Officer’s Steward 1^st Class Percy Frederick WALLIS

Unit/Regiment	HMS Vivid (Shore Establishment), Royal Navy
Date of Death	25/03/1919		Age at Death		31
Burial/Memorial & Reference	Prescot Churchyard Special Memorial – the stone is not on his actual grave but rather stands at the head of the churchyard and is inscribed “Buried Elsewhere In This Churchyard”.  This will have come about because his original grave was not marked and could not be located when CWGC came to erect headstones in the mid-1920’s
Census Details	In the 1891 Census, Percy Wallis is 3 years old and is shown living with his parents John (39, a Coast Guard) and Jane (33) at 4, Coastguard Buildings, Weymouth, Dorset. Also there are his brothers and sisters Gertrude (9), John (8), Ernest (7), Stanley (5) and Herbert (1).  By 1901, the family had moved to Ringmore in Devon, where John, now aged 49, was the Coast Guard Station Officer.
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations	Birth registered Q4/1887, St Germans, Cornwall, 5c, 38 Death registered Q1/1919, Prescot, 8b, 1456
SDGW – Where Born	Saltash, Cornwall	Enlisted			Resided
Research Ref. No.	P290

Service Details

HMS “Vivid” was the name given to the shore base of the Royal Navy in Plymouth.  The barracks here could accommodate some 500 men whilst they underwent training through to their allocation to ships for service, and often whilst they were in transfer.

This was the first permanent Royal Navy barracks; before “Vivid” opened in 1889, men in between voyages were often accommodated on the hulks of “out of service” ships which were moored in the nearby rivers.

The barracks are now known as HMS Devonport.

Percy Wallis’s Service Record shows his date of birth as 4^th November 1886 in Saltash, Cornwall.

It has not yet been determined why Percy Wallis died in Prescot, nor why he is buried in the churchyard.

Corporal 3DG/5721 James WALTON

(c) Prescot Reporter

Unit/Regiment	6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers) (Attd. Mounted Military Police)
Date of Death	21/05/1916		Age at Death
Burial/Memorial & Reference	Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension
Census Details
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations
SDGW – Where Born	Liverpool	Enlisted		Blackburn	Resided
How Died	Died of Wounds			Theatre of War	France & Flanders
Notes
Research Ref. No.	P291

Research ongoing

James Walton's Medal Index Card.

This shows his arrival in France on 27th August 1914 which entitled him to the 1914 Star in addition to his British War Medal and Victory Medal. It also has a different date of death to that held by CWGC.

Two pictures of James Walton's grave at Ballieul, both kindly provided by M. Aurel Sercu

 Private 8143 John WARBRICK

Picture courtesy of John Warbrick's family

Unit/Regiment	1st Bn., East Lancashire Regiment
Date of Death	01/07/1916		Age at Death		32
Burial/Memorial & Reference	Thiepval Memorial Pier and Face 6 C
CWGC Family Details (if shown)	Son of Thomas Warbrick; husband of Annie Warbrick, of 1 Victoria Place, Prescot, Lancs
Census Details	1901 census - Living at 3, Oxford Street, Wigan, were Martha Warbrick, a 64 year old widow, her daughter Sarah, a 31 year old Dressmaker. Also living there are Marth'a grandchildren John (16), a Colliery Labourer, and Margaret, aged 9
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations	Birth registered Q2/1884, Wigan, 8c, 41 Marriage to Annie Range Registered, Q1/1911, Wigan, 8c, 92
SDGW – Where Born	Wigan, Lancs	Enlisted		Preston, Lancs	Resided	Prescot, Lancs
How Died	Killed In Action			Theatre of War	France & Flanders
Notes
Research Ref. No.	P292

Service details

John Warbrick was a pre-war regular and arrived in France on 22nd August 1914, just over two weeks after the outbreak of war. Details of his ealry service have not yet been determined but his battalion was moved to  Mailly-Maillet in June 1916 in advance of the forthcoming battle of the Somme. On the 1st July, their objective was to capture the German front line and support trenches opposite the north end of Beaumont Hamel.

On 30th June, a reconnaisance into No Mans Land reported that much of the German wire had been left uncut by the artillery barrage but there was insufficiet time to arrange for futher bombardments.

On the same night, Headquarters and "A" and "D" companies marched to the trenches and took up their assembly positions. On the right of the battalion were the 1st Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers and on the left, 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade.

At 7.26 a.m. on the morning of 1st July, the leading platoons of the assault companies moved out to a line in No Mans Land to be in line with the Lancashire Fusiliers, who were attacking Beaumont Hamel. At 7.32 a.m., the remaining companies and Headquarters followed,  establishing themslves in shell-holes. Immediately the artillery barrage ceased and the troops moved out in the attack, German machine-gun fire came pouring from their lines, from Beaumont Hamel and Ridge Redoubt. Simultaneously, the Germans launched an artillery barrage. Despite this, the battalion advanced steadily until they had practically all become casualties. A few of the leading troops managed to enter the German trench system but the remainder found the wire uncut and no way through could be found. Many men were killed on the wire while attempting to find a way through, and most of the sruvivors, wounded or not, sought shelter in the shell holes nearby. Here they remained until dusk, when first of all those wounded were sent back, followed by a rear guard of the unwounded.

About 7.00 p.m. the remaining members of the battalion were relieved by the 1st Royal Warwickshires and returned to billets at Mailly-Maillet.

It will have been at some point in this action that John Warbrick was killed. His medal index card notes that he was "Presumed Dead", which means that there were no reports of him being seen wounded or dead. His body was never identified after the battle, and like most of his  fallen comrades, he has no known grave and is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial.

John Warbrick’s Medal Index Card with the notation “Presumed Dead”. He was entitled to the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal

A map of the Somme area on 1st July 1916 showing the location of the East Lancashire Regiment

John Warbrick's inscription At Thiepval

Private 300406 Andrew WATKINSON

Unit/Regiment	18th Bn., King's (Liverpool Regiment)
Date of Death	28/03/1918		Age at Death		24
Burial/Memorial & Reference	Pozieres Memorial Panel 21 to 23
Census Details	1901 Census - Living at 1 Eccleston Hill, Eccleston, were Henry Watkinson, a 3 year old Watch Factory Stock Manager, his wife Jeanne (42) and children Henry (14), Catherine (11), Bessie (9), Andrew (7), George (4) and Colin (11 months)
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations	Birth Registered Q2/1894, Prescot, 8b, 683
SDGW – Where Born	Prescot, Lancs	Enlisted		Knowsley	Resided	Prescot, Lancs
How Died	Killed In Action			Theatre of War	France & Flanders
Notes
Research Ref. No.	P293

Service Details

Andrew Watkinson attended Prescot Grammar School, starting there in 1904.

Private 2032 Rhys WEBB

Unit/Regiment	14th Bn., Australian Infantry
Date of Death	08/08/1915	Age at Death	25
Burial/Memorial & Reference	Lone Pine memorial 43
CWGC Family Details (if shown)	Son of James and Alice Jane Webb, of 15, Market Place, Prescot, England
Census Details	1901 Census - The Webb family lived at Halsnead Park, Whiston. Rhys, (10) and his widowed mother, Alice Jane Webb (44), lived with her brother-in-law John, a Gamekeeper. Also present where Rhys' brothers George (13) and Henry (12), and sisters Alice (9), Christina (7) and Minnie (5).
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations	Birth Registered Q3/1890, Prescot, Vol 8b, Page 684
Notes
Research Ref. No.	P294

Service Details

Rhys Webb had migrated to Australia sometime around 1911. He enlisted into the Australian army at Port Melbourne, Victoria on the 18^th January 1915. At the time, he lived in Sunny Hills, Victoria. His medical reported that he was aged 21 years and 7 months, that he stood 5 ft 7 in tall and weighed 10st 2 lb. He had a fresh complexion, brown eyes and dark hair. His religion was Church of England.  He trained at the depot until 2^nd March, when he was assigned to the 5^th Reinforcements of the 14^th Battalion, Australian Infantry.

The 14th Battalion had been formed in Melbourne in September 1914. On 1 October it relocated to Broadmeadows Camp where the battalion's recruits, principally from Melbourne and its suburbs, were taken on strength and trained. With the 13th, 15th and 16th Battalions, the 14th formed the 4th Brigade commanded by Colonel John Monash. The Battalion initially sailed for Europe in December 1914.

A series of reinforcement drafts followed, the 5^th of which included Rhys Webb and left Melbourne on board the Hororata on 17^th April 1915. The Nominal Rolls for the embarkation show that he was a single man, aged 24 and worked as a Labourer. He listed his mother as his next of kin. Prior to embarkation, he wrote his will, reproduced below, on 16^th April 1915 from the Church of England tent at Broadmeadows.

The 4th Brigade originally landed at ANZAC Cove, Gallipoli, on the afternoon of 25 April 1915, and on 19 May the Turks launched a massive counter-attack. From May to August 1915 the battalion, which now included reinforcement drafts, was heavily involved in establishing and defending the ANZAC front line.

In August, the 4th Brigade attacked Hill 971. The attack from the Anzac perimeter was directed against two peaks of the Sari Bair range; Chunuk Bair and Hill 971. Under the overall command of Major-General Alexander Godley, the attacking force included the New Zealand and Australian Division, the British 13th Division plus a couple of extra infantry brigades.

The plan was for two assaulting columns to march out of Anzac on the night of 6 August. The right-hand column, comprising the New Zealand Infantry Brigade under Brigadier-General Francis Johnston, would head for Chunuk Bair. The left-hand column, commanded by Major-General Vaughn Cox, heading for Hill 971 and neighbouring Hill Q, contained the Australian 4th Infantry Brigade of Brigadier-General John Monash and Cox's 29th Indian Brigade. Rhys Webb was part of the left-hand column. Both objectives were expected to be captured by dawn.

The left column's journey through the tangled ravines was doomed to failure and, having become lost and confused, it never got close to the objective of Hill 971. By the morning of 8 August Cox's forces were sufficiently organised to attempt an attack on their original objectives of Hill 971 and Hill Q. However Monash's brigade was still mistaken about its position relative to Hill 971. In fact, by the end of the day's advance Monash's troops had actually reached the position they had believed they had been starting from. Meanwhile Hill 971 was more unreachable than ever. The three Australian battalions that had made the assault (14^th, 15^th and 16^th) suffered 765 casualties

The divisional war diary, written contemporaneously, reported the day as follows:-

“03.00 a.m.

14^th Bn moved out in single file in the rear of 15^th Bn and crossed KAIAJIK DERE and then deployed into lines of platoons in field on ridge north of KAIAJIK DERE. Here, Major R Rankine fainted and Maj. C.M.M Dare assumed command of 14^th Bn. and an advance was made under heavy rifle and machine gun fire and consequently casualties were very heavy. After the 15^th Bn. on our immediate had practically withered away, the 14^th continued to advance suffering heavily and the Turks were met in great force on our front and left. As we drove them back they counter attacked on our left flank several times. The Bn. thus got very split up and it is impossible to say exactly what happened. Orders were then given to dog in and consolidate the position gained and prolonging the line held by the 29^th Indian Brigade to the left. A Sikh machine gun detachment took up position to protect our left and rear from attack. Here the enemy shrapnel opened up on our shallow fire pits and considerable damage was done. No reply whatever was made by our artillery and our men continued to suffer from shrapnel. The 16^th Bn. successfully drove off a determined counter attack made by the enemy on our left.

07.30 a.m.

Order received from Colonel Pope commanding 16^th Bn. to retire. A reply was dispatched asking if were not possible to hold the ridge running from our left down over Knoll 60 towards the sea, stating that we could hold what we had gained.

08.30 a.m.

Another order to retire received from Col. Pope and stating that the whole Brigade was retiring. Orders were immediately issued to collect all wounded, arms and equipment and take same behind our lines. The 14^th Bn. then retired by platoons down the Kaiaijak Dere in shell formation together with a few details of the 15^th and 16^th Bns. A rearguard was left under Captains Henry and Giles. The 4^th Brigade machine gun sections under Capt. Rose also protected the retirement and gave good covering fire.

10.00 a.m.

Retirement complete and all “get at-able” wounded and arms brought back. Battalion then bivouacked in Australia Gully for the remainder of the day and night.”

Casualty reports state “Strength 14 officers, 560 others. Killed 3 Officers 33 others. Wounded 3 officers, 90 others. Missing 2 officers 126 others”. 

Private Webb was one of the casualties of this attack. His record shows that he was originally reported as Missing in Action in the Dardanelles on 8^th August 1915, and that on 26^th February 1916 this was changed to Killed in Action.

The stores reported on 24^th July 1916 that his effects were a single packet containing an aluminium cup, a stud, necklace, leather belt and boot brush. 

The Family Circular completed after his death showed that he had attended Whiston Church School, that he had also worked as a clerk and that he had originally travelled to Australia at the age of 21.

On 23^rd August 1916, his war pension claim was completed, with a result of a £2 per fortnight payment to his mother, commencing on 8^th October 1915.

The Red Cross forms completed in London on 22^nd October 1919 confirm that he was officially reported as Killed In Action on 8^th August 1915 and that he had no burial. His body was never identified, even if found, and for that reason he is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial.

Rhys Webb’s Will

Rhys Webb's Casualty Sheet

On the first anniversary of Rhys Webb's death, a friend in Australie placed an entry (shown below) in the "In Memorium" column of the Melboure Argos. 

Rifleman 84963 William WELSBY

Unit/Regiment	2nd/6th Bn, King's (Liverpool Regiment)
Date of Death	17/09/1918		Age at Death		20
Burial/Memorial & Reference	St Sever Cemetery Extension R II K 16
CWGC Family Details (if shown)	Son of William and Frances Mary Welsby, of Market St., Rainhill, Liverpool.
Census Details	1901 Census – William was aged 2 and lived with his parents William (31, a Butcher) and Frances (24) at , 8, Market Street Rainhill
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations	Birth registered Q2/1898, Prescot, 8b, 694
SDGW – Where Born	Rainhill	Enlisted		Liverpool	Resided	Rainhill
How Died	Died of Wounds			Theatre of War	France & Flanders
Notes	Formerly M/286875, RASC (MT) Attended Prescot Grammar School, 1909 - 1913
Research Ref. No.	P295

Service Details

It is hard to be certain where and when Pte William Welsby received the wounds from which he ultimately died.

The 2/6^th Battalion of the King’s (Liverpool) Regiment had been involved in the battle of the Scarpe between 26^th and 30^th August 1918. In this action, the which also involved the 2/7^th, 8^th and 9^th Battalions of the regiments, over 230 other ranks were killed, wounded or posted missing.

Immediately after this action, the battalion received orders to attack Riencourt. This attack also involved the 8^th and 2/7^th Kings. It was a complete success with all objectives being taken and some 650 German prisoners being taken. The cost was 114 other ranks killed, wounded and missing.

It seems likely that Pte Welsby was a casualty in one of these actions. He is buried at St. Sever, on the southern outskirts of Rouen, which throughout the war was the base for a number oh hospitals and convalescent depots.

William Welsby’s Medal Index Card showing his entitlement to the British War Medal and Victory Medal

William Welsby’s grave at St Sever Cemetery Extension