Pte
Harry Appleyard
Information about birth
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Year of birth: 1897 |
General information
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Last known residence: Marsh, Huddersfield, Kirklees, West Yorkshire, 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: 242661 |
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Enlistment place: Leeds, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom |
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Units: — West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own), 1st/6th Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 09/10/1917 |
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Place of death: Fleet Cottage, 's Graventafel, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 20 |
Cemetery
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Tyne Cot Cemetery Plot: XXVIII Row: B Grave: 16 |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Last known residence | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Harry Appleyard was born around 1897. He was the son of William and Sarah Appleyard. Before the war he lived in Marsh, Huddersfield, Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Afterwards he enlisted in the British Expeditionary Force in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. Harry served in the 1/6th Battalion West Yorkshire (Prince of Wales’s Own) Regiment (146th Brigade, 49th (West Riding) Division).
On Tuesday 9 October 1917 the Battle of Poelkapelle, a battle that was part of the Battle of Passchendaele, took place. This battle marked the end of the series of successful British attacks in late September – early October, partly due to the bad weather in early October which turned the ground into a quagmire. Due to the bad weather and the muddy ground many were quickly exhausted and it was impossible to bring up sufficient artillery ammunition to support the British advance.
During this battle the 49th Division attacked with the 148th and 146th Brigades. During the night of 8/9 October 1917 the 146th Brigade moved to the assembly area, which was between Fleet Cottage and Kroonprinz Farm. The 1/5th Battalion (on the right flank), the 1/7th Battalion (in the centre) and the 1/8th Battalion (on the left flank) were in the front line; the 1/6th Battalion was in reserve and was located south of Calgary Grange. This battalion arrived at the assembly area 3 minutes before the attack and they were placed in shell holes.
The attack began at 5.20 am over a front line of 400 yards. Three minutes later a German barrage came down between Korek and Calgary Grange. At 7.40 a.m. the battalion received information of a gap between the 1/5th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment and the 1/4th Battalion York & Lancaster Regiment. A Company of the 1/6th Battalion was immediately sent to fill the gap. B and C Companies of the battalion were sent to the vicinity of Peter Pan while D Company of the battalion took up their position in the old British front line.
At 9 a.m. Battalion Headquarters moved to shell-holes south-west of the Stroombeck around Kroonprinz Farm. There they received a message from the battalion company on the right that they were being held up by machine-gun fire, particularly by live machine-gun fire from 2 pillboxes and trenches at Belle Vue. C Company of the battalion was sent up to work on the slope east of Peter Pan and to attack pillboxes in conjunction with A Company on their right. This attack, however, failed to achieve its objective due to heavy casualties. C and A Companies therefore began to dig in halfway up the slope of the hill. B Company dug in and consolidated about 150 yards west of Peter Pan. This company attempted to make contact with the advanced posts of the 1/5th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment. However, machine-gun fire from Belle Vue and pillboxes east and north-east of Yetta Houses made this operation impossible.
During the night of 9/10 October, the 1/6th Battalion made contact with the 1/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers Regiment and with the 1/4th Battalion York & Lancashire Regiment. The companies of the 1/6th Battalion remained in their remaining positions until dusk on 10 October, when at sunset they withdrew to the old British front line.
The Battle of Poelkapelle resulted in 161 casualties for the 1/6th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment: 6 missing, 135 wounded, 1 died of wounds on 9 October 1917 and 19 other soldiers died, including 24-year-old Harry Appleyard. His body was found near Fleet Cottage, in ’s Graventafel. He was reburied in Tyne Cot Cemetery (Plot XXVIII, Row B, Grave 16).
On Tuesday 9 October 1917 the Battle of Poelkapelle, a battle that was part of the Battle of Passchendaele, took place. This battle marked the end of the series of successful British attacks in late September – early October, partly due to the bad weather in early October which turned the ground into a quagmire. Due to the bad weather and the muddy ground many were quickly exhausted and it was impossible to bring up sufficient artillery ammunition to support the British advance.
During this battle the 49th Division attacked with the 148th and 146th Brigades. During the night of 8/9 October 1917 the 146th Brigade moved to the assembly area, which was between Fleet Cottage and Kroonprinz Farm. The 1/5th Battalion (on the right flank), the 1/7th Battalion (in the centre) and the 1/8th Battalion (on the left flank) were in the front line; the 1/6th Battalion was in reserve and was located south of Calgary Grange. This battalion arrived at the assembly area 3 minutes before the attack and they were placed in shell holes.
The attack began at 5.20 am over a front line of 400 yards. Three minutes later a German barrage came down between Korek and Calgary Grange. At 7.40 a.m. the battalion received information of a gap between the 1/5th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment and the 1/4th Battalion York & Lancaster Regiment. A Company of the 1/6th Battalion was immediately sent to fill the gap. B and C Companies of the battalion were sent to the vicinity of Peter Pan while D Company of the battalion took up their position in the old British front line.
At 9 a.m. Battalion Headquarters moved to shell-holes south-west of the Stroombeck around Kroonprinz Farm. There they received a message from the battalion company on the right that they were being held up by machine-gun fire, particularly by live machine-gun fire from 2 pillboxes and trenches at Belle Vue. C Company of the battalion was sent up to work on the slope east of Peter Pan and to attack pillboxes in conjunction with A Company on their right. This attack, however, failed to achieve its objective due to heavy casualties. C and A Companies therefore began to dig in halfway up the slope of the hill. B Company dug in and consolidated about 150 yards west of Peter Pan. This company attempted to make contact with the advanced posts of the 1/5th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment. However, machine-gun fire from Belle Vue and pillboxes east and north-east of Yetta Houses made this operation impossible.
During the night of 9/10 October, the 1/6th Battalion made contact with the 1/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers Regiment and with the 1/4th Battalion York & Lancashire Regiment. The companies of the 1/6th Battalion remained in their remaining positions until dusk on 10 October, when at sunset they withdrew to the old British front line.
The Battle of Poelkapelle resulted in 161 casualties for the 1/6th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment: 6 missing, 135 wounded, 1 died of wounds on 9 October 1917 and 19 other soldiers died, including 24-year-old Harry Appleyard. His body was found near Fleet Cottage, in ’s Graventafel. He was reburied in Tyne Cot Cemetery (Plot XXVIII, Row B, Grave 16).
Sources 3
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1/6 Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment war diary (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/2794/2). http://nationalarchives.gov.uk Sources used |
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McCarthy, Chris. Passchendaele: The Day by Day Account (Londen: Arms & Armour Press, 1995), p. 123. Sources used |
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Soldier's 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/461755 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=dfaaac08-b278-4444-90af-ce1ba4cfc74b |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/650822 |