Pte
Peter Ackers
Information about birth
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Place of birth: Great Altcar, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Last known residence: Formby, Merseyside, England, United Kingdom |
Army information
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Country: Verenigd Koninkrijk |
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Force: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Private |
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Service number: 51438 |
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Enlistment place: Southport, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom |
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Units: — Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 10th Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 26/09/1917 |
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Place of death: Saint-Joseph's Institute, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
Cemetery
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Tyne Cot Cemetery Plot: XXV Row: J Grave: 9 |
Points of interest 2
| #1 | Enlistment place | ||
| #2 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Peter Ackers was born in Great Altcar, Lancashire, England. Afterwards, he moved to Formby, Lancashire, England. During the war, he enlisted in Southport, Merseyside, England, to serve as a private in the British Army. He belonged to the 10th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers Regiment (76th Brigade, 3rd Division).
On 26 September 1917, the first day of the Battle of Polygon Wood took place. The 3rd Division attacked at 5.50 am. The 76th Brigade, consisting of the 10th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers Regiment and the 2nd Battalion Suffolks Regiment, advanced to the right of the railway. While they encountered little resistance from the Germans, they briefly held their ground as they sought a crossing over the Zonnebeek stream, but they continued on to the 2nd objective, the village of Zonnebeke. As they crossed the railway, the attack lost momentum under heavy machine-gun fire from the railway station. The 10th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers Regiment and the 2nd Battalion Suffolks Regiment moved into the centre of Zonnebeke, but they were stopped at the station and they could only get to within 200 metres of it. At 2.30 pm, the first counter-attack was launched, but it was easily repulsed by the Germans. At 6.30 pm, a more determined attack was launched, but the attack was stopped by rifle and machine-gun fire. The 10th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers Regiment held 150 metres of the road north-west from the church. During this battle, Peter died near Saint Joseph's Institute where a German officer and eight men surrendered to a lance corporal.
The 10th Battalion lost 290 casualties during the attack in late September 1917: 210 soldiers were wounded, 38 missing and 42 killed. The latter included Peter Ackers. He is buried in Tyne Cot Cemetery (Plot XXV, Row J, Grave 9).
On 26 September 1917, the first day of the Battle of Polygon Wood took place. The 3rd Division attacked at 5.50 am. The 76th Brigade, consisting of the 10th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers Regiment and the 2nd Battalion Suffolks Regiment, advanced to the right of the railway. While they encountered little resistance from the Germans, they briefly held their ground as they sought a crossing over the Zonnebeek stream, but they continued on to the 2nd objective, the village of Zonnebeke. As they crossed the railway, the attack lost momentum under heavy machine-gun fire from the railway station. The 10th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers Regiment and the 2nd Battalion Suffolks Regiment moved into the centre of Zonnebeke, but they were stopped at the station and they could only get to within 200 metres of it. At 2.30 pm, the first counter-attack was launched, but it was easily repulsed by the Germans. At 6.30 pm, a more determined attack was launched, but the attack was stopped by rifle and machine-gun fire. The 10th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers Regiment held 150 metres of the road north-west from the church. During this battle, Peter died near Saint Joseph's Institute where a German officer and eight men surrendered to a lance corporal.
The 10th Battalion lost 290 casualties during the attack in late September 1917: 210 soldiers were wounded, 38 missing and 42 killed. The latter included Peter Ackers. He is buried in Tyne Cot Cemetery (Plot XXV, Row J, Grave 9).
Sources 4
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11 Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO95/1436/2). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
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McCarthy, Chris. Passchendaele: The Day by Day Account (Londen: Arms & Armour Press, 1995), 97. Sources used |
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Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919 (Ancestry) https://www.ancestry.com/ Sources used |
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Soldiers Effects Records (National Army Museum, Chelsea (NAM) 1901-60; NAM Accesion Number: 1991-02-333). https://www.nam.ac.uk/ Sources used |
More information 3
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/461704 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=874f319a-2854-4a4f-94e7-c782cb0531c7 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/629304 |