2nd Lt
Caleb Henry Adams
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 06/01/1890 |
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Place of birth: Lewisham, Kent, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Profession: Jewellers Assistent |
Army information
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Country: England, United Kingdom |
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Force: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Second Lieutenant |
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Service number: / |
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Units: — Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment), 10th Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 20/09/1917 |
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Place of death: Bitter Wood Geluveld, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 27 |
Memorial
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Tyne Cot Memorial Panel: 15.A |
Distinctions and medals 3
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1914-15 Star Medal |
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 2
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Caleb was born in Lewisham, Kent on January 6th 1890, the third of four sons of jeweller John Adams. He joined the College at the same time as his elder brother Sidney, and after leaving began work as an assistant in his father’s jewellery business.
After the outbreak of the War he joined the Queen’s Westminster Rifles, going across to France in August 1915, before being badly wounded at Ypres in December. After leaving the hospital he transferred to the Artists’ Rifles, a regiment in which all three of his brothers also served, before taking a Commission in the Queen’s Royal West Surreys in the summer of 1917.
On September 20th, 1917 Caleb’s Battalion took part in the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge. They took Java Trench and Java Drive and consolidated positions in Bitter Wood, along the Bassevillebeek Stream. After which the 32nd Royal Fusiliers passed through and went on to the Tower Hamlets Ridge. The Battalion advanced in close formation in order to get well clear before the German barrage came down. But the plan backfired and the 10th Queen’s suffered heavy casualties, due to machinegun fire. Many officer were killed during the advance.
Second Lieutenant Caleb Henry Adams was killed in the fighting between 20 September and 22 September 1917 near Bitter Wood.
After the outbreak of the War he joined the Queen’s Westminster Rifles, going across to France in August 1915, before being badly wounded at Ypres in December. After leaving the hospital he transferred to the Artists’ Rifles, a regiment in which all three of his brothers also served, before taking a Commission in the Queen’s Royal West Surreys in the summer of 1917.
On September 20th, 1917 Caleb’s Battalion took part in the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge. They took Java Trench and Java Drive and consolidated positions in Bitter Wood, along the Bassevillebeek Stream. After which the 32nd Royal Fusiliers passed through and went on to the Tower Hamlets Ridge. The Battalion advanced in close formation in order to get well clear before the German barrage came down. But the plan backfired and the 10th Queen’s suffered heavy casualties, due to machinegun fire. Many officer were killed during the advance.
Second Lieutenant Caleb Henry Adams was killed in the fighting between 20 September and 22 September 1917 near Bitter Wood.
Sources 2
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10 Battalion Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/2643/1) https://nationalarchives.gov.uk Sources used |
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McCarthy C., The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account (London, Unicorn Publishing Group, 2018) pg. 69, 83 & 81. 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/845664 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=9fa6e42e-8fb5-45ba-8909-83b99c54eb32 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/632959 |