Pte
Stuart John Webb

Information about birth

Year of birth:
1896
Place of birth:
Luton, Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom

General information

Profession:
Engineer

Army information

Country:
England, United Kingdom
Force:
British Expeditionary Force
Rank:
Private
Service number:
42359
Enlistment date:
02/03/1916
Enlistment place:
Luton, Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom
Units:
 —  Manchester Regiment, 2/7th Bn.  (Last known unit)

Information about death

Date of death:
23/10/1917
Place of death:
No. 26 General Hospital, Étaples, Pas-de-Calais, France
Cause of death:
Died of wounds (D.O.W.)
Age:
21

Cemetery

Étaples Military Cemetery
Plot: XXX
Row: F
Grave: 21A

Distinctions and medals 2

Points of interest 3

#1 Place of birth
#2 Enlistment place
#3 Place of death (approximate)

My story

Private Stuart John Webb served in the Manchester Regiment 2/7th Battalion, part of the 199th Brigade, of the 66th Division. On the 9th of October 1917, the 66th Division participated in the Battle of Poelcapelle, a phase of the Third Battle of Ypres.
The 66th Division attacked with two brigades; the 198th Brigade on the left and the 197th Brigade on the right. The 197th Brigade’s attack was to be carried out by four Battalions of the Lancashire Fusiliers. But owing to weather conditions and the ghastly state of the terrain the 3rd/5th Lancashire Fusiliers were unable to get to their assembly positions on time. Consequently the 2nd/7th Manchester Regiment was ordered to take the place of the 3rd/5th Lancashire Fusiliers and was attached to the 197th Brigade.
At 5.20 a.m. the attack began. The 197th Brigade advanced along the Ypres-Roulers railroad from positions between Hamburg redoubt and the railway. The task of the 2nd/7th Manchesters was to mop up the last German resistance, in and around Tyne Cot Cemetery, after the first waves had passed through it. “A” Company of the 2nd/7th Manchesters silenced the last pockets of German defenders at the Cemetery, capturing 19 prisoners. The Battalion remained at the Red Line near Tyne Cot Cemetery. During the afternoon a heavy German counter attack developed forcing back the entire 197th Brigade to the Red Line. The Manchester Regiment 2/7th Battalion was relieved in the front line on the following day.
Private Stuart John Webb was probably wounded while mopping up Tyne Cot Cemetery or while holding the Red line near the cemetery. He was subsequently evacuated to the 26th General Hospital at Étaples, in northern France, where he died of his wounds on the 23rd of October 1917. He is buried at the Étaples Military Cemetery.

Files 1

Sources 5

"The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account", McCarthy C., London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995, pg. 105-106.
Sources used
Ancestry
http://home.ancestry.co.uk/
Further reference
CWGC
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/506909/webb,-/
Sources used
The Long, Long Trail
http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/
Sources used
War Diary Manchester Regiment 2/7th Bn
http://www.nmarchive.com/
Further reference