Trench Lincs 30th August 2026
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Good Morning,
Welcome to a Bank Holiday weekend and I am looking forward to setting off for France on Tuesday, to meet Matt Kelly and his brother, Dan, who are flying in from America, so that we can take a look primarily at the 1915 battlefields.
Last Sunday, 23rd August, was the 112th anniversary of the BEF firing its first shots at Mons on that date in 1914, but I chose to mark the anniversary of Japan declaring war on Germany instead, as we have covered aspects of Mons and Le Cateau in recent times.
Therefore, we are indebted to Matt Colley for a piece, which you can find below, about Captain Francis Octavius Grenfell VC, who was the third officer, after Lieutenant Maurice Dease and Captain Theodore Wright to be awarded a VC in the Great War.
I do hope you find something of interest? Please let me know, and have you had a go at identifying names on a local memorial like I suggested last week? It is a very gratifying way to spend half an hour.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS.
Next Meeting - Lincoln & North Lincolnshire Branch, WFA – Monday 28th September 2026 - Doors open 7.00pm for 7.30pm start - Royal Naval Association Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG.
Nick Shelley presents "Motorcycle dispatch riders in 1914". – For full details see below.
Nick Shelley
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The next meeting of the Friends of the Lincoln Tank Group will be held on Thursday September 10th at the Royal Naval Association Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG at 7.30pm.
Talk Title – ‘By His Majesty’s Command – The Military Cross’
Firstly – It is ordained that the Cross shall be designated “The Military Cross”.
The words are taken from a Royal Warrant dated 28th December 1914. Until then, other than the Victoria Cross (Britain’s highest award for gallantry and only awarded in exceptional circumstances), there had been no distinction available for junior officers and warrant officers who had demonstrated acts of bravery during the opening months of the First World War. But that was about to change and so came the much-needed Military Cross. By the end of the war more than 37,000 crosses had been awarded and behind each award there is a story to discover. Here, Peter Jacobs talks about the Military Cross during the First World War and the stories behind some of those awarded it.
The Speaker – Peter Jacobs
PETER JACOBS served in the Royal Air Force for thirty-seven years as an air defence navigator on the F4 Phantom and Tornado F3, after which he completed staff tours at HQ 11 Group, HQ Strike Command, the Ministry of Defence, and the RAF College Cranwell. He has written twenty-three books on military and aviation subjects, and as well as being a keen historian he has collected military medals for forty years.
Everyone welcome, especially new faces. You do not need to be a member of FoLT to attend meetings, but members of FoLT pay just £10 a year and receive £250 of membership benefits from Ancestry and the British Newspaper Archives. It is well worth joining.
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Next Event - Spalding & South Lincs Branch, WFA SATURDAY 5th September.
September 5th (Saturday) - Annual Branch Day Out. Guided tour of the We'll Meet Again Museum, Shore Road, Freiston Shore, Boston, PE22 0LY including a tour of Freiston Shore Coastal Fortifications. 10.45am for 11.00 start.
The next speaker event is on Thursday October 22nd.
Spalding & South Lincolnshire Branch WFA continues to meet at the Spalding Baptist Church, Swan Street, Spalding, PE11 1BT. Meetings continue to be held in the evenings of the fourth Thursday in the month, and doors open at 19.00 hours for a 19.30 hours start. Meetings are held in a pleasant main room of the Church and there is ample - unrestricted - on street parking in front of the building. Free refreshments are served at the end of the meeting. Finally, please note that, for security purposes the main double front doors are kept locked as we cannot monitor them from our meeting room, therefore, you may need to ring the doorbell located on the single door to the right of the main double doors in order to gain entry.
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The East Midlands (Nottingham) WFA branch will hold their next speaker event on Friday 11th September 2026 at 7.30pm. The branch meets at St. Peter’s Church Hall, Church Street, Ruddington, NG11 6HA and all visitors will be made very welcome.
Nick Shelley presents a new talk, "Motorcycle Despatch Riders i 1914", based on the book "Two Wheels to War" published by Helion in 2017, researched and written by Nick and his brother Martin.
"In 1914 the Army had just begun to mechanize the work of despatch rider signallers. So when war was declared in August 1914, urgently and at high pace, hundreds of volunteer motorcyclists, many riding their own machines, were recruited to join the BEF in France. Against all odds, they not only helped to save the BEF during the Retreat from Mons, but also helped to prevent the fall of Paris in September. Furthermore, from October 1914 they played a part in keeping the BEF intact when the opposing armies dug in across Belgium and France to create the Western Front.
Nick Shelley's talk tells the story of those 1914 motorcycle despatch riders through the eyes of just one Signals Company - the motorcyclists, officers and men of the Signals Company attached to 5th Division.
The talk originated in Nick's partnership with his brother. Martin Shelley, deeply knowledgeable about early motoring and enthusiastic about vintage vehicles, decided to research the brothers Cecil and Alick Burney. They founded a motorcycle firm in 1912, and Martin knew they were among the very first to answer the Army's call for motorcyclists by bringing motorbikes they had designed and built to the service of the Army. Less than 3 weeks after enlisting they came under fire at Mons. Between the heatwave in France in August, and the harsh Christmas weather in Flanders, 400 motorcyclists followed the Burneys to France.
Nick and Martin's research identified the Burney brothers' exact contribution to this campaign, and found much evidence about the original 12 motorcyclists attached to 5th Division, their friends and families, and their colleagues in arms. His story about them is illustrated with original photographs and documents from many sources, including letters from the front.
Just as the motorcycle despatch riders were not trained soldiers, Nick Shelley is an amateur historian. He studied English literature at Cambridge and worked with offenders as a Probation Officer for many years. Later he retrained in civil law, and for a few years before retirement had a successful legal practice dealing in legal costs, making many court appearances, either as an advocate or as an expert witness. In his spare time, he rode and tinkered with 1920's motorcycles and enjoyed researching the lives and achievements of early motoring pioneers, such as the despatch riders. The project was not only on paper - Nick and Martin built connections with many of the motorcyclist’s families, including six of their sons and daughters and other family members who shared first-hand knowledge of these men."
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The Leadenham Military History Group’s next meeting will be on Tuesday 22nd September at 7.30pm at Leadenham village hall.
The speaker on this occasion is Chris Finn. His talk is entitled – “Fly Navy, Walk Sideways – A Crab’s Time with the Fleet Air Arm.”
Chris’ amusing and informative account of his time as an RAF pilot under the wing of the Senior Service.
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Another group who meet at the Royal Naval Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG, is the Lincolnshire Aviation Society.
The next meeting of LAS will be held on Thursday 17th September at 7.30pm.
The speaker is Sean McCabe who will speak about “The Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War 1968.”
Everyone welcome especially new faces.
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The Peterborough Military History Group meets at the Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery in Priestgate, Peterborough, PE1 1LF, on the second Wednesday of every month, 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
Everyone welcome, especially new faces.
September 9th Jerry Porter
'Goodnight Darling, God Bless You.'
The talk tells the story of a mother (Jerry’s great grandmother) who lost a son.
Based on a wealth of primary source letters, photos and artefacts passed down in the family, it illustrates her life on the home front, two of her sons’ preparations for deployment overseas, the younger one’s brief service in the front line and his mother’s perhaps surprising reaction to the news that he has been killed in action. It also covers her own experience of coming under enemy attack, and her visits to France in the early 1920s to visit her son’s grave.
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Bill Roffey, my old mate from up north, reminded me this week that it is the 680th anniversary of the English victory at the Battle of Crecy on 26th August 1346. Whether it is at Crecy or in the 2026 football World Cup, there’s nothing the English (British) like more than beating the French at something!
Edward III, with a small army estimated at about 15,000 men, of which two thirds were archers armed with the longbow, landed on the French coast near Cherbourg in the largest armada to land on French soil until 6th June 1944.
Marching inland, the army lived off the land ravaging western Normandy and even entering Poissy near to Paris. The French king, Philip VI, assembled the largest army then known in Europe, amounting to some 35,000 troops, including 10,000 mounted knights representing all of the mighty noble families of France and her allies.
Edward crossed the Seine and the Somme [Funny how these names keep cropping up – Ed] near Abbeville and drew up his army on high ground at Crecy en Ponthieu. Dismounted Men at Arms formed the centre of Edward’s army, with cavalry on either side commanded by Edward’s 16-year old son, Edward the Black Prince, and by the Earls of Arundel and Northampton. On the extreme flanks were the yeoman long-bowmen who had honed their skills across England on many fields which are still known in many villages today as Butt Field – both East Bridgford and Bingham cricket clubs in Nottinghamshire, play at Butt Field to this day.
Philip’s army arrived on the battlefield in the afternoon of 26th August and were advised to wait until the following morning before giving battle, but chivalric tradition took over and Philip sent forward his Italian mercenary crossbow men. The English archers had three times the rate of fire of a crossbow and being positioned on the flanks, enfiladed the Italians with devastating results. [Spot any similarity with a 1917/18 Lewis Gun team? – Ed]
There then followed a series of cavalry charges by the cream of the French nobility, but as at Agincourt 69 years later, the longbow men held their fire until the knights were within killing range and the powerful bows propelled their bodkin tipped arrows into the knights and into their horses unseating the riders. Those that made it to the centre of the English army were hacked down by Edward’s Men at Arms.
Fighting continued throughout the night with some 15 cavalry charges in total, but Edward’s army held firm. King Philip, wounded and beaten, left the field leaving behind some 14,000 casualties including his brother Charles II of Alencon, John, King of Bohemia and Louis II, Count of Flanders, along with a further 1,500 French noblemen and their Esquires among the dead.
At one point, a rider asked Edward for reinforcements to aid his son, the Black Prince, but the king asked, “is my son still standing and fighting?”, on receiving the reply, “yes”, King Edward famously replied, “then let him win his spurs”.
With the ground littered with French dead amounting to 14,000, the English army, which had suffered no more than 200 casualties, retired to besiege and eventually capture Calais. Thus marking the start of the Hundred Years War against the French, and which would see England control Calais until it was lost by Mary Tudor in January 1558, a blow for the English wool trade, as Calais was England’s trading gateway to Europe.
A big thank you to Bill for flagging this up for us this week.
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We will start this week’s new stories with a Lincolnshire tale from Gainsborough courtesy of Chas Parker, who writes; ‘At a recent visit to Gainsborough Heritage Centre, I was able to snap a couple of relocated memorials that now have a new home and might otherwise have been lost, there was also news of Marshalls, who had a contract to build 50 Bristol F2.B Fighters but there were a lot of problems with engine supply and not many were completed by the Armistice. The Sunbeam Arab engine was a poor substitute for the Rolls Royce Falcon and the ones issued to service were only used for training.
The leather case is for a heliograph which is on display.’
Thank you Chas. The Heritage Centre looks to be well worth a visit.
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Next up is regular roving reporter, Melvin Dobbs, who comments; ‘Earlier in the summer when the grass was green! I was touring the Warwickshire countryside calling at random villages on the lookout for village memorials and other memorials to any wars and historic events within our Churches.
Stopping in a very picturesque village by the name of Lighthorne, I called into the Church of St. Laurence passing the village memorial within its grounds.
This church has very close links to the historic house of Compton Verney some miles away.’
I found this online biography of Reynell Henry Verney, and remarkably it also adds further information as to the deficiencies of the Sunbeam Arab engine as noted by Chas Parker in the snippet above!
R H Verney_P Click on the link
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Staying for a few more minutes with Melvin, he also notes that; ‘A little bit different to the normal Western Front items that I send in, it's the Home Front from WWII.
At my 'stepdaughter’s' new home in Leicester (Wyndale Road) a 1920's - 30's semi, there is a surviving Anderson Shelter in the rear garden, and as far as we can ascertain the only one in the cul-de-sac, certainly her neighbours either side don't have one.
This of course will be preserved.’
How remarkable that this Anderson Shelter has survived the past 80+ years. My grandparents’ little bungalow in Wollaton Park had an Anderson Shelter in the garden and it was only about 15 yards from the house. In reality, I am not sure that the occupants wouldn’t have been safer staying in the house, but in the end, Nottingham only received one major raid from the Luftwaffe during the war and you can read all about it here.
Nottingham's Blitz - May 9th 1941 -Virtual war memorial | Roll of Honour | Nottinghamshire County Council
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My well trained daughter!, Lizzie, has been touring in Norfolk and called at the village church in Wolferton (at my request). Unfortunately, the church was locked, but she did spot this village plaque, which includes the name of Gunner A J Barrett, who lies in Wolferton churchyard.
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Current County cricket champions are Nottinghamshire who at the time of writing are sitting on top of the league table and hoping to defend their title. Surrey won the county championship in 2022, 2023 and 2024 before the Notts victory in 2025, and therefore, I set off to The Oval, the historic home of Surrey CC last week to watch Notts against their big rivals.
A battling display saw Notts win on the third day to move further ahead at the top of the table, but my visit was not only successful for the cricket, but I had done my homework, and knew that there was a splendid memorial to all the Surrey players and members who fell in the Great War. It hangs in the pavilion Long Room and here is my snap of the memorial board.
Coincidentally, Surrey were the last County Champions in the summer of 1914 before four years of war saw a cessation in the annual battle.
And, The Oval also hosted the first ever FA Cup Final back in 1872.
I spent some time studying the Surrey war memorial and one named that jumped out at me was Captain Victor George Fleetwood Shrapnel who was killed in action 23rd March 1918 whilst serving with the 8th Battalion East Surrey Regiment. He was the elder son of Arthur Fleetwood Shrapnel and Kate Shrapnel, of 27, Wavertree Rd., Streatham Hill, London. A descendant of Lt. Gen. Shrapnel, the inventor of the shell which bears his name. Educated at Wilson's Grammar School, Camberwell, and at the age of 17 won an open scholarship at Magdalen College, Oxford. Gazetted to a commission in 1915.
With a name like that, I wasn’t surprised that he was related to the inventor of the Shrapnel shell.
I also spotted the Chinnery brothers on the memorial, both of whom played first class cricket before the war.
Captain Esme Fairfax Chinnery was an officer in the Coldstream Guards but as befitting a man of wealth, he had also possessed a pilot’s licence since April 1912. He joined the Royal Flying Corps, perhaps to escape the trenches?, but was killed in a flying accident near Paris on 18th January 1915.
Esme Chinnery was an Old Etonian and had played schools cricket against Harrow and Winchester, and also played for the Household Brigade in 1909/10.
Unusually for the time, his family had the pull and the money to have his body returned to England, and he lies in the family plot at St. Matthew’s Churchyard, Hatchford Surrey.
Esme Fairfax Chinnery.
Esme Chinnery’s elder brother was Lieutenant Harry Broderick Chinnery who was killed whilst serving with the 13th Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps on 28th May 1916.
He played more first class cricket than his younger brother making 66 appearances in the County Championship for both Surrey and Middlesex scoring four centuries with a highest score of 165.
His death was recorded by his Company Commander who wrote; ‘He was in the middle of his men, encouraging them in a moment of danger. He was killed by the last shell fired at a night working party, which was advancing our line nearer to the enemy.’
A rifleman in his platoon, wrote to his family; ‘Mr Chinnery was loved and respected by all of us that he came in contact with. While in charge of the Machine Gun section in England, and last autumn out here, he was looked upon as something more than a good officer and a perfect gentleman; and although he had only been with No.6 Platoon six-weeks, yet no officer was more respected and had their complete confidence.
Harry Chinnery is buried in Berles au Bois churchyard extension, France.
As we have often said in TL, the Great War is all around us if only you take the time to look.
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As mentioned at the start of this week’s TL, here is a piece from Matt Colley concerning Captain Francis Octavius Grenfell.
Matt writes; ‘This is the anniversary week of the start of the British fighting in the Great War. On August 23rd 1914 the BEF fought against huge numbers of the German Imperial Army at Mons.
Against overwhelming odds, the BEF, and with the French Army already more than a day’s march from the BEF, carried out a brave fighting retreat that held up the German Army and would eventually, set in motion the events that we know as ‘the Miracle of the Marne.’
One of the heroes of that retreat was Captain Francis Grenfell of the 9th Lancers. The successful withdrawal of Smith Dorrien’s 2nd Army Corps, BEF, before the overwhelming German attack on 23rd August 1914 along the line of Mons-Condé Canal, largely depended for its success on the ability of its flank guard, consisting of 1st Battalion The Cheshire Regiment, and 1st Battalion The Norfolk Regiment, supported by artillery and cavalry, to hold its position at Elouges, about ten miles west-south-west of Mons, where it faced the entire German 4th Army Corps. One of the Royal Artillery units supporting the flank guard was 119th Battery Royal Field Artillery, commanded by Major E W Alexander.
The Battle of Elouges began at noon on 24th August 1914. The flank guard slowed the German advance but it soon became clear that the sheer weight of German infantry would eventually lead to the capture of its guns. Although all the battery’s horses were dead, Alexander managed to save the guns with the help of his few surviving men and cavalry volunteers led by Captain F O Grenfell VC of the 9th Lancers. This enabled the 5th Division to retire without serious loss.
On the same day, at Audregnies, two miles south-west of Elouges, Grenfell rode with the regiment in a charge against a large body of German infantry. There were heavy casualties and the captain was left as senior officer. He was rallying part of the regiment behind a railway embankment when he was twice hit in the hand and thigh and seriously wounded.
Last year a group of us visited Derby Museum, which is where Captain Grenfell’s Victoria Cross is on display. The Citation reads: “For Gallantry in action against unbroken infantry at Audregnies, Belgium on 24th August 1914, and for gallant conduct in assisting to save the guns of the 119th Battery, Royal Field Artillery, near Doubon the same day”.
Although third by date to be awarded the VC, he was the first British Officer gazetted for the Victoria Cross in the Great War.
This action was during the Battle of Elouges, which began at noon on August 24th 1914. The sheer weight of number of German infantry was threatening to lead to the capture of the of the 119th Battery’s guns.
To quote Lyn MacDonald from her book “1914” - “there is no trophy of War that is more highly prized than a captured artillery piece. The cry of “Save the Guns” has rung down through the annals of the British Army at War since the days of Marlborough”. All the Battery’s horses had already been killed yet Major Alexander RFA with the help of his few remaining men and cavalry volunteers led by Captain Grenfell were able to save the guns.
An injured Major Tom Bridges of the 4th Dragoon Guards, Cavalry Division recorded that he heard the clatter of hooves and the 9th Lancers came trotting through the village. Bridges saw his friend Francis Grenfell riding in the lead and looking positively elated. Despite his clothes being full of bullet holes and his left hand (which was bleeding copiously) being wrapped in a handkerchief, he was grinning all over his face. Under the noses of the Germans, Grenfell and his troop had just saved some guns from capture on the railway and they were still in a state of high excitement.
Grenfell had embarked for France with his twin brother Riverdale (Rivy) who was also with the 9th Lancers. Riverdale was killed in action on September 14th 1914. Francis was wounded again at Messines in 1914 and was invalided home. Despite being declared unfit he returned to service and was killed in action on the Menin Road on 24th May 1915, and is buried in the CWGC Cemetery at Vlamertinghe.’
As you might expect, our resident doyen of all VC winners, Arthur Wood, has let me have his photo of Grenfell’s headstone.
Thank you Matt and Arthur. The Grenfell family have generations of service to the Crown, and I heartily recommend that you click on this link to read all about the family and the twins, Francis and Rivy.
Captain Francis Octavius Grenfell | First World War Story | For Evermore
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ON THIS DAY 29th / 30th AUGUST 1918.
On August 29th, 1918, Allied forces achieved major breakthroughs on the Western Front during the Hundred Days Offensive. British and Commonwealth troops entered the ruins of Bapaume, while French armies successfully recaptured the strategic town of Noyon. These victories proved that the German Imperial Army was losing its ability to hold ground in France.
The Strategic Context of August 1918
By the late summer of 1918, the tide of the First World War had turned. Earlier in the year, Germany launched massive attacks known as the Spring Offensive. These attacks pushed the Allied lines forward, but they exhausted German supplies and manpower.
The Allies launched a powerful counter-attack starting with the Battle of Amiens on August 8th This success launched the Hundred Days Offensive, a continuous push to drive German forces back to the heavily fortified Hindenburg Line. General Erich Ludendorff, the top German commander, ordered his exhausted troops to pull back to shorter, more defensible lines. However, Allied pressure moved too fast for a clean retreat.
The Road to Bapaume
Bapaume was a vital road hub in northern France. It had changed hands multiple times during the war. The British tried to capture it during the brutal Battle of the Somme in 1916. The Germans withdrew from it in 1917, but recaptured it during their Spring Offensive in March 1918.
On August 21st 1918, the British Third Army began the Second Battle of Bapaume.
British and Dominion forces attacked along a wide front.
The New Zealand Division played a central role in the fighting north of the River Ancre.
Over several days of intense combat, the New Zealanders captured surrounding strongpoints, including Grévillers and Loupart Wood.
By August 28th German forces were under heavy pressure and began a quiet withdrawal from the town itself. On the morning of August 29th, 1918, troops from the New Zealand Division marched into the devastated streets of Bapaume. They faced little resistance inside the ruined centre because the enemy had already retreated to the Bancourt Ridge just to the east.
Bapaume 1918.
The Fall of Noyon
While the British advanced in the north, the French army pushed forward in the south. The French Tenth Army began the Second Battle of Noyon on August 17th.
Noyon was an ancient French town located near the Oise River. It formed a critical anchor for the German defensive positions in the sector.
French infantry and artillery steadily ground down the German defences.
Supported by rolling barrages and armoured cars, French troops crossed difficult terrain.
The defending German units faced low morale, heavy casualties, and a lack of fresh reserves.
On August 29th 1918, the French Tenth Army entered Noyon and declared the town fully liberated. The collapse of the German defence at Noyon forced the entire enemy line in that sector to fall back behind the Oise-Aisne canals.
Significance of August 29th.
The simultaneous loss of Bapaume and Noyon on the same day marked a turning point in the campaign.
Symbolic value: Bapaume was a famous landmark of the old 1916 Somme battlefields. Regaining it meant the Allies had erased the territorial gains of the German Spring Offensive.
Tactical pressure: Capturing these hubs broke the continuous German front line, preventing the enemy from stabilising a defensive perimeter.
Morale boost: Allied soldiers saw undeniable proof that the German army was in retreat.
The fighting did not stop on August 29th, Allied forces continued to push forward through the early days of September, setting the stage for the final assault on the Hindenburg Line at the end of September.
I am attending the annual service of remembrance at the Hohenzollern Redoubt on October 13th with Mike Credland and others, and will then be looking at the fighting around Bapaume the following day on the 14th.
Would you like to join us? Drop me a line and I can let you have full joining details for the trip.
Allied troops in Bapaume.
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This week I am using Editor’s prerogative to showcase one of my ancestors who has just had his black and white photograph colourised by Chris Seager at Colour by CJS. Thank you Chris.
I have mentioned Maurice Wright D’Hooghe before in TL but as I now have his colourised portrait, here is some more information about him.
Maurice Wright D’Hooghe.
Maurice was the younger brother of Percy Adolphus and he was born in 1898 and in the 1911 Census, he is noted as being 13 years of age and still at school, whilst living at home with his parents, William and Mary Ellen (Nee Wright) and siblings, Percy, Lucy, Kathleen and Sybil.
[Percy served with the 12th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers until captured in May 1918. See my website family page Military Family - Jonathan D'Hooghe – Ed]
Unfortunately, Maurice’s WWI Service Record has not survived, but his Medal Index Card (MIC) shows that he was awarded a British War Medal and a Victory Medal. This shows that he did not serve overseas before 1st January 1916, and given that he would not have reached 18 years of age until 1916, this makes sense.
We can deduce that Maurice was a bright boy at school as records show that at some point after leaving school, he went to work for Ordnance Survey as a cartographer. Therefore, when war was declared and the stalemate on the Western Front set in, skilled map producers were much in demand.
Maurice became 38614 Sapper Maurice D’Hooghe of the mapping section of the Royal Engineers and proceeded to France where he was involved in surveying and producing trench maps.
Although not strictly a fighting soldier, Maurice was not immune to the rigours of war and at some point during his service, he was overcome and invalided back to the UK after being gassed. Sadly, the damage to Maurice’s lungs must have been severe as he died at Malton, Yorkshire from the effects of his war service in February 1919 aged 21. He lies today in the town cemetery. [I visited him last year – Ed]
The Register of Soldier’s Effects shows that his back-pay of £22 was paid to his father in September 1919.
In October 2021, whilst in the south of England, I paid an out of the blue call at the Ordnance Survey Headquarters in Southampton and persuaded them to let me visit the OS War Memorial that stands in their grounds. There I was able to view Maurice’s name on the memorial and pay my respects to this brave young man.
I am also aware that Maurice’s war medals are held by a private collector, still in their original boxes. The collector has so far refused to sell me the medals but I do have a photograph of them. At some point in time, Maurice’s medals have been separated from his Death Plaque and I am very fortunate to have that in my collection.
Sapper Maurice D'Hooghe
Maurice's name on the Ordnance Survey war memorial at Southampton.
Maurice's death plaque, which is in my possession.
Maurice's medals which the owner will not sell to me!
William and Mary Ellen D'Hooghe - Maurice's parents.
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In Memoriam the Lincolnshire Regiment 30th August.
1915
10623 Private Lester Staples Holloway, 6th Battalion, aged 24. Buried in Alexandria Military and War Cemetery, Egypt.
10269 Private A E Potter, 6th Battalion. Buried in Azmak cemetery, Gallipoli.
1916
21518 Private C B Leeman, 8th Battalion, aged 25. Buried in Faubourg d’Amiens Cemetery, France.
4264 Private Frank Morris, 4th Battalion, aged 24. Buried in Berles Position Military Cemetery, France.
1917
43675 Private W A Cooper, 10th Battalion. Buried in Tincourt New Military Cemetery, France.
48080 Private J Carter, 10th Labour Company. Buried in St. Sever Cemetery Extension, France.
1918
12970 Corporal W Rowan, 7th Battalion. Buried in Bagneux British Cemetery, France.
44130 Private Leonard Stephenson, 7th Battalion. – Ditto. –
27305 Private Samuel Berridge, 7th Battalion, aged 33. Buried in Fienvillers British Cemetery, France.
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.
I should be pleased to hear from you with your stories and questions.
Until next week,
All best wishes
Jonathan
© Jonathan D’Hooghe
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