Pte
Slater Waite
Information about birth
|
Date of birth: 04/06/1887 |
|
Place of birth: Otley, West Yorkshire, Belgium |
General information
|
Last known residence: Otley, West Yorkshire, Belgium |
|
Religion: Church of England |
Army information
|
Country: England, United Kingdom |
|
Force: British Expeditionary Force |
|
Rank: Private |
|
Service number: 22746 |
|
Enlistment place: Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom |
|
Units: — Lancashire Fusiliers, 2/5th Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
|
Date of death: 20/09/1917 |
|
Place of death: Schüler Galleries, Belgium |
|
Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
|
Age: 30 |
Cemetery
|
Tyne Cot Cemetery Plot: IV Row: C Grave: 4 |
Points of interest 4
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Last known residence | ||
| #3 | Enlistment place | ||
| #4 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Slater Waite was born on 4 June 1887 in Otley, Yorkshire, United Kingdom. He was the son of John Waite and Martha Ann Shires. Slater enlisted in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, and was assigned to the 2nd/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers (164th Brigade, 55th (West Lancashire) Division).
Slater was killed in action on 20 September 1917 during the Battle of the Menin Road, part of the Battle of Passchendaele. On the evening of 14 September 1917, the 2nd/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers arrived near Ypres. The battalion remained in reserve until 17 September, before moving towards the front line south of Sint-Juliaan in the evening. On 19 September, the attacking companies were moved to their starting positions northwest of Hindu Cottage. The attack on 20 September was to be carried out in four waves. The first two waves each consisted of two platoons from “C” and “D” Company. These waves aimed to capture the Schuler Galleries and Cross Cottages. The third and fourth waves each consisted of two platoons from “A” and “B” Company, with the objective of Green House, Road House, and several dugouts along the present-day Zonnebekestraat.
The attack began at 5:40 a.m. The German troops at the Schuler Galleries immediately opened machine-gun fire. The enemy fire was so intense that before reaching the Galleries, 50% of the battalion had become casualties. Eventually, the Schuler Galleries were taken with the help of the 1/8th (Irish) Battalion, King's (Liverpool) Regiment. This battalion also came under heavy fire during their assault, and both battalions only managed to capture the Galleries after fierce fighting. After securing the Galleries, elements of the 2nd/5th Battalion succeeded in capturing the remaining objectives, but they were unable to hold them. Several German counterattacks were launched between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., but these were repelled by artillery and machine-gun fire from the Galleries. Around 5 p.m., the men of the 2nd/5th Battalion attempted another attack from the Galleries, but it was repelled by enemy artillery fire. The battalion did not undertake further actions that day. The casualties of the 2nd/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers on that day were: 40 killed, 236 wounded, and 80 missing.
Slater Waite died at the age of 31. After the war, his body was recovered near the Schuler Galleries. Slater was subsequently reburied at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Plot IV, Row C, Grave 4.
Slater was killed in action on 20 September 1917 during the Battle of the Menin Road, part of the Battle of Passchendaele. On the evening of 14 September 1917, the 2nd/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers arrived near Ypres. The battalion remained in reserve until 17 September, before moving towards the front line south of Sint-Juliaan in the evening. On 19 September, the attacking companies were moved to their starting positions northwest of Hindu Cottage. The attack on 20 September was to be carried out in four waves. The first two waves each consisted of two platoons from “C” and “D” Company. These waves aimed to capture the Schuler Galleries and Cross Cottages. The third and fourth waves each consisted of two platoons from “A” and “B” Company, with the objective of Green House, Road House, and several dugouts along the present-day Zonnebekestraat.
The attack began at 5:40 a.m. The German troops at the Schuler Galleries immediately opened machine-gun fire. The enemy fire was so intense that before reaching the Galleries, 50% of the battalion had become casualties. Eventually, the Schuler Galleries were taken with the help of the 1/8th (Irish) Battalion, King's (Liverpool) Regiment. This battalion also came under heavy fire during their assault, and both battalions only managed to capture the Galleries after fierce fighting. After securing the Galleries, elements of the 2nd/5th Battalion succeeded in capturing the remaining objectives, but they were unable to hold them. Several German counterattacks were launched between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., but these were repelled by artillery and machine-gun fire from the Galleries. Around 5 p.m., the men of the 2nd/5th Battalion attempted another attack from the Galleries, but it was repelled by enemy artillery fire. The battalion did not undertake further actions that day. The casualties of the 2nd/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers on that day were: 40 killed, 236 wounded, and 80 missing.
Slater Waite died at the age of 31. After the war, his body was recovered near the Schuler Galleries. Slater was subsequently reburied at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Plot IV, Row C, Grave 4.
Sources 6
|
164 Infantry Brigade: Headquarters. (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/2921/1). http://nationalarchives.gov.uk Sources used |
|
1891 England Census (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), RG12). https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
|
1901 England Census (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), RG13). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
|
2/5 Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers Regiment war diary (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO-95-2923-2_02). http://nationalarchives.gov.uk Sources used |
|
Military-Genealogy.com, comp. UK, Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. http://ancestry.com Sources used |
|
West Yorkshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1910 (BDP7/1/2/10). http://parishregister.co.uk Sources used |
More information 3
|
Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/4573520 |
|
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/465007 |
|
Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=fc0d2ec2-a020-4046-97dc-c876875944e7 |