Pte
Innes Charles Craigen
Information about birth
|
Date of birth: 04/07/1892 |
|
Place of birth: Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom |
General information
|
Profession: Motorman Street Railway |
Army information
|
Country: England, United Kingdom |
|
Force: British Expeditionary Force |
|
Rank: Private |
|
Service number: 203214 |
|
Enlistment place: Bridlington, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom |
|
Units: — King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, 1/4th Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
|
Date of death: 15/12/1917 |
|
Place of death: Broodseinde, Zonnebeke, Belgium |
|
Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
|
Age: 25 |
Cemetery
|
Passchendaele New British Cemetery Plot: XIII Row: C Grave: 23 |
Distinctions and medals 2
|
British War Medal Medal |
|
Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Innes Charles Craigen was born in 1892 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. He was one of six children of James and Mary Ann Craigen. In 1914 Innes, aged 22, married Mabel Eastgate Craigen. They had a daughter named Mabel Marie. Innes worked as a tram conductor before he enlisted in the army. He first served with the Yorkshire Regiment, but was later transferred to the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, 1/4th Battalion, part of the 148th Brigade of the 49th Division. He was killed in action on the 15th of December 1917.
On the 9th of December, the Brigade of Private Craigen received an operation order to relieve the 146th Brigade in the front line. On the 11th his Battalion entrained at Vlamertinghe en route for Ypres. At 1.30 p.m. his Battalion arrived in the line, without any casualties. The 148th Brigade occupied the right sub-sector of the 49th Divisional Front on the Broodseinde Ridge. Their line approximately ran from Daisy Wood to Celtic.
The Battalion dispositions were as follows: “W” Company in the right front line, “Y” Company in the left front line, “Z” Company in right support and “X” Company in left support. On the 14th the supporting Companies “X” and “Z” relieved “W” and “Y” Companies in the front line.
On the 15 of December 1917 a German shell fell in a post held by “Z” Company. Second Lieutenant Frank Ernest Jewell and two other ranks were killed a the post. One other rank was wounded.
Innes Charles Craigen was one of the two men killed, while the 1/4th King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry held the line. The 25-year-old was buried just behind the ridgeline near Broodseinde. His remains were exhumed after the war and reinterred in Passchendaele New British Cemetery.
On the 9th of December, the Brigade of Private Craigen received an operation order to relieve the 146th Brigade in the front line. On the 11th his Battalion entrained at Vlamertinghe en route for Ypres. At 1.30 p.m. his Battalion arrived in the line, without any casualties. The 148th Brigade occupied the right sub-sector of the 49th Divisional Front on the Broodseinde Ridge. Their line approximately ran from Daisy Wood to Celtic.
The Battalion dispositions were as follows: “W” Company in the right front line, “Y” Company in the left front line, “Z” Company in right support and “X” Company in left support. On the 14th the supporting Companies “X” and “Z” relieved “W” and “Y” Companies in the front line.
On the 15 of December 1917 a German shell fell in a post held by “Z” Company. Second Lieutenant Frank Ernest Jewell and two other ranks were killed a the post. One other rank was wounded.
Innes Charles Craigen was one of the two men killed, while the 1/4th King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry held the line. The 25-year-old was buried just behind the ridgeline near Broodseinde. His remains were exhumed after the war and reinterred in Passchendaele New British Cemetery.
Sources 4
|
Ancestry https://search.ancestry.co.uk/ Sources used |
|
CWGC https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/461200/craigen,-innes-charles/ Sources used |
|
Long Long Trail http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/order-of-battle-of-divisions/49th-west-riding-division/ Sources used |
|
War Diary http://www.nmarchive.com/ Sources used |