L/Cpl
Fred Booth
Information about birth
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Year of birth: 1896 |
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Place of birth: Oldham, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Last known residence: 44 Burnley Lane, Oldham, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom |
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Profession: Spinner |
Army information
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Country: England, United Kingdom |
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Force: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Lance Corporal |
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Service number: 50063 |
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Enlistment place: Oldham, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom |
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Units: — Manchester Regiment, 19th Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 31/07/1917 |
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Place of death: Jar Row, Zillebeke, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 21 |
Cemetery
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Tyne Cot Cemetery Plot: LIX Row: A Grave: 45 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 4
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Last known residence | ||
| #3 | Enlistment place | ||
| #4 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Fred Booth was a native of Oldham, Lancashire in the United Kingdom. As a 14-year-old and the eldest son of the family, he worked as a labourer in the textile mill where his father was an engineer as early as 1911. He enlisted in the army in Oldham and was assigned to the 19th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment, part of the 21st Brigade of the 30th Division.
The 30th Division would be deployed in Flanders only once in 1917, and this was at the beginning of the Battle of Passchendaele, known in its early stages as the Battle of Pilkem. The Division arrived at Ypres in June 1917 and camped at Château Segard before moving to their starting positions at Sanctuary Wood south of ‘t Hooghe and the Ypres- Menin road on 30 July in anticipation of the offensive.
In the early hours of 31 July, the attack started under loud artillery fire. From the 21st Brigade, the 2nd Green Howards advanced with the 19th Manchesters on the right and the 2nd Wiltshires with the 18th King's Liverpool Regiment on the left.
Heavy shellfire in Sanctuary Wood held up the 21st Brigade and caused confusion. Soon the battalions were mixed up. The weather conditions were not ideal either, after the dense night fog, it started raining in the morning and would continue to do so for the next 3 days. This made it difficult to walk on the already soggy ground, let alone attack over it with thousands of troops.
Once out of Sanctuary Wood, the mixed force came under fire from Stirling Castle on the left. Only with the help of reinforcements from the 89th Brigade could Stirling Castle be taken. As was Bodmin Copse on the right. At Jar Row, a trench between Stirling and Bodmin Copse, mixed troops of the 21st Brigade were pushed back by German troops with hand grenades and backed up by machine guns.
Only the first objective of the attack, the western edge of Dumbarton Woods, could finally be consolidated, at the cost of heavy losses. The 19th Manchesters alone counted 15 officers and 283 soldiers killed, wounded and missing that day.
Fred Booth, aged 21 and now promoted to Lance Corporal, was killed in action and buried in front of Jar Row. He was later reburied and interred at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Plot LIX, Row A, Grave 45.
The 30th Division would be deployed in Flanders only once in 1917, and this was at the beginning of the Battle of Passchendaele, known in its early stages as the Battle of Pilkem. The Division arrived at Ypres in June 1917 and camped at Château Segard before moving to their starting positions at Sanctuary Wood south of ‘t Hooghe and the Ypres- Menin road on 30 July in anticipation of the offensive.
In the early hours of 31 July, the attack started under loud artillery fire. From the 21st Brigade, the 2nd Green Howards advanced with the 19th Manchesters on the right and the 2nd Wiltshires with the 18th King's Liverpool Regiment on the left.
Heavy shellfire in Sanctuary Wood held up the 21st Brigade and caused confusion. Soon the battalions were mixed up. The weather conditions were not ideal either, after the dense night fog, it started raining in the morning and would continue to do so for the next 3 days. This made it difficult to walk on the already soggy ground, let alone attack over it with thousands of troops.
Once out of Sanctuary Wood, the mixed force came under fire from Stirling Castle on the left. Only with the help of reinforcements from the 89th Brigade could Stirling Castle be taken. As was Bodmin Copse on the right. At Jar Row, a trench between Stirling and Bodmin Copse, mixed troops of the 21st Brigade were pushed back by German troops with hand grenades and backed up by machine guns.
Only the first objective of the attack, the western edge of Dumbarton Woods, could finally be consolidated, at the cost of heavy losses. The 19th Manchesters alone counted 15 officers and 283 soldiers killed, wounded and missing that day.
Fred Booth, aged 21 and now promoted to Lance Corporal, was killed in action and buried in front of Jar Row. He was later reburied and interred at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Plot LIX, Row A, Grave 45.
Sources 9
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19 Battalion Manchester Regiment (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/2329/4_3). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
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British Army World War I Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920 (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), WO 372). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
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Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901 (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), RG13). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
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Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911 (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), RG14). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
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McCarthy Chris., Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account (London, Unicorn Publishing Group, 2018), 24-25. Sources used |
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N.N., Sixteenth; Seventeeth; Eighteenth; Nineteenth Battalions: The Manchester Regiment A record 1914-1918, (Manchester, Sherratt&Hughes, 34 Cross Street,1923), 226-228. Sources used |
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Soldier' Effects Records (National Army Museum, Chelsea (NAM) 1901-60; NAM Accession Number: 1991-02-333). https://www.nam.ac.uk/ Sources used |
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Stedman Michael, MAnchester Pals, a History of the two Manchester Brigades, (London, Leo Cooper,190 Shaftesbury Avenue, 1994), 174-176. Sources used |
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UK, World War I Service Medal and Awards Rolls, 1914-1920(The National Archives, Kew (TNA), WO 329). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ 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/461987 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/414282 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=cc616a71-8a8e-4997-aab5-bc261d53c4f9 |