Pte
Harry Arthur Houchen
Information about birth
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Year of birth: 1886 |
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Place of birth: Great Ellingham, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Profession: Labourer |
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: 24912 |
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Enlistment place: Northwich, Cheshire, England, United Kingdom |
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Units: — Norfolk Regiment, 1st Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 05/11/1917 |
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Place of death: No.11 Stationary Hospital, Rouen, Seine-Inférieure, France |
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Cause of death: Died of wounds (D.O.W.) |
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Age: 31 |
Cemetery
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St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen Plot: III Row: L Grave: 3B |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal — 26/10/1920 |
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Victory Medal Medal — 26/10/1920 |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Private Harry Arthur Houchen served in the Norfolk Regiment, 1st Battalion, part of the 15th Brigade, of the 5th Division. The 5th Division participated in the Battle of Poelcapelle (9 October), part of the Third Battle of Ypres.
The Division attacked the German position at Polderhoek Château on the 9th of October 1917, with the 15th Brigade. Polderhoek Château overlooked the Reutel and Polygon valleys and had been converted into a German stronghold. Numerous machine-guns and pill-boxes defended the high lying position. A previous attempt to capture the Château by the other two Brigades of the 5th Division had been checked on the 4th of October.
On the 9th of October the 5th Division tried once more to storm the slope. At 5.20 a.m. the 1st Norfolks on the left and 16th Warwicks on the right, leading the advance of the Brigade, moved forward. The advance proved difficult from the start. Owing to the darkness, the bad weather and the devastated and muddy terrain, both “C” and “A” Companies lost the pace of the creeping barrage and strafed too much to the right. This brought them right in front of the pill-boxes at Polderhoek Château. The 1st Norfolks without the cover of the barrage had no chance at all. They were mowed down by German cross fire coming from the Château and the remnants of the Companies were forced to withdraw to the original front line.
The situation on the left of the Battalion was not much better. Two platoons had lost all sense of direction. They lost touch with the right and found themselves in the area of the neighbouring Division, where the platoons were forced to dig in under heavy fire. The two platoons waited in the field till they could retreat under the cover of darkness.
The attack on Polderhoek Château had been an utter disaster and the 1st Norfolks had suffered very heavy casualties. A total of 42 men were killed, 148 men were wounded and 112 men went missing. As this was the last time the 1st Norfolks went into action during the Third Battle of Ypres it’s plausible that Private Harry Arthur Houchen was wounded in the course of the attack on Polderhoek Château. However if he survived the attack unscathed, he might have been wounded due to shellfire, as the Battalion remained in the Ypres area till the month of November. Private Harry Arthur Houchen was evacuated to No.11 Stationary Hospital in Rouen, where he died of his wounds on the 5th of November 1917. He was buried in St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen.
The Division attacked the German position at Polderhoek Château on the 9th of October 1917, with the 15th Brigade. Polderhoek Château overlooked the Reutel and Polygon valleys and had been converted into a German stronghold. Numerous machine-guns and pill-boxes defended the high lying position. A previous attempt to capture the Château by the other two Brigades of the 5th Division had been checked on the 4th of October.
On the 9th of October the 5th Division tried once more to storm the slope. At 5.20 a.m. the 1st Norfolks on the left and 16th Warwicks on the right, leading the advance of the Brigade, moved forward. The advance proved difficult from the start. Owing to the darkness, the bad weather and the devastated and muddy terrain, both “C” and “A” Companies lost the pace of the creeping barrage and strafed too much to the right. This brought them right in front of the pill-boxes at Polderhoek Château. The 1st Norfolks without the cover of the barrage had no chance at all. They were mowed down by German cross fire coming from the Château and the remnants of the Companies were forced to withdraw to the original front line.
The situation on the left of the Battalion was not much better. Two platoons had lost all sense of direction. They lost touch with the right and found themselves in the area of the neighbouring Division, where the platoons were forced to dig in under heavy fire. The two platoons waited in the field till they could retreat under the cover of darkness.
The attack on Polderhoek Château had been an utter disaster and the 1st Norfolks had suffered very heavy casualties. A total of 42 men were killed, 148 men were wounded and 112 men went missing. As this was the last time the 1st Norfolks went into action during the Third Battle of Ypres it’s plausible that Private Harry Arthur Houchen was wounded in the course of the attack on Polderhoek Château. However if he survived the attack unscathed, he might have been wounded due to shellfire, as the Battalion remained in the Ypres area till the month of November. Private Harry Arthur Houchen was evacuated to No.11 Stationary Hospital in Rouen, where he died of his wounds on the 5th of November 1917. He was buried in St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen.
Sources 6
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"The History of the Norfolk Regiment. 4th August 1914 to the 31st December 1918", Loraine Petre F., Norwich, Jarrold & Sons, LTD. 1924, pg. 41-42. Sources used |
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"The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account", McCarthy C., London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995, pg. 103-104. Sources used |
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Ancestry http://home.ancestry.co.uk/ Sources used |
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CWGC https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/518474/houchen,-harry-arthur/ Sources used |
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The Long, Long Trail http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/ Sources used |
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War Diary Norfolk Regiment 1st Bn. http://www.nmarchive.com/ Further reference |