Frederick Lamboll 4 May 1917

Frederick Lamboll 1889-1917

Frederick Lamboll was born in the village of Thursley in Surrey in the summer of 1889. His parents. Thomas Lamboll from Haslemere and Alice Hilsdon. were married in Alice’s home parish of St Clement Oxford on 21 Feb 1881.

The couple settled in the village of Thursley where Thomas worked first as a gardener then as a coachman.  Their first child Frank was born at the end of 1881 followed by Edith in 1884, Ada in 1887, Frederick in 1889, Alice in 1892 and Albert in 1896. Edith died aged 3 in 1888.

Between 1896 and 1901 the family moved to Merriott near Yeovil in Somerset where Thomas foun work as a coachman at Marks Barn House the home of John Watson, a City of London Wine Merchant.

Both Frank and Frederick joined the army and from Frederick’s army record we know that he joined the 2^nd Battalion of the Warwickshire Regiment. The 2^nd Battalion were stationed in Malta from 1912 until they were called back to England in August 1914. They joined the 22^nd Brigade in 7^th Division and were sent to Belgium in October 1914.

The battalion was present on the Western Front from the battle of Ypres in 1914 through all the action up to the beginning of 1917. Following a winter of stalemate on the front, 1917 brought a change in fortune for the allies. Determined campaigns saw huge progress made in France and Belgium with ground and villages being retaken and the Germans pushed back on a daily basis.

The Battle of Arras which had begun in early April continued with thousands of allied troops deployed along the line. On May 3^rd, the 7^th division were involved in the Second Battle of Bullecourt. Bullecourt was strategic village on the Hindenburg line which had been in German hands since 1914. Behind it were two more villages Hendecourt and Riencourt, all of which were to be recaptured.  It had first been targeted by the allies in April but the attack had failed, for many reasons, one of which was that the plan had included tanks which did not arrive at the front line in time.

The Second Battle of Bullecourt was fought by six British and Australian Divisions and was of mixed success. The first push came before dawn on May 3^rd. Some small groups of men got through the enemy lines, while many were forced back. The 2^nd Royal Warwickshire’s, along with other battalions were detailed to join the battle overnight but at 4am, as they were lining up ready to advance, they were hit by a huge German bombardment. Although many were killed, the remaining men regrouped and continued the attack.  By late evening they were forced to retreat, having sustained many casualties. More than 300 men from the 2^nd Warwickshire’s died that day, including Frederick Lamboll. His body was not recovered and he is remembered on the Arras Memorial.

Frederick’s family moved from Somerset to Oxfordshire sometime between 1911 and 1915. His sister Ada married there in 1915 and settled in Oxford where she had two children. Alice never married and lived in Didcot working as a dressmaker. Albert married, had a son and became a postman in Abingdon. Frederick’s older brother Frank was killed in Germany in 1918. His parents both died in Abingdon, Thomas in 1925 and Alice in 1939.

In Memory of

Private FREDERICK JOHN LAMBOLL

18702, 2nd Bn., Royal Warwickshire Regiment

who died age 26

on 04 May 1917

Son of Mrs Alice Elizabeth Lamboll, of Long Wittenham, Abingdon, Berks.

Remembered with honour

ARRAS MEMORIAL

 

Photo taken by Bob Price on a visit to Arras in 2014

Albert Edward Milton 1897-11th April 1917

Albert Milton

1897-April 11^th 1917

Albert Edward Milton was born in Hascombe in Surrey, the third of seven children of William Milton and Caroline Underwood. William and Caroline were married in 1890 and their first child, William, was born in 1891. He was followed by Caroline in 1893, Alice in 1894 and Andrew in 1895. Albert arrived two years after that then Vernon in 1901 and finally John in 1902. Albert’s father William worked as a coachman but with so many big houses in the area, it is not clear who his employers were.

Albert joined up at Guildford on 30 Oct 1915.  He was then living at The Cottage, Hascombe and was a footman and he was assigned to The Royal Garrison Artillery 142^nd Siege Battery as a gunner. The soldiers in siege batteries operated heavy guns and howitzers which were attached to solid platforms or mounted on railway trucks. The 142^nd battery went to France in August 1916, having been formed in May of that year. Their guns included 6.6 inch howitzers each manned by a crew of ten.

The winter of 1916/17 had been very quiet with little progress on either side. However in the spring of 1917, allied troops gained huge ground and took back many villages along the Western Front. This was also a time of much increased air activity with bombing and reconnaissance aircraft in use on both sides. In spite of the successful pushing back of the German lines by the allies, the Germans were still dug in over an eight hundred kilometre lines from the North Sea to the Swiss border. Planning began for a new offensive in the Arras Sector of the Western Front. Huge numbers of troops were deployed all along the front line and the action lasted from April 9^th to May 16^th. Commanders had made use of underground caverns beneath the city of Arras to shelter the men. These caves were so extensive they housed a hospital, a telephone exchange and even had a tramway to connect them.

142^nd Siege Battery had moved around France during their time there and by the spring were located near Arras as part of this offensive. In April they were attached to the Canadian Corps who were tasked with retaking Vimy Ridge, a prominent landmark in the area. The siege battery’s role was to bombard the enemy with heavy gun and shells and on the first day of the battle, April 9^th, the battery was in constant demand to clear the area and provide cover. However, the Germans were responding and in the middle of the day, 142^nd Siege Battery were hit by a salvo of shells. Some of the men died instantly, others over the next few days. Albert Milton was listed as having died from his wounds on 11 Apr 1917, two days later.

A letter dated 9th June was sent to his father at Stillwell Cottage Hascombe. In October another letter was sent to The Lodge Sladeland Billingshurst Sussex. Sladeland is in Kirdford so the family had obviously moved on.

In 1919, his father William listed all the family in reply to a letter from the army records office and the witness to the document was E.A. Bennet, vicar of Kirdford. The family listed as William and Caroline Milton, parents, and two brothers, William John aged 27 at Mesopotamia, and John aged 16 on HMS Impregnable in Devon. His two sisters Caroline aged 26 at The Lodge Sladelands and Alice aged 25 in London. Albert’s brother Andrew had died aged 6 and Vernon had been killed in 1918.

The family lived on in Godalming. Frederick’s mother, Caroline passed away in 1938. In 1939, William was living with his unmarried daughter Alice, son William and William’s wife Rhoda. He died in 1941.

In Memory of

Gunner Albert Edward Milton

Royal Garrison Artillery 142nd Siege Bty

who died on 11 April 1917 Age 19

Remembered with Honour

Bethune Town Cemetery

Frederick Tilbury 1887-1917

Frederick Tilbury 1887-1917

Frederick Tilbury was born in Swallowfield in Berkshire in the summer of 1887, the youngest of nine children. His father James Tilbury married Jane Wheatley on 18 Aug 1867 at Swallowfield Parish Church. James was a baker and had a shop in the village of Swallowfield, south of Reading. The first of their children, also James, was born in 1869 followed by Mary, William, Arthur, and Sarah at two year intervals. Louisa arrived in 1881, then George, Edith and finally Frederick.

Frederick grew up in Swallowfield and along with all of his brothers became a baker and grocer.

On 23 Apr 1909, Frederick married Jessie Newton at Wokingham Register Office. Their first child, also Frederick was born in May 1910, followed by Edna in 1912 and Beatrice in 1916.

When Beatrice was six months old, Frederick was called up and he was assigned to the 1^st/7^th Battalion of The Durham Light Infantry. The 1^st/7^th Battalion was a pioneer battalion as part of the 51st Brigade in the 50^th Northumberland Division. 

He joined the war at the beginning of a quiet winter when there had been little progress on either side. However in the spring of 1917, allied troops gained huge ground and took back many villages along the Western Front. This was also a time of much increased air activity with bombing and reconnaissance aircraft in use on both sides. In spite of the successful pushing back of the German lines by the allies, the Germans were still dug in over an eight hundred kilometre lines from the North Sea to the Swiss border. Planning began for a new offensive in the Arras Sector of the Western Front. Huge numbers of troops were deployed all along the front line and the action lasted from April 9^th – May 16^th. Commanders had made use of underground caverns beneath the city of Arras to shelter the men. These caves were so extensive they housed a hospital, a telephone exchange and even had a tramway to connect them.

The 1^st/7^th Durham Battalion were part of a huge attack aimed at taking German trenches and recapturing the village of Feuchy. The battle, now known as the first battle of the Scarpe, began on April 9^th. Over the next few days huge progress was made and on April 12^th, the village was taken. It was generally seen as a better organised and co-ordinated attack than earlier battles had been and a victory for the troops but with many casualties including somewhere in the melee on April 11^th, Frederick Tilbury.

He was initially buried near the battlefield but on 1 Sep 1919, his widow Jessie received a letter from the Colonel in Charge of Infantry Records York to tell her that Frederick had been exhumed and reburied.

 “I beg to inform you that it has been necessary to exhume the remains of the late no 277337 Private Frederick Tilbury 7^th Battalion Durham Light Infantry, for proper burial at Tilloy British Cemetery, 2 miles south east of Arras. The new grave has been duly marked with a cross bearing all the late soldier’s particulars. The removal was undertaken with every measure of care and reverence and the re-internment conducted by an army chaplain.”

He now lies in the graveyard at Tilloy-Les-Mofflaines and on his stone is engraved “Until the Day Breaks.”

In October 1917 Jessie received Frederick’s personal effects; Soldiers’ and Sailors Companion, note book, photos, cards, 2 mirrors, disc, gospel, stamps. 2½d. She was awarded a pension of 26/3 a week with effect from 29 Oct 1917.

In the summer of 1918, Jessie married again and had two more daughters, Joyce and Gwendoline. Neither of them married and they lived together in Reading until their deaths in the 1980s. Her three Tilbury children did marry and she had five grandchildren. Jessie died in Reading in 1957.

Frederick’s father James was my husband’s 3x grandfather, thus Frederick was his great-great uncle.

In Memory of

Private Frederick Tilbury

277337, 1st/7th Bn., Durham Light Infantry who died on 11 April 1917 Age 29

Son of James and Jane Tilbury, of Swallowfield; husband of Jessie Overton Tilbury, of Odiham Rd.,

Swallowfield, Berks.

Remembered with Honour

Tilloy British Cemetery

Frederick Hitchcock 1897-1917

 

Frederick Thomas Hitchcock

December 1897-19^th January 1917

Frederick Hitchcock was born in the village of Grove in Berkshire at the end of 1897 to Arthur Hitchcock and his wife Julia nee Barwick. Arthur and Julia had married in Grove in 1883 and Frederick was their ninth child. When he was born his eldest brother William was twelve and his sister Ellen was ten. Then came three more girls, eight year old Beatrice, six year old Emily and five year old Mary. The girls had plenty of babies to look after as Frederick also had two older brothers, three year old Arthur and Percy, who was two. After Frederick came two final girls Julia in 1899 and Florence in 1905.

Frederick was seventeen at the outbreak of war and living at home with his parents at Grove. It is not known when he joined up but the regiment he joined, the 7th Battalion, Berkshire Regiment, was raised in Reading in September 1914 as part of Kitchener's Third New Army and joined the 26th Division of the 78th Brigade.  They did not receive uniforms until the spring of 1915 and their equipment was lacking too. However they trained in Wiltshire and Berkshire before embarking for France in July 1915. In November 1915 the 26th Division left Marseille for Salonika.

Greece had tried not to become involved in the war as, while they had long been an enemy of Turkey, their King was pro German being married to the Kaiser’s sister. A compromise was reached in which they agreed to allow allied troops to land at Salonika in order to reach the fighting in Serbia. However by the time the first soldiers arrived in October 1915, Serbia had already fallen and Austrian and Bulgarian troops were on the Greek border. The allies fought to defend Greece until the summer of 1917 when Greece officially joined them.

The Berkshires were recorded at Senelle Ravine in October 1916 and were still there in mid-January 1917. It seems that the severe winter weather just brought everything to a standstill and although different battalions manned the forward trenches in rotation very little was happening.

The war diary of the 7^th battalion for January 18^th reads, “The day was very quiet until about 1700hrs when the enemy fired about 10 HE (5.9) and 6 shrapnel (probably 4.2) into W RAVINE. Our Trench Mortar fired 15 rounds into JUMEAUX RAVINE (where the working was going on) with apparent good result as no more working was heard. Our patrols heard wheeled traffic and shouting N of HILL 380 also slight working on MAMELON. Quiet night.”

The next day was similar “The enemy fired several HE shrapnel in FUSILIER RAVINE and D8 between 0900-0940hrs. Casualties 2 OR killed. The Trench Mortar from PETIT COURONNE was active throughout the day and fired about 40 shells on D1 and head of SENELLE RAVINE. Patrols heard working in JUMEAUX RAVINE upon which the artillery and Trench Mortar fired, working was also heard on HILL 380 artillery Vickers Gun turned on. Quiet night. Remarks. 1 OR to hospital wounded, 1 OR returned from hospital.”

It is possible that one of those two ‘other ranks’ in the bombardment that morning was Frederick Hitchcock but it is also likely that he died of illness. Malaria, dysentery and other diseases were a huge problem in the area at this time. He is buried along with three other men who died on the same day at Karasouli Military Cemetery.

In Memory of

Private F T Hitchcock

23449, 7th Bn., Royal Berkshire Regiment who died on 19 January 1917

Son of Julia Hitchcock, of Grove, Wantage, Berks.

Remembered with Honour

Karasouli Military Cemetery

Acknowledgements

www.1914-1918.net/salonika.htm

www.cwgc.org

www.thewardrobe.org.uk