Pte
Frederick William Long
Information about birth
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Year of birth: 1895 |
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Place of birth: Barmston, Washington, Durham, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Profession: Insurance Agent |
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: 28894 |
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Enlistment place: Sunderland, Durham, England, United Kingdom |
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Units: — King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, 10th Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 04/10/1917 |
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Place of death: Cameron House, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 22 |
Cemetery
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Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood Plot: XX Row: A Grave: 16 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal — 31/03/1920 |
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Victory Medal Medal — 31/03/1920 |
Points of interest 2
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place |
My story
Frederick William Long was born in the summer of 1895 in Barmston, Washington, County Durham. He was the son of Frederick and Esther Long, of Sunderland and according to the 1911 census he was an Assurance Agent for the Scottish Legal Society before enlisting. By October 1917 Frederick William Long served as a private in the 10th Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (K.O.Y.L.I.), 64th Brigade, 21st Division and fought in the Battle of Broodseinde, a stage in the Battle of Third Ypres, also known as Passchendaele.
The Division attacked at 6 a.m. with two brigades. The 64th Brigade on the left and the 62nd Brigade on the right. The attack of the 64th Brigade was carried by the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry 9th Battalion; with the KOYLI 10th Battalion in close support. Once the 9th KOYLI had captured its objective, the 10th Battalion would move through and capture the second objective, which included the hamlet of Reutel.
At zero hour, 6 a.m. the 9th and 10th Battalions left their positions on the southeastern outskirts of Polygon Wood and advanced towards their objective, a road just west of the hamlet of Reutel. The 9th Battalion led the attack, followed by the 10th Battalion. The men advanced behind a creeping barrage, but immediately came under fire from a withering machine-gun, causing some casualties. Joist Farm was the first big hurdle for the 64th Brigade and is described as ‘a tough nut to crack’. All the officers of the right “front” and right “support” companies of the 9th and 10th Bn. were either killed or wounded at Joist Farm. The brigade then reached ‘the swamp’ in the lower ground and had to push forward in knee deep mud under intense machinegun fire coming from their right, which again resulted in many casualties. To the east they faced steeper ground where several German concrete forts, each containing two machineguns, were taken. The 64th Brigade then faced the strong German garrison of Juniper Trench, the Germans here attempted to counter attack but were overcome by Allied forces. Three more strong points were successfully attacked before the objective was reached, by this time all the troops of the brigade were very much mixed up. The 64th Bde. was subjected to an hour and 40 minutes of bombardment and faced opposition from a German strongpoint east of Reutel, but this was eventually conquered with the help of a tank. Finally the 64th began to dig in about 100yards ahead of a road running north and south on the western side of Reutel, just shy of their 2nd Objective. At noon the Germans were reported to be massing at Polderhoek Château and their guns persistently fired into the rear of 64th Brigade, but it held their position for several days before being relieved.
Private Long was killed in action, aged 22, during the attack on 4 October 1917. He was buried in the field near Cameron House This may suggest that Frederick was mortally wounded in the early stages of the attack. His remains were exhumed after the war and interred at Buttes New British Cemetery; Plot XX, Row A, Grave 16.
The Division attacked at 6 a.m. with two brigades. The 64th Brigade on the left and the 62nd Brigade on the right. The attack of the 64th Brigade was carried by the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry 9th Battalion; with the KOYLI 10th Battalion in close support. Once the 9th KOYLI had captured its objective, the 10th Battalion would move through and capture the second objective, which included the hamlet of Reutel.
At zero hour, 6 a.m. the 9th and 10th Battalions left their positions on the southeastern outskirts of Polygon Wood and advanced towards their objective, a road just west of the hamlet of Reutel. The 9th Battalion led the attack, followed by the 10th Battalion. The men advanced behind a creeping barrage, but immediately came under fire from a withering machine-gun, causing some casualties. Joist Farm was the first big hurdle for the 64th Brigade and is described as ‘a tough nut to crack’. All the officers of the right “front” and right “support” companies of the 9th and 10th Bn. were either killed or wounded at Joist Farm. The brigade then reached ‘the swamp’ in the lower ground and had to push forward in knee deep mud under intense machinegun fire coming from their right, which again resulted in many casualties. To the east they faced steeper ground where several German concrete forts, each containing two machineguns, were taken. The 64th Brigade then faced the strong German garrison of Juniper Trench, the Germans here attempted to counter attack but were overcome by Allied forces. Three more strong points were successfully attacked before the objective was reached, by this time all the troops of the brigade were very much mixed up. The 64th Bde. was subjected to an hour and 40 minutes of bombardment and faced opposition from a German strongpoint east of Reutel, but this was eventually conquered with the help of a tank. Finally the 64th began to dig in about 100yards ahead of a road running north and south on the western side of Reutel, just shy of their 2nd Objective. At noon the Germans were reported to be massing at Polderhoek Château and their guns persistently fired into the rear of 64th Brigade, but it held their position for several days before being relieved.
Private Long was killed in action, aged 22, during the attack on 4 October 1917. He was buried in the field near Cameron House This may suggest that Frederick was mortally wounded in the early stages of the attack. His remains were exhumed after the war and interred at Buttes New British Cemetery; Plot XX, Row A, Grave 16.
Sources 3
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10 Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/2162/2). https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14303 Further reference |
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Bond R.C., The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry in the Great War, (London, Percy Lund, Humphries & co. LTD, 1929), pg. 894-897. Sources used |
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McCarthy C., Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Uniform, 2018), pg. 108-111. 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/480339 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=8195bf0b-4a7b-4c1b-bccd-e0b95a5a9eac |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/2701934 |