Pte
John Edward Gledhill
Information about birth
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Year of birth: 1887 |
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Place of birth: Leeds, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Profession: Cotton Mill Worker |
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: 201527 |
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Enlistment place: Leeds, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom |
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Units: — Royal Scots Fusiliers, 1st Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 26/09/1917 |
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Place of death: Hill 40, Zonnebeke, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 30 |
Memorial
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Tyne Cot Memorial Panel: 60 |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Private John Edward Gledhill was born in 1887 in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire. He was the oldest son of James and Mary Jane Gledhill and worked at a Cotton Mill before enlisting. By the summer of 1917 John served as a private in the Royal Scots Fusiliers 1st Battalion, part of the 8th Brigade of the 3rd Division, which fought at the Battle of Polygon Wood (26 September - 3 October 1917), a phase of the Battle of Passchendaele.
The Division attacked with the 8th Brigade, on the left, and the 76th Brigade, on the right, with the Ypres-Roulers railroad acting as a boundary between both Brigades. Hill 40, along the Langemark-Zonnebeke road, was the final objective of the 8th Brigade. The attack started at 5:30 a.m. The 2nd Royal Scots and 8th East Yorks led the advance, while 1st Royal Scots Fusiliers and the 7th King’s Shropshire Light Infantry were in support. The 2nd Scots with their right flank on the railway, took the first objective (the Red Line) which ran from Van Isackere Farm, across the railway line and past the St. Josephs Institute.
The 1st Royal Scots and the 7th KSLI then advanced towards the western slopes of Hill 40, just short of the second objective (the Blue Line). An unsuccessful attempt to take Hill 40 was made at 6:30 p.m. and heavy fighting and several German counter-attacks took place near the hill, but the 1st Royal Scots were unable to consolidate the position and were forced to dig in 200 yards west of Hill 40. The German artillery remained active throughout the day, regularly shelling the positions of the Battalion, till they moved back into support during the night.
Private John Edward Gledhill was Killed in Action on 26 September 1917, aged 30. He possibly fell during the attack on Hill 40. John has no known grave and is remembered on panel 60 of the Tyne Cot Memorial.
The Division attacked with the 8th Brigade, on the left, and the 76th Brigade, on the right, with the Ypres-Roulers railroad acting as a boundary between both Brigades. Hill 40, along the Langemark-Zonnebeke road, was the final objective of the 8th Brigade. The attack started at 5:30 a.m. The 2nd Royal Scots and 8th East Yorks led the advance, while 1st Royal Scots Fusiliers and the 7th King’s Shropshire Light Infantry were in support. The 2nd Scots with their right flank on the railway, took the first objective (the Red Line) which ran from Van Isackere Farm, across the railway line and past the St. Josephs Institute.
The 1st Royal Scots and the 7th KSLI then advanced towards the western slopes of Hill 40, just short of the second objective (the Blue Line). An unsuccessful attempt to take Hill 40 was made at 6:30 p.m. and heavy fighting and several German counter-attacks took place near the hill, but the 1st Royal Scots were unable to consolidate the position and were forced to dig in 200 yards west of Hill 40. The German artillery remained active throughout the day, regularly shelling the positions of the Battalion, till they moved back into support during the night.
Private John Edward Gledhill was Killed in Action on 26 September 1917, aged 30. He possibly fell during the attack on Hill 40. John has no known grave and is remembered on panel 60 of the Tyne Cot Memorial.
Sources 3
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1 Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers, (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/1422/3). https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14303 Sources used |
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Buchan J., The History of the Royal Scots Fusiliers (1678-1918), (London, Thomas Nelson and sons Ltd., 1925), pg. 389-390. Sources used |
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McCarthy C., Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Uniform, 2018), pg. 96-97. 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/840048 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=4c7fbcab-8491-4d0a-993d-9ed5b2655f5e |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/1360550 |