L/Cpl
Joseph Samuel Longworth
Information about birth
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Year of birth: 1889 |
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Place of birth: Hull, Kingston upon Hull, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Profession: Cotton Gin Press Operator |
Army information
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Country: England, United Kingdom |
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Force: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Lance Corporal |
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Service number: 64221 |
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Enlistment date: 10/12/1915 |
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Enlistment place: Hull, Kingston upon Hull, England, United Kingdom |
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Units: — Machine Gun Corps, 214th Coy. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 30/10/1917 |
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Place of death: Helles House, Poelkapelle, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 28 |
Memorial
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Tyne Cot Memorial Panel: 155A |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 2
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place |
My story
Lance Corporal Joseph Samuel Longworth served in the Machine Gun Corps 214th Company, part of the 173rd (3/1st London) Brigade, of the 58th (2/1st London) Division. The Division participated in the Third Battle of Ypres and attacked on the 30th of October 1917. It advanced with the 174th Brigade on Noble’s Farm and a line of pillboxes Southeast of it. Noble’s Farm was a German strongpoint just Northeast of the village of Poelkapelle. The attack was supported by the 198th Machine Gun Company, the Machine Gun Company of the 173rd Brigade and a Battery of eight guns of the 214th Machine Gun Company.
At zero hour 5.50 a.m. the troops moved forward behind a barrage. The going was tough, as the constant shelling had turned the terrain in a bog. The bad state of the ground combined with heavy German machine gun fire, made the situation dire. Most troops consequently failed to reach their objectives except for the 2/6th London Battalion. They took Noble’s Farm, which had been utterly destroyed by the artillery barrage and also captured the pillboxes Southeast of the German strongpoint. Two machine guns at Helles House were knocked out by German shell fire the during this operation.
The 198th Machine Gun Company suffered a total of six casualties (killed, wounded or missing). The Company was relieved on the following day. The 214th Machine Gun Company also suffered casualties while supporting the attack. Three men of the Company were killed in action and five men were wounded. It’s highly likely that the men of the 214th Machine Gun Company became casualties, due to German shell fire on their gun positions (20.V.15.b.30.25 and 20.V.15.d.50.90) at Helles House.
Lance Corporal Joseph Samuel Longworth’s remains were never recovered. And he’s remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial.
At zero hour 5.50 a.m. the troops moved forward behind a barrage. The going was tough, as the constant shelling had turned the terrain in a bog. The bad state of the ground combined with heavy German machine gun fire, made the situation dire. Most troops consequently failed to reach their objectives except for the 2/6th London Battalion. They took Noble’s Farm, which had been utterly destroyed by the artillery barrage and also captured the pillboxes Southeast of the German strongpoint. Two machine guns at Helles House were knocked out by German shell fire the during this operation.
The 198th Machine Gun Company suffered a total of six casualties (killed, wounded or missing). The Company was relieved on the following day. The 214th Machine Gun Company also suffered casualties while supporting the attack. Three men of the Company were killed in action and five men were wounded. It’s highly likely that the men of the 214th Machine Gun Company became casualties, due to German shell fire on their gun positions (20.V.15.b.30.25 and 20.V.15.d.50.90) at Helles House.
Lance Corporal Joseph Samuel Longworth’s remains were never recovered. And he’s remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial.
Connection to other soldiers 1
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Henry Alfred Longworth
Brother |
Sources 3
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198 Machine Gun Company , (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/3006/4 ). https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14303 Further reference |
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214 Machine Gun Company , (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/3001/11 ). https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14303 Further reference |
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McCarthy C., The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995), pg. 133. 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/833152 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=24720281-b63d-4449-882f-9b4ca9de437b |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/5419616 |