Pte
Bertie Cowgill
Information about birth
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Year of birth: 1889 |
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Place of birth: Earby, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Last known residence: 7 Stoopes Hill, Earby, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom |
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Profession: Weaver |
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Religion: Church of England |
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: 29010 |
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Enlistment place: Halifax, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom |
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Units: — Northumberland Fusiliers, 8th Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 16/08/1917 |
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Place of death: Maison du Hibou, Sint-Juliaan, England, United Kingdom |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 28 |
Memorial
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Tyne Cot Memorial Panel: 20 |
Points of interest 4
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Last known residence | ||
| #3 | Enlistment place | ||
| #4 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Bertie Cowgill was born in January 1889, the son of Elizabeth Speak and Brian Cowgill. The family lived in Earby, Yorkshire, England. His sister Lilian was born in 1895. According to the 1911 census, the whole family lived at 7 Stoopes Hill in Earby and worked in the family’s cotton mill. Bertie married Jane Taylor in Skipton, Yorkshire, in July 1915 when he was 26 years old. Jayne also lived in Earby on the Skipton Road. Her father was also a weaver. By this time, Bertie's father Brian had retired and stated his profession as gentleman, meaning he didn’t had to work anymore to support himself. Jayne and Bertie's son Kenneth Taylor Cowgill was born in Earby on 11 November 1915.
During the war, Bertie was taken into the ranks of the 8th Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers, part of the 34th Brigade of the 11th (Northern) Division. On 16 August 1917, during the Battle of Passchendaele, the 11th Division, with the 34th Brigade attacked between the ruins of Langemarck and the hamlet of St Julien from the banks of the Steenbeek stream. Bertie's Battalion the 8th Northumberlands advanced first at 4.45am. The eastern horizon lit up by a heavy artillery barrage. As the barrage began to creep towards the German lines, the Northumberlands left their positions on the banks of the Steenbeek and followed the wall of fire, smoke and steel. Five minutes into the attack, the barrage, that was to shield them from the German machine guns, stopped. Suddenly exposed in the open, a German strongpoint opened fire on the Northumberlands, causing heavy losses. The thinly manned German front line, not much more than three rows of shell-holes along what is now the Cayennestraat, put up a fight but was eventually overrun, under cover of rifle grenades and Lewis gunfire. Although some German troops tried to surrender, no prisoners were taken. The attack did not go as planned and quickly stalled. Throughout the attack, the battalion's right flank was exposed to machine-gun fire from Triangle Farm and Maison du Hibou, as the troops on their right, who had to advance through St Julien, were stopped in their tracks. Several attacks on Maison du Hibou were to no avail. Some progress was made on the left, where the cemetery on the Zonnebekestraat was reached. The ruins of Langemarck still further to the left were taken by the 20th Division, but the main objective of the attack, a breakthrough between Zonnebeke and Langemarck, was not achieved. The battle on 16 August is known as the Battle of Langemarck because the British achieved the most there.
The 8th Northumberlands paid heavily for the attempt. 43 men were killed, 2 furthermore died of their wounds, another 39 men were missing and 231 men were wounded. Bertie, a young father of 28, was killed in action on 16 August 1917. To this day, he has no known grave and he is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial.
In August 1928, during the Great Pilgrimage, Bertie's widow and his then 12-year-old son Kenneth made the arduous journey to Passchendaele. A photo of the group from Yorkshire was taken in front of their hostel in Ypres. Kenneth is the boy in the picture. Jayne is dressed in a white blouse and stands behind the young girl in white.
During the war, Bertie was taken into the ranks of the 8th Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers, part of the 34th Brigade of the 11th (Northern) Division. On 16 August 1917, during the Battle of Passchendaele, the 11th Division, with the 34th Brigade attacked between the ruins of Langemarck and the hamlet of St Julien from the banks of the Steenbeek stream. Bertie's Battalion the 8th Northumberlands advanced first at 4.45am. The eastern horizon lit up by a heavy artillery barrage. As the barrage began to creep towards the German lines, the Northumberlands left their positions on the banks of the Steenbeek and followed the wall of fire, smoke and steel. Five minutes into the attack, the barrage, that was to shield them from the German machine guns, stopped. Suddenly exposed in the open, a German strongpoint opened fire on the Northumberlands, causing heavy losses. The thinly manned German front line, not much more than three rows of shell-holes along what is now the Cayennestraat, put up a fight but was eventually overrun, under cover of rifle grenades and Lewis gunfire. Although some German troops tried to surrender, no prisoners were taken. The attack did not go as planned and quickly stalled. Throughout the attack, the battalion's right flank was exposed to machine-gun fire from Triangle Farm and Maison du Hibou, as the troops on their right, who had to advance through St Julien, were stopped in their tracks. Several attacks on Maison du Hibou were to no avail. Some progress was made on the left, where the cemetery on the Zonnebekestraat was reached. The ruins of Langemarck still further to the left were taken by the 20th Division, but the main objective of the attack, a breakthrough between Zonnebeke and Langemarck, was not achieved. The battle on 16 August is known as the Battle of Langemarck because the British achieved the most there.
The 8th Northumberlands paid heavily for the attempt. 43 men were killed, 2 furthermore died of their wounds, another 39 men were missing and 231 men were wounded. Bertie, a young father of 28, was killed in action on 16 August 1917. To this day, he has no known grave and he is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial.
In August 1928, during the Great Pilgrimage, Bertie's widow and his then 12-year-old son Kenneth made the arduous journey to Passchendaele. A photo of the group from Yorkshire was taken in front of their hostel in Ypres. Kenneth is the boy in the picture. Jayne is dressed in a white blouse and stands behind the young girl in white.
Sources 3
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8 Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO/95/1821/2). 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 (Londen, Arms & Armour, 2018), p 54-55. 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/841549/ |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=f1615d52-de34-4948-b9a5-147688302100 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/983921 |