Post by snydly on Nov 11, 2012 21:03:58 GMT -5
Private William Henry Trevarthen (Great Grand Uncle)
I recently decided to start up my family research again, and I thought I would work on some of my Cornwall families to help see and use the 1911 Census to see if I could trace some of these families forward to find cousins around the world. Instead I found a story which is very relevant to Remembrance Day, here is what I found.
Typically I like to do a google search to see what I find out of curiosity as it can take you in directions you would not expect. I was in a general search for “Cornwall Trevarthen John Henry” that I found a link to the World War One Find a grave site. www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11558138 The information contained within sparked a few hours of research into the wee hours on Thursday night.
Birth: unknown
Death: Jul. 31, 1917
Inscription:
C coy.
Note: 10th Bn. Welsh Regiment. 31st July 1917. Age 36. Son of John Henry and Ann Trevarthen of Hayle Cornwall; husband of Rose Trevarthen of 50 East St. Pontypridd. I. M. 11.
Burial:
Bard Cottage Cemetery
Ypres (Ieper)
West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen), Belgium
Plot:
Created by: International Wargraves ...
Record added: Aug 18, 2005
Find A Grave Memorial# 11558138
This information took me in two directions, one is where he was living in Wales when he joined the regiment, and what Battle did he die in as I was not familiar with the timing and any particular battle.
What I found with the help of Ancestry.com was as follows:
From the Marriage records: I found he married Rose Chambers in early 1904 at Glamorgan, Wales.
From the 1911 Census: I found William and Rose were living in Pontypridd, Wales about 20 km NW of Cardiff. They had three children: William Henry Trevarthen born in 1905; Lillian May Trevarthen born in 1907; and Irena Evelyn Trevarthen born in 1910. William was a Coal miner nearby and age 30 in 1911.
What I found searching for the Welsh 10th Service Battalion was:
www.firstworldwar.com/battles/ypres3.htm
“Meticulously planned, Third Ypres was launched on 31 July 1917 and continued until the fall of Passchendaele village on 6 November. The offensive resulted in gains for the Allies but was by no means the breakthrough Haig intended, and such gains as were made came at great cost in human terms.
Today commonly referred to simply as ‘Passchendaele', the tactics employed at the Third Battle of Ypres are as controversial as those executed at the Battle of the Somme a little over a year earlier, and was the final great battle of attrition of the war.
”
www.rrw.org.uk/museums/brecon/fact_sheets/15.htm
“After an uneventful winter in the trenches the Welsh Division found itself attacking the Pilckem Ridge on 31st July 1917, the opening day of the Third Battle of Ypres. The two leading Brigades were to capture as their three objectives the German line cast of the Ypres Canal, the German second line on the Pilckem Ridge, and a further ridge east of Pilckem known as Iron Cross Ridge. The 115th Brigade was then to pass through, push forward another 700 yards to the Steenbeeke and secure crossings over that stream.
The attack started at 3.50 a.m. The first two objectives were taken up to time but there was hard fighting at Iron Cross, and when the 11th Battalion reached that area about 9 a.m. to pass through they came under machine gun fire from some still untaken pillboxes. In spite of this, the 11th completed the capture of the Iron Cross Ridge and swept down to the Steenbeeke, dealing with the pillboxes in a manner which showed their training and dash. As an example, a machine gun nest was holding up the left. It was rushed and captured by a platoon, together with 50 prisoners. Another machine gun was causing heavy casualties at short range. Sergeant Ivor Rees led his platoon forward till he had worked round to the rear of the position and was within 20 yards of the gun. He rushed the post, shot one of the team, bayonetted another and silenced the gun. Then he bombed the adjacent pillbox, killed five of its garrison, and captured the rest, two officers and thirty men. For this gallant and dashing piece of leadership he received the Victoria Cross.
The three leading companies of the 11th Battalino now crossed the Steenbeeke and started to establish their bridgeheads. This work was so good that when at 3 p.m. two large bodies of Germans advanced to counter attack, the 11th bowled them over with their rifles and Lewis guns. Unfortunately, the battalion on their left was driven back, and with their left thus exposed to enfilade machine gun fire the 11th was forced to withdraw across the Steenbeeke.
At this time the 10th Battalion in reserve were busy digging a line in front of Iron Cross Ridge to act as a support of the 11th along the Steenbeeke. About 5 p.m. D Company of the 10th was sent forward to help the 11th, and did magnificent work in helping to repulse a second counter attack. By this time rain, mud and shells were making conditions very difficult. The 11th had lost heavily, the enemy was only 100 yards from the Steenbeeke, and his machine guns and snipers made movement very dangerous.
Next day (1st August 1917) the Germans opened a terrific artillery barrage along the Steenbeeke and on Iron Cross Ridge, which seemed to herald a counter attack. B Company of the 10th went forward to reinforce the 11th, A Company began consolidating a support line in the old German machine gun posts, and C Company took up fresh ammunition and bombs. About 9 p.m. the shelling slackened off, and the 10th did fine work in organising the position and sending out patrols.
Next day, after playing a part second to none in a most successful action, both battalions were relieved. Their Division had gone straight through to its final objective, had consolidated the ground won, and had smashed up the famous German 3rd Guards Division. The 10th Battalion suffered 200 casualties while the 11th, who had the harder fighting, lost 350 of all ranks.
After taking part in the battle of Langemarck in the latter half of August, in which the 10th Battalion lost another 100 men and the 11th only slightly less, the Welsh Division was relieved and sent down to Armentières. In this sector both Battalions distinguished themselves by their vigorous patrol work in which they took prisoners, made valuable identifications, and generally kept the German patrols under by their determined action. On the night of the 7th/8th November the 10th carried out a big raid by 10 officers and 270 men on a front of 300 Yards. They penetrated 200 yards into the defences, blew up three concrete dugouts, killed at least 50 Germans and took 15 prisoners, at a cost to themselves of five killed and 45 wounded.
”
We now know that Private William Henry Trevarthen died on the first day of the Battle of Third Ypres – the battle we Canadians know as ‘Passchendaele'. You have to feel for Rose and Family to have lost William at age 36 years and all the ramifications this would have on the children.
Lest we forget ... our Great Grand Uncles sacrifice in World War 1. He is buried at Bard Cottage Cemetery, Ypres, West Flanders, Belgium.
I recently decided to start up my family research again, and I thought I would work on some of my Cornwall families to help see and use the 1911 Census to see if I could trace some of these families forward to find cousins around the world. Instead I found a story which is very relevant to Remembrance Day, here is what I found.
Typically I like to do a google search to see what I find out of curiosity as it can take you in directions you would not expect. I was in a general search for “Cornwall Trevarthen John Henry” that I found a link to the World War One Find a grave site. www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11558138 The information contained within sparked a few hours of research into the wee hours on Thursday night.
Birth: unknown
Death: Jul. 31, 1917
Inscription:
C coy.
Note: 10th Bn. Welsh Regiment. 31st July 1917. Age 36. Son of John Henry and Ann Trevarthen of Hayle Cornwall; husband of Rose Trevarthen of 50 East St. Pontypridd. I. M. 11.
Burial:
Bard Cottage Cemetery
Ypres (Ieper)
West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen), Belgium
Plot:
Created by: International Wargraves ...
Record added: Aug 18, 2005
Find A Grave Memorial# 11558138
This information took me in two directions, one is where he was living in Wales when he joined the regiment, and what Battle did he die in as I was not familiar with the timing and any particular battle.
What I found with the help of Ancestry.com was as follows:
From the Marriage records: I found he married Rose Chambers in early 1904 at Glamorgan, Wales.
From the 1911 Census: I found William and Rose were living in Pontypridd, Wales about 20 km NW of Cardiff. They had three children: William Henry Trevarthen born in 1905; Lillian May Trevarthen born in 1907; and Irena Evelyn Trevarthen born in 1910. William was a Coal miner nearby and age 30 in 1911.
What I found searching for the Welsh 10th Service Battalion was:
www.firstworldwar.com/battles/ypres3.htm
“Meticulously planned, Third Ypres was launched on 31 July 1917 and continued until the fall of Passchendaele village on 6 November. The offensive resulted in gains for the Allies but was by no means the breakthrough Haig intended, and such gains as were made came at great cost in human terms.
Today commonly referred to simply as ‘Passchendaele', the tactics employed at the Third Battle of Ypres are as controversial as those executed at the Battle of the Somme a little over a year earlier, and was the final great battle of attrition of the war.
”
www.rrw.org.uk/museums/brecon/fact_sheets/15.htm
“After an uneventful winter in the trenches the Welsh Division found itself attacking the Pilckem Ridge on 31st July 1917, the opening day of the Third Battle of Ypres. The two leading Brigades were to capture as their three objectives the German line cast of the Ypres Canal, the German second line on the Pilckem Ridge, and a further ridge east of Pilckem known as Iron Cross Ridge. The 115th Brigade was then to pass through, push forward another 700 yards to the Steenbeeke and secure crossings over that stream.
The attack started at 3.50 a.m. The first two objectives were taken up to time but there was hard fighting at Iron Cross, and when the 11th Battalion reached that area about 9 a.m. to pass through they came under machine gun fire from some still untaken pillboxes. In spite of this, the 11th completed the capture of the Iron Cross Ridge and swept down to the Steenbeeke, dealing with the pillboxes in a manner which showed their training and dash. As an example, a machine gun nest was holding up the left. It was rushed and captured by a platoon, together with 50 prisoners. Another machine gun was causing heavy casualties at short range. Sergeant Ivor Rees led his platoon forward till he had worked round to the rear of the position and was within 20 yards of the gun. He rushed the post, shot one of the team, bayonetted another and silenced the gun. Then he bombed the adjacent pillbox, killed five of its garrison, and captured the rest, two officers and thirty men. For this gallant and dashing piece of leadership he received the Victoria Cross.
The three leading companies of the 11th Battalino now crossed the Steenbeeke and started to establish their bridgeheads. This work was so good that when at 3 p.m. two large bodies of Germans advanced to counter attack, the 11th bowled them over with their rifles and Lewis guns. Unfortunately, the battalion on their left was driven back, and with their left thus exposed to enfilade machine gun fire the 11th was forced to withdraw across the Steenbeeke.
At this time the 10th Battalion in reserve were busy digging a line in front of Iron Cross Ridge to act as a support of the 11th along the Steenbeeke. About 5 p.m. D Company of the 10th was sent forward to help the 11th, and did magnificent work in helping to repulse a second counter attack. By this time rain, mud and shells were making conditions very difficult. The 11th had lost heavily, the enemy was only 100 yards from the Steenbeeke, and his machine guns and snipers made movement very dangerous.
Next day (1st August 1917) the Germans opened a terrific artillery barrage along the Steenbeeke and on Iron Cross Ridge, which seemed to herald a counter attack. B Company of the 10th went forward to reinforce the 11th, A Company began consolidating a support line in the old German machine gun posts, and C Company took up fresh ammunition and bombs. About 9 p.m. the shelling slackened off, and the 10th did fine work in organising the position and sending out patrols.
Next day, after playing a part second to none in a most successful action, both battalions were relieved. Their Division had gone straight through to its final objective, had consolidated the ground won, and had smashed up the famous German 3rd Guards Division. The 10th Battalion suffered 200 casualties while the 11th, who had the harder fighting, lost 350 of all ranks.
After taking part in the battle of Langemarck in the latter half of August, in which the 10th Battalion lost another 100 men and the 11th only slightly less, the Welsh Division was relieved and sent down to Armentières. In this sector both Battalions distinguished themselves by their vigorous patrol work in which they took prisoners, made valuable identifications, and generally kept the German patrols under by their determined action. On the night of the 7th/8th November the 10th carried out a big raid by 10 officers and 270 men on a front of 300 Yards. They penetrated 200 yards into the defences, blew up three concrete dugouts, killed at least 50 Germans and took 15 prisoners, at a cost to themselves of five killed and 45 wounded.
”
We now know that Private William Henry Trevarthen died on the first day of the Battle of Third Ypres – the battle we Canadians know as ‘Passchendaele'. You have to feel for Rose and Family to have lost William at age 36 years and all the ramifications this would have on the children.
Lest we forget ... our Great Grand Uncles sacrifice in World War 1. He is buried at Bard Cottage Cemetery, Ypres, West Flanders, Belgium.
