Pte
Harry Senior
Informations sur naissance
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Année de naissance: 1885 |
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Lieu de naissance: Stalybridge, Cheshire, Angleterre, Royaume-Uni |
Informations générales
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Profession: Tisserand |
Informations service militaire
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Pays: Angleterre, Royaume-Uni |
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Force armée: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rang: Private |
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Numéro de service: 351856 |
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Incorporation nom de lieu: Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, Angleterre, Royaume-Uni |
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Unités: — Manchester Regiment, 2/9th Bn. (Dernière unité connue) |
Informations sur décès
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Date de décès: 11/10/1917 |
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Cause du décès: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Âge: 32 |
Mémorial
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Tyne Cot Memorial Panneau: 123 |
Distinctions et médailles 2
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British War Medal Médaille |
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Victory Medal Médaille |
Points d'intérêt 2
| #1 | Lieu de naissance | ||
| #2 | Lieu d'enrôlement |
Mon histoire
Private Harry Senior served in the Manchester Regiment 2nd/9th Battalion, part of the 198th Brigade of the 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division.
In the early morning of the 8th of October 1917 the Manchester Regiment 2nd/9th Battalion marched from their bivouacs to the reverse slope of the Frezenberg Ridge, where they halted until dusk. The area was shelled at intervals by the German artillery and the Battalion suffered about 50 casualties. The Battalion moved off at dusk. The march was extremely difficult, due to the boggy ground, and took much longer than expected. The Battalion arrived at their assembly point near the frontline at 4 a.m. in the early morning of the 9th of October 1917.
The 66th Division would attack with two Brigades in what is known as the Battle of Poelcapelle. The 197th Brigade would attack on the left of the Divisional front and the 198th on the right. The 49th Division would advance on the left of the 198th Brigade. The 198th Brigade attacked with the 2/9th Manchesters and the 2/4th East Lancs; the 2/5th East Lancs were in support and the 2/10th Manchesters were in reserve. The Brigade’s jump off line ran between the road junction at Hamburg and the stream of the Ravebeek.
The first objective was the Red Line, running from the Waterfields at D.10.b.60.05. on the left, through Augustus Wood to the German strongpoint at Heine House. The Final objective, the Blue Line, ran approximately from Haalen Copse to D.12.a.0.4. and to D.12.a.30.20. The artillery barrage started at 5.20 a.m., zero hour and the Battalion advanced at 5.24 a.m. behind the creeping barrage.
The assaulting troops immediately came under heavy German artillery- and machinegun fire. The German artillery put down a barrage, after which the Germans counter-attacked. Notwithstanding the heavy German shelling and the unforgiving cross fire the Battalion managed to capture the Red Line. Of the 12 Pill-boxes to be captured by the Battalion, the first ones offered no serious resistance, as they were evacuated by the Germans. Heavy German resistance was encountered in Augustus Wood. A part of the Wood was firmly held by the Germans. The German machineguns and snipers in Augustus Wood inflicted heavy casualties on the Battalion. By midday it became apparent that none of the Battalions of the 198th Brigade would be able to capture the Blue Line and the Battalions started to consolidating their gains. The Battllion’s right, at Heine House, had to pull back to the line in Augustus Wood.
At the same time about 100 men of the Battalion Headquarter were sent forward to reinforce the Battalion’s left. Meanwhile the 2/5th East Lancs had suffered heavy losses in an attempt to capture the German strongpoint at Hamburg Redoubt. The remnants of the Battalion were pulled back behind the 2/9th Manchesters and 2/4th East Lancs in anticipation of a counter-attack. The Germans did launch a counter-attack at dusk. The reinforced left of the 2/9th Manchesters succeeded in driving off the German counter-attack with the help of the artillery.
Three companies of the 2/10th Manchesters were sent forward to reinforce the line in the morning of the 10th of October 1917. The remainder of the day passed without incidents apart from the occasional German shelling. At 4.40 p.m. the Germans counter-attacked the Battalion’s right at Augustus Wood, but the attack was repulsed.
The 2/9th Manchesters were relieved on the 10th of October at 6.30 p.m. by the 42nd Australian Infantry Battalion. The relief was carried out under the cover of darkness in the night of the 10th and 11th of October 1917. The assembly positions and especially the area behind it were unceasingly shelled by the German artillery during the relief. Private Harry Senior was possibly killed during the relief, due to the German shelling. He died, after two days of heavy fighting in the frontlines, on the 11th of October 1917. His body was never recovered and he’s remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial.
In the early morning of the 8th of October 1917 the Manchester Regiment 2nd/9th Battalion marched from their bivouacs to the reverse slope of the Frezenberg Ridge, where they halted until dusk. The area was shelled at intervals by the German artillery and the Battalion suffered about 50 casualties. The Battalion moved off at dusk. The march was extremely difficult, due to the boggy ground, and took much longer than expected. The Battalion arrived at their assembly point near the frontline at 4 a.m. in the early morning of the 9th of October 1917.
The 66th Division would attack with two Brigades in what is known as the Battle of Poelcapelle. The 197th Brigade would attack on the left of the Divisional front and the 198th on the right. The 49th Division would advance on the left of the 198th Brigade. The 198th Brigade attacked with the 2/9th Manchesters and the 2/4th East Lancs; the 2/5th East Lancs were in support and the 2/10th Manchesters were in reserve. The Brigade’s jump off line ran between the road junction at Hamburg and the stream of the Ravebeek.
The first objective was the Red Line, running from the Waterfields at D.10.b.60.05. on the left, through Augustus Wood to the German strongpoint at Heine House. The Final objective, the Blue Line, ran approximately from Haalen Copse to D.12.a.0.4. and to D.12.a.30.20. The artillery barrage started at 5.20 a.m., zero hour and the Battalion advanced at 5.24 a.m. behind the creeping barrage.
The assaulting troops immediately came under heavy German artillery- and machinegun fire. The German artillery put down a barrage, after which the Germans counter-attacked. Notwithstanding the heavy German shelling and the unforgiving cross fire the Battalion managed to capture the Red Line. Of the 12 Pill-boxes to be captured by the Battalion, the first ones offered no serious resistance, as they were evacuated by the Germans. Heavy German resistance was encountered in Augustus Wood. A part of the Wood was firmly held by the Germans. The German machineguns and snipers in Augustus Wood inflicted heavy casualties on the Battalion. By midday it became apparent that none of the Battalions of the 198th Brigade would be able to capture the Blue Line and the Battalions started to consolidating their gains. The Battllion’s right, at Heine House, had to pull back to the line in Augustus Wood.
At the same time about 100 men of the Battalion Headquarter were sent forward to reinforce the Battalion’s left. Meanwhile the 2/5th East Lancs had suffered heavy losses in an attempt to capture the German strongpoint at Hamburg Redoubt. The remnants of the Battalion were pulled back behind the 2/9th Manchesters and 2/4th East Lancs in anticipation of a counter-attack. The Germans did launch a counter-attack at dusk. The reinforced left of the 2/9th Manchesters succeeded in driving off the German counter-attack with the help of the artillery.
Three companies of the 2/10th Manchesters were sent forward to reinforce the line in the morning of the 10th of October 1917. The remainder of the day passed without incidents apart from the occasional German shelling. At 4.40 p.m. the Germans counter-attacked the Battalion’s right at Augustus Wood, but the attack was repulsed.
The 2/9th Manchesters were relieved on the 10th of October at 6.30 p.m. by the 42nd Australian Infantry Battalion. The relief was carried out under the cover of darkness in the night of the 10th and 11th of October 1917. The assembly positions and especially the area behind it were unceasingly shelled by the German artillery during the relief. Private Harry Senior was possibly killed during the relief, due to the German shelling. He died, after two days of heavy fighting in the frontlines, on the 11th of October 1917. His body was never recovered and he’s remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial.
Sources 1
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McCarthy C., The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995), pg. 105-113. Sources utilisées |
Complément d’informations 3
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/829052 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=f89216e4-b3db-4202-9f2b-3c37484a4e2d |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/3960422 |