British War Medal Medal |
|
Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 2
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Arthur George Amies was born in 1894 in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, England. He was the son of Thomas James Amies and Alice Georgina Amies. In addition, he had a wife, Annis Amies. He served in the 1st/5th Battalion York and Lancashire Regiment (148th Brigade, 49th (West Riding) Division).
On Tuesday 9 October 1917, the day Arthur died, the Battle of Poelcappelle took place. The battalion advanced to the assembly point as early as 6 pm on 8 October via Abraham Heights and Gravenstafel Cross-Roads. This advance was extremely difficult and exhausting because of the state of the ground and mud from great depths. Due to the poor condition of the ground, five men from the battalion fell out along the way. It also ensured that 1st/5th Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Regiment could not keep up with the brigade, so it did not take part in the action. However, the battalion arrived at the assembly point on 9 October at 2.40 am. The companies were drawn up by 3.30 am on a line laid out west of the Ravebeek Stream.
The 49th (West Riding) Division attacked with two brigades: the 148th Brigade on the right and the 146th Brigade on the left. The 148th Brigade attacked with the 1st/4th and 1st/5th Battalions York and Lancashire Regiment and the 1st/5th King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Regiment going forward to take the second objective on the left. The 1st/4th Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Regiment was in Brigade Reserve. The 1st/5th Battalion advanced to the attack at 5.20 am, very close to the barrage. German pillboxes were found and captured near Fleet Cottage. The battalion then encountered the Ravebeek, forcing them to close off the Meetcheele-'s Gravenstafel road. There the left came under fire from machine gun fire and rifle fire. The right side was held up in the swamp. Thereafter, the entire brigade came into a single line, but was again exposed to crossfire from machine guns at Wolf Copse on the left and Snipe Hall on the right. The losses forced the troops to dig in along the slope. Nevertheless, they managed to reach the objective. The first objective was captured along the entire line by 6 am, after which the line was consolidated. At 10 am, an attack was organised on the pillboxes at Polygon Wood, but the attack failed. At 7 am another attempt was made to take two pillboxes on the ridge, but they were so heavily secured that the attack had to be abandoned. Due to the lack of support and the weakness of the battalion, it was deemed impossible to take further action against the pillboxes.
The Battle of Poelkappelle caused 368 casualties: 250 servicemen were wounded, 4 were wounded and missing, 46 servicemen were missing,1 serviceman remained missing but thought to have died and 64 servicemen died, including 23-year-old Arthur George Amies. He is buried in Tyne Cot Cemetery (Plot XX, Row B, Grave 8).
On Tuesday 9 October 1917, the day Arthur died, the Battle of Poelcappelle took place. The battalion advanced to the assembly point as early as 6 pm on 8 October via Abraham Heights and Gravenstafel Cross-Roads. This advance was extremely difficult and exhausting because of the state of the ground and mud from great depths. Due to the poor condition of the ground, five men from the battalion fell out along the way. It also ensured that 1st/5th Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Regiment could not keep up with the brigade, so it did not take part in the action. However, the battalion arrived at the assembly point on 9 October at 2.40 am. The companies were drawn up by 3.30 am on a line laid out west of the Ravebeek Stream.
The 49th (West Riding) Division attacked with two brigades: the 148th Brigade on the right and the 146th Brigade on the left. The 148th Brigade attacked with the 1st/4th and 1st/5th Battalions York and Lancashire Regiment and the 1st/5th King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Regiment going forward to take the second objective on the left. The 1st/4th Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Regiment was in Brigade Reserve. The 1st/5th Battalion advanced to the attack at 5.20 am, very close to the barrage. German pillboxes were found and captured near Fleet Cottage. The battalion then encountered the Ravebeek, forcing them to close off the Meetcheele-'s Gravenstafel road. There the left came under fire from machine gun fire and rifle fire. The right side was held up in the swamp. Thereafter, the entire brigade came into a single line, but was again exposed to crossfire from machine guns at Wolf Copse on the left and Snipe Hall on the right. The losses forced the troops to dig in along the slope. Nevertheless, they managed to reach the objective. The first objective was captured along the entire line by 6 am, after which the line was consolidated. At 10 am, an attack was organised on the pillboxes at Polygon Wood, but the attack failed. At 7 am another attempt was made to take two pillboxes on the ridge, but they were so heavily secured that the attack had to be abandoned. Due to the lack of support and the weakness of the battalion, it was deemed impossible to take further action against the pillboxes.
The Battle of Poelkappelle caused 368 casualties: 250 servicemen were wounded, 4 were wounded and missing, 46 servicemen were missing,1 serviceman remained missing but thought to have died and 64 servicemen died, including 23-year-old Arthur George Amies. He is buried in Tyne Cot Cemetery (Plot XX, Row B, Grave 8).
Sources 4
|
1/5 Battalion York and Lancashire Regiment war diary (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/2805/2). http://nationalarchives.gov.uk Sources used |
|
British Army World War I Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920 (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), WO372). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
|
McCarthy, Chris. Passchendaele: The Day by Day Account (Londen: Arms & Armour Press, 1995), p.122-123. Sources used |
|
Soldiers' Effects Records (National Army Museum, Chelsea (NAM) 1901-60; NAM Accession Number: 1991-02-333). https://www.nam.ac.uk/ Sources used |
More information 3
|
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/461739 |
|
Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=f4ad8d1a-9115-4df3-a958-04c0014927be |
|
Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/42387 |