Année de naissance: 1896

Lieu de naissance: Coleford, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, Angleterre, Royaume-Uni

Dernière résidence connue: Coleford, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, Angleterre, Royaume-Uni

Profession: Etudiant

Pays: Pays de Galles, Royaume-Uni

Force armée: British Expeditionary Force

Rang: Lance Corporal

Numéro de service: 260289

Incorporation nom de lieu: Gloucester, Gloucestershire, Angleterre, Royaume-Uni

Unités:  —  Gloucestershire Regiment, 12th Bn. (Bristol)  (Dernière unité connue)

Date de décès: 04/10/1917

Lieu de décès: Cameron House, Belgique

Cause du décès: Killed in action (K.I.A.)

Âge: 21

British War Medal Médaille

Victory Medal Médaille

Lance Corporal Herbert (Bert) Gwilliam was the 2nd son of eight and was a good sportsman and student. His dream was to become a school teacher but first he enlisted the 12th Gloucestershire Regiment, part of the 95th Brigade which was part of the 5th British Division at that moment.
He was born and raised in Coleford, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, in Wales.

During the Battle of Broodseinde, on the 4th October 1917, the 5th Division on the right of X Corps successfully occupied Cameron Covert at the head of the Reutelbeek re-entrant.
Broodseinde was also a severe test for 12th Gloucesters, in reserve to 1st East Surreys for the attack by 95th Brigade which began at 06.00 a.m.
Conditions were beastly, with heavy rain. The barrage was too far ahead of the advancing troops and the German machine guns were free to fire on the companies as they struggled forward.
The Brigade on the left had advanced eight hundred yards and captured a number of German pillboxes within the re-entrant.
At 06.40 a.m. the 12th Gloucestershire Regiment, less A Company, moved forward to occupy the line that had been held by the East Surreys, during which time they suffered heavily from German artillery. Later in the morning, C Company was sent to reinforce 1st Devons, and this led to more casualties.

It was during these events that Lance Corporal Herbert Gwilliam, aged 21, was killed in action.
His body is buried in Tyne Cot Cemetery, plot LXIII, row B, grave 3.

"A Gallant County, The regiments of Gloucestershire in the Great War", Grist R., Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK, 2018, page 210 - 211 Sources utilisées

"Gallantry Awards to the Gloucestershire Regiment 1914 - 1918", Littlewood P.R., Spink, London, 2005, page 148 Sources utilisées

"Passchendaele, The Day-by-Day Account", McCarthy C., Unicorn Publishing Group, London, 2018, page 109 Sources utilisées

"The Fifth Division in the Great War", Hussey A.H., Inman D.S., Nisbet & CO.Ltd, London,1921, page 178 - 179 Sources utilisées

Ancestry https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/39/?name=Herbert_Gwilliam&death=1917-10-4&count=50&keyword=260289&location=3257.3250&name_x=ps_s&priority=united-kingdom Autre référence

CGWC https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/search-results/?Surname=Gwilliam&Forename=Herbert&Initials=&ServiceNum=260289&Regiment=&WarSelect=1&CountryCommemoratedIn=null&Cemetery=&Unit=&Rank=&SecondaryRegiment=&AgeOfDeath=0&DateDeathFromDay=1&DateDeathFromMonth=January&DateDeathFromYear=&DateDeathToDay=1&DateDeathToMonth=January&DateDeathToYear=&DateOfDeath=&Honours=null&AdditionalInfo= Sources utilisées

Map: "Passchendaele, The Day-by-Day Account", McCarthy C., Unicorn Publishing Group, London, 2018, page 108 Sources utilisées

National Archives https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7352296 Autre référence

The Long Long Trail http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/order-of-battle-of-divisions/5th-division/ Sources utilisées

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/462999

Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=id=23195617-daec-4621-8020-456a368f3fe4

Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/1505349