Unit/Regiment	2nd Bn., South Lancashire Regiment
Date of Death	28/05/1918		Age at Death
Burial/Memorial & Reference	Soissons Memorial
Census Details	Multiple Options
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations
SDGW – Where Born	Prescot, Lancs	Enlisted		Prescot	Resided
How Died	Died			Theatre of War	France & Flanders
Notes
Research Ref. No.	P277

Service Details

At the beginning of 1918, the 2nd Battalion were located in the Lagnicourt sector, opposite the notorious Hindenberg Line. In February, owing to the shortage of manpower, the 8th (Service) Battalion ceased to exist, its men being transferred into the 2nd. Battalion.

It was clear that there was additional activity in the German lines, and a corresponding increase in the activity of German aircraft. The German offensive finally began on the 21st March and the battalion was in the thick of the fighting until the night of the 26th, when they were withdrawn, marching to billets at Lanches which they reached on the 28th.

In the 5 days of the initial offensive, they had lost 13 officers and 360 other ranks, killed, wounded and missing. Upon the arrival at Lanches of reinforcements of 15 officers and 343 other ranks, the battalion was reorganised with 4 companies, “A” to “D”.

The battalion was ordered to replace the Australians at Ploegsteert and by 2nd April they occupied trenches some 2,000 yards east of the ruined village.  They remained here until the 8th, when they marched back to the Rosignol rest area. However early the next morning, heavy shellfire was heard to the south, towards Armentieres and word was received that the enemy had broken through. The battalion was ordered to stand to, ready to move at a moment’s notice.

The battalion remained on stand by in support of the 8th Border Regiment and 11th Cheshires up to midnight on the 9th.

The next morning the Germans advanced towards Ploegsteert and the battalion was ordered to occupy a position on the high ground, 2,000 yards west of the village. At 3.30 p.m. it was decided that a counter attack against Ploegsteert should take place, timed for 5 p.m. The attack was reasonably successful, but was held up by a large number of skilfully handled German machine guns.

The battalion remained in the thick of the action until they were relieved on 21st April.

On 9th May, they entrained for the Soissons area, returning to the scenes of some of their earliest encounters with the Germans back in 1914, although there were now few survivors of that earlier campaign.

Around the middle of May, an increase in activity behind the German lines was reported and escaped French prisoners told that immense supplies of ammunition was being stock-piled.  By 26th May, the battalion was in possession of intelligence that told of an attack the following morning, and they moved forward to Ventelay to protect the crossings of the River Aisne.

The attack commenced at 1 a.m. on the 27th with artillery, gas and a huge infantry assault. By midday the situation was critical and the enemy had crossed the Aisne in two places. Fierce fighting continued throughout the day but by dusk, the remnants of the battalion had withdrawn to the high ground south of Ventelay.

On the 28th and subsequent days the attacks continued all along the lines, forcing a general retirement to a line sough of the River Vesle.

At some point in the German assault, Private Travis died. It is interesting to note that he is recorded as “Died”, which suggests death as a result of illness or accident. This would normally result in the casualty having a known and recorded grave, which is not the case for Private Travis. It is possible that he had died and was buried, but that his grave was lost in the subsequent fighting. He currently has no known grave and is remembered on the Soissons Memorial.

 

 

George Travis’ Medal Index Card

Unit/Regiment	2nd/5th Bn., South Lancashire Regiment
Date of Death	10/04/1917		Age at Death		22
Burial/Memorial & Reference	Pont-Du-Hem Military Cemetery, La Gorgue IV E 1
Census Details	1901 Census – Joseph was 4 years old and lived at 4, Bond Street, Prescot with his parents John, a 31 year old Coal Miner and Elizabeth (30), sister Ann (10) and brother Thomas (1).
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations	Birth registered Q3/1896, Prescot, Volume 8b, Page 704
SDGW – Where Born	Prescot, Lancs	Enlisted		St Helens, Lancs	Resided
How Died	Killed In Action			Theatre of War	France & Flanders
Notes
Research Ref. No.	P278

Service Details

The 2nd/5th battalion of the South Lancashire regiment was officially constituted at Liverpool on September 23rd, 1914, principally as a “second line” unit for the 1st/5th battalion. It proceeded to Blackpool on 11th November to commence its training, although it was severely handicapped in the early days by a lack of uniforms and equipment.

Early in 1915, the battalion was moved to Tunbridge Well sin Kent, forming part of the Central Force for Home Defence, although training was still hampered by the lack of equipment. The battalion consisted of 37 officers and 1,203 other ranks, although a significant proportion of these were for Home Service only. In addition, a high turnover of personnel came about due to the large number of discharges on medical grounds.

In May of 1915, the first draft to replace casualties at the front was called for and 10 officers left immediately for France. A steady drain of men continued until November, when the 3rd/5th battalion was formed to act as a Dept for men who had been evacuated due to wounds or sickness, also supplying drafts to the first line battalion. The second line battalion was now able to form itself into a shape fir for the purpose of fighting.

As 1916 progressed, the battalion remained on Home Service, mainly constructing field fortifications for the protection of London, south of the Thames. In June, however, the battalion was moved to Ashdown in Kent to complete training in preparation for moving overseas. Orders were not received until Christmas 1916, however. Eventually, the battalion entrained at Farnborough on 16th February 1917 for Folkstone. Their departure for France was delayed by fog until the 20th, when they sailed on the s.s. “Princess Henriette” with a full complement of officers and men.

 

Their early days in France were mobile, moving from Boulogne to Bailleul, then Oultersteene and finally to Armentieres. Here on 4th March, they moved into the front line trenches for the first time, relieving the men of the 2nd/4th battalion. At this time, Armentieres was a “quiet” sector and so the battalion passed the month of March suffering few casualties.

At the beginning of April, the unit was in Divisional reserve at Rue Dormoire. On 10th, a small party under 2/Lt Cocking carried out a raid on the German trenches near Bois Grenier to obtain identifications. They had all been specially trained for the task, but the enemy was on alert and the raid failed with the loss of its commander with 3 other ranks missing and 7 wounded. Amongst the missing men were Rfn. Robert Mutch and Sergeant Joseph Travis. They now rest alongside each other  a grave at Point-du-Hem Military Cemetery. It would appear that they had been buried by the Germans after the raid but were brought into Pont-du-Hem as part of the post-war battlefield clearance. 

 

The Parish Magazine of 28th June 1917 reported “The following are deaths in action, all in France or Belgium” and included “Sergeant Joseph Travis, 22, of 4, Bond Street. Missing since 10th April 1917. Married”.

 

Joseph Travis’ Medal Index Card

Unit/Regiment	12th Bn., Tank Corps
Date of Death	08/10/1918		Age at Death
Burial/Memorial & Reference	Marcoing British Cemetery II B 26
Census Details
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations
SDGW – Where Born	Rainhill	Enlisted		Preston	Resided
How Died	Killed In Action			Theatre of War	France & Flanders
Notes	Formerly 01692 Royal Army Veterinary Corps Prescot Grammar School, 1904 –
Research Ref. No.	P279

 

 

Joseph Tyrer’s Medal Index Card

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Unit/Regiment	2nd Bn, Monmouthshire Regiment
Date of Death	12/04/1918		Age at Death		28
Burial/Memorial & Reference	Ploegsteert Memorial Panel 10
CWGC Family Details (if shown)	Son of Richard and Ann Underwood, of Eastham Buildings, Hale View, Huyton, Liverpool; husband of Ada Maud Briscoe (formerly Underwood), of Lane Ends, Whiston, Prescot, Lancs
Census Details
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations	Marriage to Ada Maud Briscoe registered Prescot, Q3/1915, Vol 8b, Page 1596
SDGW – Where Born		Enlisted		Prescot	Resided
How Died	Killed In Action			Theatre of War	France & Flanders
Notes	Formerly 4168 South Lancs Regt
Research Ref. No.	P280

 

Lance-Corporal Underwood’s Medal Index Card. He was entitled to the British War Medal and Victory Medal

 

 

George Underwood’s inscription on the Ploegsteert Memorial (poor quality picture)

 

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Unit/Regiment	1st/5th Bn., South Lancashire Regiment
Date of Death	07/09/1916		Age at Death		22
Burial/Memorial & Reference	Caterpillar Cemetery, Longueval, XIV A 38
CWGC Family Details (if shown)	Son of John James and Ann Valentine, of 35, Derby St., Prescot, Lancs.
Census Details	1901 Census - 19 Cook Street, Whiston was the home of John Valentine, a 40 year old labourer and his wife Annie (34). Also there are their children Rhoda (8), John (6) and Richard (3)
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations	Birth Registered Q4/1894, Prescot, 8b, 717
SDGW – Where Born	St. Helens,	Enlisted		Prescot	Resided
How Died	Killed In Action			Theatre of War	France & Flanders
Research Ref. No.	P281

Service Details

Although the Battle of the Somme had commenced on 1st July 1916, the battalion, part of 55th Division, was only engaged with active patrolling and sniping. On 22nd July, they received orders to move south and on the 25th, they arrived at billets inn Ville-sous-Corbie.

On 8th August, the battalion was ordered to capture the village of Guillemont, which had defied all previous attempts at capture and was a thorn in the side of the British forces. The attack commenced at 4.20 a.m. and initially all objectives were taken despite strong resistance. By the end of the day, the Railway Station and the front line trenches in front of the village were in allied hands. Orders were then received to be ready to continue the attack the following morning.

Zero hour was again at 4.20 a.m. and the initial assault was met with withering machine gun fire from the German defenders, resulting in the troops falling back to their starting points. This also resulted in the companies being heavily mixed up and it was noon before reorganisation was complete. After this, the battalion remained near Trones Wood until the 10th, clearing the dead of the previous two days of battle and consolidating the ground won at such a heavy cost. On the evening of the 10th, they were withdrawn to bivouac and then on the 12th returned to the line at Maltz Horn Farm.

On the 13th, “D” Company of the battalion worked in partnership with French units to clear German forces from an area known as Cochrane Alley, specifically to take an isolated German trench. Unfortunately, the French failed to take their objectives and the British attack came under withering German machine gun fire, which drove the men back. The battalion was withdrawn on the 15th, this time to billets at Meulte. In three days of fighting they had lost 3 officers and 80 other ranks – slight losses in comparison to other units at that time.

They remained out of the line until 5th September when they were sent to occupy support trenches in front of Delville Wood. This was a notoriously “unhealthy” place to be at that time and the battalion was kept busy digging strong points and communications trenches, usually under heavy enemy artillery fire.

Serjeant Valentine was Killed in Action on 7th September, probably as a result of German artillery. His body was recovered from the battlefield and he now rests in Caterpillar Cemetery. He was one of three Prescot men serving with the battalion who were killed that day, Corporal William Edwards and Private Edward Waine being the others.

 

The Battalion War Diary for the period is reproduced below

 

Se5 5	Moved up and relieved 72nd Inf Bde in front of DELVILLE WOOD. Bde dispositions. Front line 1/5 Loyal North Lancs Regt on Right, 1/5 KO Royal Lancs on Left, 1/5 South Lancs in support in check line S23a, 1/10 Liverpool Regt in reserve in front of MONTAUBAN. 1/5 South Lancs Regt relieved 8th West Kent Regt. Relief complete 7pm.
Sep 6	Check line cleaned and improved and front line visible
Sep 7	Btn out at night digging Strong Points 300’ in advance of front line trenches held by 1/5 Loyal North Lancs Regt. Four Strong Points dug and Communication Trench from original front line to Right Strong Point. Casualties 4 Officers 40 O Ranks.

 

Robert Valentine’s Medal Index Card from the National Archives, showing his arrival in France on 13th February 1915. This entitled him to the 1914-1915 Star in addition to the Victory Medal and British War Medal.  His initial rank of private is accompanied by the notation of “Acting Sergeant”.

 

Serjeant Valentine’s grave at Caterpillar Cemetery

Unit/Regiment	SS Kendall Castle (Liverpool), Mercantile Marine
Date of Death	15/09/1918	Age at Death	19
Burial/Memorial & Reference	Tower Hill Memorial
CWGC Family Details (if shown)	Son of John Lean Vercoe, of "Caldbeck," Eccleston Park, Prescot, Lancs. Born at St. Helens
Census Details	1901 Census - The family lived at 69 Church Street, St Helens and comprised John Vercoe, 34, a Medical Dispenser, his wife Annie (30) and 1 year old Harry.
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations	Birth Registered Q2/1899, Prescot, 8b, 771
Notes	KENDAL CASTLE was torpedoed without warning and sunk by the German submarine UB-103 four miles S.E. of Berry Head on September 15th 1918. Casualties were 18 including the master. She was built in 1910, a 3,885 gross tons steamship owned by the Lancashire Shipping Co. Managed by James Cambers & Co., Liverpool, she was enroute from Le Havre to Cardiff in ballast. The sinking of Kendal Castle has recently been reassessed and credited to UB 104. See below for more details.   The name of Harry Vercoe is included on the memorial at Christ Church in Eccleston.
Research Ref. No.	P282

 

Service Details

 

Harry Reginald Vercoe was a pupil at Prescot Grammar School from 1906 to 1914.

 

 

 

 

 

The announcement of Harry Vercoe’s death in the London Times of 20th September 1918

 

Serving on the SS Kendall Castle, Harry Vercoe was lost when the ship was sunk four miles S.E. of Berry Head on 15th September 1918. She was en-route from Le Havre to Cardiff in ballast. Casualties were 18 including the master.

 

She was built in 1910, a 3,885 gross tons steamship owned by the Lancashire Shipping Co. and managed by James Chambers & Co. (“in British Merchant Ships Sunk by U-boats in the 1914-1918 War”, A. J. Tennant).

 

The sinking was for a long time attributed to UB103, however there has been a reassessment of U Boat activity in the area recently, and this has resulted in the sinking being credited to UB104.

Both UB 103 and UB 104 sailed and did not return home (lost with no survivors). The key to determining which one sank Kendal Castle and Gibel Hamam is how the loss of UB 103 is viewed. .

 

UB 103 sailed on her sixth patrol on August 14, 1918 from Flanders. The British claim made Immediately after the war, and based upon the Royal Navy's incomplete knowledge of German submarine operations, was that she was sunk on September 16 off Griz Nez. There was also a British claim that the wreck was found by divers.

 

From a U-boat operations standpoint, this is an extremely ugly attribution. Flanders-based boats didn't do 33 day plus patrols going through Dover. The longest patrol for a Flanders UBIII-based operating through Dover that returned home was only 22 days. UB 103's orders where to stay out no more than 18 days.

 

UB 103's commander was Kplt. Paul Hundius, an extremely able and aggressive submarine commander. Just after UB 103 sailed for the final time, he was awarded the Pour le Mérite. The only sinking linked to UB 103 on her final patrol are the Gibel Hamam and Kendal Castle on September 14 and 15 respectively. The attribution seems to be a case of working backward from a presumption that UB 103 was sunk off Griz Nez on the 16th.

 

Robert Grant examined the September 16 claim in his recent book “U-Boat Hunter”s. He rejects it, noting the excess patrol length. Grant also examined British primary source documents. These show that the Royal Navy did NOT find a U-boat wreck when they searched the area where UB 103 was supposedly sunk. The official German history by Admiral Arno Spindler also notes the excess patrol length and does not accept the British claim. (The Gibel Hamam and Kendal Castle attributions (like all others) actually come from Spindler, but this is a misinterpretation -- Spindler says that IF the Griz Nez claim were true THEN UB 103 could be credited with the two sinkings.)

 

A few years ago, Dr. Axel Niestlé (author of German U-Boat Losses During World War II) and Michael Lowrey sorted through the Flanders UBIII losses. Axel had done some research in this area as part of an effort to identify an UBIII found off the Cornwall coast for a TV program. Lowrey was working with Belgian divers to identify a number of UBIIIs off the coast there. It was agreed by Niestle and Lowrey that the sinking of Gibel Hamam and Kendal Castle should be credited to UB 104. (They also agreed that UB 103 in all likelihood hit a mine soon after sailing and is one of the UBIII found by divers off the Flanders coast. The locations match British minefields lain in June and July 1918.)

 

UB 104 sailed on September 6th 1918 for the English Channel via the north of Scotland (not through Dover). She radioed after crossing the Northern Barrage and is credited by Spindler with a number of sinkings, beginning on September 16 with the Ethel, which was sunk very near where Kendal Castle went down.

(For much of the information shown above, I am indebted to the following “Pals” of the Great War Forum;  John (aka Spithead), Arthur, David (aka Historydavid) and Michael Lowrey, who provided the details on the re-crediting of the sinking to UB 104.)

 

Under the heading “This month, deaths in action”, the Parish Magazine of 24th September 1918 reported “Cadet Harry Reginald Vercoe, 19, of the transport ‘Kendal Castle’, Torpedoed in the Channel on 15th September. Ship sunk in 3 minutes. Of ‘Ramona’, Eccleston Park

 

 

 

A picture of the "Kendal Castle" in 1910. (C) Liverpool Maritime Museum

 

 

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