Pte
Cecil Theodore Beaven
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 04/12/1883 |
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Place of birth: Kensington, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Profession: Railway Porter |
Army information
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Country: England, United Kingdom |
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Force: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Private |
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Service number: 232552 |
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Enlistment place: Paddington, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom |
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Units: — London Regiment, 1/2nd (City of London) Bn. (Royal Fusiliers) (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 16/08/1917 |
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Place of death: Polygon Wood, Zonnebeke, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 33 |
Memorial
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Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial Panel: 52 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Private Cecil Theodore Beaven served in the London Regiment, 1st/2nd Battalion (Royal Fusiliers), part of the 169th (3rd London Brigade), of the 56th (1st London Division).
The Division participated in the Battle of Langemarck on the 16th of August 1917, a phase in the Third Battle of Ypres. It advanced with the 168th Brigade on the left, the 169th Brigade in the center and one Brigade from the 18th Division on the right. The 169th Brigade’s attack was carried by the London Regiment, 1st/5th and 1st/2nd Battalions and assisted by a Company of the London Regiment 1st/16th Battalion (Queen’s Westminster Rifles) . The 56th Division was in position on a frontline from Surbiton Villas to the hamlet of Westhoek, facing Glencorse Wood and the Nonne Boschen. Its objective was a line running through Polygon Wood some seventeen hundred yards further east.
At zero hour, 4.45 a.m. the Battalions advanced behind a creeping barrage. At first the attack went fairly well; with the 1st/2nd Battalion quickly reaching the sunken road running through Glencorse Wood. The Battalion mopped up the German concrete dugouts in the road without much difficulty. But once the Battalion had crossed the sunken road it had to advance over marshy terrain. The ground was only passable on a small stretch of land at the Battalion’s most southerly flank.
While the Battalion strafed to the right, a gap emerged between them and the 167th Brigade on the left. On the Battalion’s right the 53rd brigade (18th Division) was held up by a German strongpoint in Inverness Copse. This resulted in the 1st/2nd Battalion’s both flanks being exposed.
Nevertheless the 1st/2nd Battalion continued its advance; mopping up concrete dug-outs and German strongpoints along the way. The Germans easily gave way, luring the Battalion deeper in German occupied territory. Part of the German defensive tactics to break up and then cut off attacks.
Once the men had crossed the Nonne Bosschen they reached open ground, where they encountered heavy resistance from a line of German pill-boxes at the outskirts of Polygon Wood. While the first two companies managed to reach Polygon Wood, the second wave was held up by machine gun fire from the same line of pill-boxes. The first wave was now trapped in Polygon Wood. And when the Germans launched a counter-attack, the entire first wave was wiped out. No survivor returned.
The following waves were checked in front of the pill-box line, just west of Polygon Wood. They were enfiladed by machine gun fire. With both flanks in the air the relentless machine gun fire tore through their flanks and the casualties rapidly increased. They were subsequently forced to withdraw. Losing many more men while pulling back through the unforgiving machine gun fire. The remnants of the attacking parties finally rallied in Glencorse Wood, not far from the jumping off line.
The London Regiment, 1st/2nd Battalion (Royal Fusiliers) had suffered massive casualties during the attack on Polygon Wood. Officers not included the Battalion lost a total of 315 men. Twenty-nine men were reported killed. Another three men died of their wounds, 121 men were wounded and a staggering amount of 162 men were missing.
Private Cecil Theodore Beaven was one of the 162 men of the London Regiment, 1st/2nd Battalion who went missing during the attack. He was possibly killed in Polygon Wood or in the open field just west of the Wood. His remains were never recovered, possibly because the Battalion was forced to retreat, leaving most of their wounded and fallen behind. Private Cecil Theodore Beaven is remembered on the Ypres Menin Gate Memorial.
The Division participated in the Battle of Langemarck on the 16th of August 1917, a phase in the Third Battle of Ypres. It advanced with the 168th Brigade on the left, the 169th Brigade in the center and one Brigade from the 18th Division on the right. The 169th Brigade’s attack was carried by the London Regiment, 1st/5th and 1st/2nd Battalions and assisted by a Company of the London Regiment 1st/16th Battalion (Queen’s Westminster Rifles) . The 56th Division was in position on a frontline from Surbiton Villas to the hamlet of Westhoek, facing Glencorse Wood and the Nonne Boschen. Its objective was a line running through Polygon Wood some seventeen hundred yards further east.
At zero hour, 4.45 a.m. the Battalions advanced behind a creeping barrage. At first the attack went fairly well; with the 1st/2nd Battalion quickly reaching the sunken road running through Glencorse Wood. The Battalion mopped up the German concrete dugouts in the road without much difficulty. But once the Battalion had crossed the sunken road it had to advance over marshy terrain. The ground was only passable on a small stretch of land at the Battalion’s most southerly flank.
While the Battalion strafed to the right, a gap emerged between them and the 167th Brigade on the left. On the Battalion’s right the 53rd brigade (18th Division) was held up by a German strongpoint in Inverness Copse. This resulted in the 1st/2nd Battalion’s both flanks being exposed.
Nevertheless the 1st/2nd Battalion continued its advance; mopping up concrete dug-outs and German strongpoints along the way. The Germans easily gave way, luring the Battalion deeper in German occupied territory. Part of the German defensive tactics to break up and then cut off attacks.
Once the men had crossed the Nonne Bosschen they reached open ground, where they encountered heavy resistance from a line of German pill-boxes at the outskirts of Polygon Wood. While the first two companies managed to reach Polygon Wood, the second wave was held up by machine gun fire from the same line of pill-boxes. The first wave was now trapped in Polygon Wood. And when the Germans launched a counter-attack, the entire first wave was wiped out. No survivor returned.
The following waves were checked in front of the pill-box line, just west of Polygon Wood. They were enfiladed by machine gun fire. With both flanks in the air the relentless machine gun fire tore through their flanks and the casualties rapidly increased. They were subsequently forced to withdraw. Losing many more men while pulling back through the unforgiving machine gun fire. The remnants of the attacking parties finally rallied in Glencorse Wood, not far from the jumping off line.
The London Regiment, 1st/2nd Battalion (Royal Fusiliers) had suffered massive casualties during the attack on Polygon Wood. Officers not included the Battalion lost a total of 315 men. Twenty-nine men were reported killed. Another three men died of their wounds, 121 men were wounded and a staggering amount of 162 men were missing.
Private Cecil Theodore Beaven was one of the 162 men of the London Regiment, 1st/2nd Battalion who went missing during the attack. He was possibly killed in Polygon Wood or in the open field just west of the Wood. His remains were never recovered, possibly because the Battalion was forced to retreat, leaving most of their wounded and fallen behind. Private Cecil Theodore Beaven is remembered on the Ypres Menin Gate Memorial.
Sources 3
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169 Infantry Brigade: 1/2 Battalion London Regiment (City of London), (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/2960/2). https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14303 Further reference |
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Grey W. E., 2nd City of London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) in the Great War, (London, The Headquarters of the Regiment, 1929), pg. 225-234. Sources used |
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McCarthy C., The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995), pg. 45-47. Sources used |
More information 3
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=36650d8f-402a-427f-bc0f-2201433ab5c1 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/266661 |
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/927193 |