Année de naissance: 1889

Lieu de naissance: Grafham, Huntingdonshire, Angleterre, Royaume-Uni

Pays: Angleterre, Royaume-Uni

Force armée: British Expeditionary Force

Rang: Private

Numéro de service: 41409

Incorporation nom de lieu: Bedford, Bedfordshire, Angleterre, Royaume-Uni

Unités:  —  Cambridgeshire Regiment, 1/1st Bn.  (Dernière unité connue)

Date de décès: 26/09/1917

Lieu de décès: Tower Hamlets, Geluveld, Belgique

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

Âge: 28

British War Medal Médaille

Victory Medal Médaille

At dawn, on the 26th of September 1917 the Cambridgeshire Regiment 1/1st Battalion, of the 118th Brigade part of the 39th Division, attacked the German occupied Tower Hamlets Ridge. This attack was part of the battle of Polygon Wood. The 39th Division attacked at 5.50 a.m., zero hour with two Brigades. The 118th and the 116th Brigade. The 118th consisted of the 1/1st Cambridgeshires on the left and the 4/5th Black Watch on the right while the 1/6th Cheshire Regiment was in support. The 116th Brigade advanced on the left of the Cambridgeshires.
At 5.50 a.m. the British artillery opened up with a barrage and the advance commenced. The 1/1st Cambridgeshires left their positions in the marshy Bassevillebeek valley and stormed the Tower Hamlets Ridge. The assaulting Battalions experienced great difficulties in crossing the boggy ground. Of the three Cambridgeshire companies only A company, on the left, managed to keep up with the barrage. C and D companies on the right and in the center struggled forward in the bog.
At first the Cambridgeshires met slight opposition from a couple of German dug-outs after advancing 150 yards. The three companies linked up with each other round Joist Redoubt. The Western part of the redoubt was cleared by D and C companies, while A was still engaged in a bitter fight for the Eastern face of the redoubt and the Southwest end of Tower Trench, which were strongly held by the German defenders. In the meanwhile the 116th Brigade on the left had lost its sense of direction and a gap of some 400 yards had developed between the Brigade and A company. German Machine guns on the left of A company made good use of the gap and started raining down fire on A company, killing the company’s commanding officer and many of his men. With the left of A company in the air the advance of A came to a standstill in a line of shell-holes West of Tower Trench.
Around 6.30 a.m. B company moved forward to reinforce the left. However little progress was made, due to the murdering machine gun fire and B company was unable to reach A company. By 7.00 a.m. B, C and D companies were holding the Western part of Joist Redoubt, while the remains of A were holding on to a line of shell-holes on the Western side of the Southern end of Tower Trench.
The situation remained unchanged throughout the day, except for some local skirmishes. The remainder of the day and the night was spent in consolidating their positions. At 2.30 a.m. the Cambridgeshires were exposed to heavy German shellfire, Mg and rifle fire, but all maintained the line.
The 1/1st Cambridgeshires were relieved at 3.00 a.m. in the early hours of the 28th of September 1917. The attack had cost the life of one officer and 29 men. Three officers and 129 men were wounded and three officers and 31 men went missing. Private George James Dawks was one of the 29 men who lost their lives in the attack on Tower Hamlets Ridge.

McCarthy C., The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, ( London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995), pg. 82-86. Sources utilisées

Riddell E. and Clayton M.C., The Cambridgeshires 1914 to 1919, (Cambridge, Bowes & Bowes, 1934), pg. 139-149. Sources utilisées

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1629604

Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=832f57ca-5e2b-4ab5-a6f2-0a36f1d11674

Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/1145027