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 about 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 Poelcappelle, a battle that formed 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 as a result of the bad weather in early October that turned the ground into a mud puddle. The bad weather and muddy ground soon left many exhausted and made it impossible to bring in sufficient artillery ammunition to support the British advance.
During this battle, the 49th Division attacked with the 148th and 146th Brigades. On the night of 8-9 October 1917, the 146th Brigade moved to the assembly area, which was located 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 on the front line; the 1/6th Battalion served as a reserve and was to the south of Calgary Grange. This battalion arrived in the assembly area 3 minutes before the attack and they were placed in shell hoppers.
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 am, the battalion received information of a gap between the 1/5th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment and the 1/4th Battalion York & Lancaster Regiment. The A Company of the 1/6th Battalion was immediately sent to fill the gap. The B and C Companies of the battalion were sent to the vicinity of Peter Pan while the D Company of the battalion took up their position in the old British front line.
At 9 am, Battalion Headquarters moved to shell hoppers southwest of Stroombeck around Kroonprinz Farm. There they received word from the battalion company on the right that they were being held up by machine gun fire, particularly by sharp machine gun fire from 2 pillboxes and trenches near Belle Vue. Battalion C Company was sent up to work on the slope east of Peter Pan and to attack pillboxes in conjunction with A Company on their right. However, this attack did not achieve its objective due to many casualties. Therefore, the C and A Companies began to dig in halfway up the slope of the hill. The B Company dug in and consolidated about 150 metres west of Peter Pan. This company tried to make contact with the forward posts of the 1/5th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment. But machine-gun fire from Belle Vue and from pillboxes east and north-east of Yetta Houses made this operation impossible.
On the night of 9-10 October, the 1/6th Battalion gained 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; 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 soldiers were missing, 135 soldiers were wounded, 1 soldier died of his wounds on 9 October 1917 and 19 soldiers died, including 24-year-old Harry Appleyard. He is buried in Tyne Cot Cemetery (Plot XXVIII, Row B, Grave 16).
On Tuesday 9 October 1917, the Battle of Poelcappelle, a battle that formed 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 as a result of the bad weather in early October that turned the ground into a mud puddle. The bad weather and muddy ground soon left many exhausted and made it impossible to bring in sufficient artillery ammunition to support the British advance.
During this battle, the 49th Division attacked with the 148th and 146th Brigades. On the night of 8-9 October 1917, the 146th Brigade moved to the assembly area, which was located 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 on the front line; the 1/6th Battalion served as a reserve and was to the south of Calgary Grange. This battalion arrived in the assembly area 3 minutes before the attack and they were placed in shell hoppers.
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 am, the battalion received information of a gap between the 1/5th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment and the 1/4th Battalion York & Lancaster Regiment. The A Company of the 1/6th Battalion was immediately sent to fill the gap. The B and C Companies of the battalion were sent to the vicinity of Peter Pan while the D Company of the battalion took up their position in the old British front line.
At 9 am, Battalion Headquarters moved to shell hoppers southwest of Stroombeck around Kroonprinz Farm. There they received word from the battalion company on the right that they were being held up by machine gun fire, particularly by sharp machine gun fire from 2 pillboxes and trenches near Belle Vue. Battalion C Company was sent up to work on the slope east of Peter Pan and to attack pillboxes in conjunction with A Company on their right. However, this attack did not achieve its objective due to many casualties. Therefore, the C and A Companies began to dig in halfway up the slope of the hill. The B Company dug in and consolidated about 150 metres west of Peter Pan. This company tried to make contact with the forward posts of the 1/5th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment. But machine-gun fire from Belle Vue and from pillboxes east and north-east of Yetta Houses made this operation impossible.
On the night of 9-10 October, the 1/6th Battalion gained 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; 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 soldiers were missing, 135 soldiers were wounded, 1 soldier died of his wounds on 9 October 1917 and 19 soldiers died, including 24-year-old Harry Appleyard. He is buried 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 |