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About
1206238Pte. Charles Cephas Coley
Australian Army Imperial Force 25th Btn.
from:South Brisbane, Queensland
(d.2nd Sep 1918)
Charles Cephas Coley died on 2nd September 1918, aged 19 and is buried in the Peronne Communal Cemetery Extension in France. He was the son of Mrs. Lucy Coley, of Brisbane St., Ipswich Rd., South Brisbane, Queensland Born at Roma, Queensland.
223683Pte. Harry Coley
British Army 16th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment
from:Quinton, Birmingham
(d.5th Oct 1917)
249853Cpl. Colin Colgrave
British Army 6th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment
from:Sharrow, Sheffield
(d.29th September 1916)
My grandfather, Colin Colgrave, was injured by rifle fire at the Battle at Mouquet Farm. He suffered a septic compound fracture of his right thigh and was taken to No.3 Canadian General Hospital at Boulogne but sadly died there from gas gangrene at 05.15 on 29th of September 1916. He was 24 years old and left a widow Mary (nee Willoughby) and 2 children Olga Mary and Colin, aged 5 and 3.
My mother never talked about her father but after her death we found his medals and other mementos including a rosary from Lourdes, many photographs and silk postcards, and his cigarette case still containing 6 cigarettes.
Through research and family history websites I have gathered much information and copies of documents regarding Colin. His letters tell of loneliness and other relatives grief. Sadly, we have no-one to pass these treasures on to, so they will be given to the Yorkshire Regiment
Colin was born on 12 March 1892 and died 1916. He was awarded the Victory Medal, The 1914-1915 Star and the British War Medal. He is buried at the Bolougne Eastern Cemetery.
250880L/Sgt, Joseph Colgrave DCM, MID.
British Army 5th Royal Irish Lancers
from:Sheffield
Joe Colgrave was my grandfather's eldest brother. He survived WW1 although several of his siblings including my grandfather Colin Colgrave, did not. Born in 1880, Joe joined the Army at the age of 18yrs in Beverley, Yorkshire and enlisted into the East Yorkshire Regiment on 6 Aug 1898. Pte Colgrave was posted to the 2nd Btn which was stationed at Templemore in Ireland. On 17 Nov 1900 he transferred to the Cavalry and joined the 12th Lancers stationed in Hounslow and Aldershot. On 13 Mar 1901 he sailed with the Regt to South Africa. The 12th Lancers saw action during the Boer War in the Cape and the Transvaal. On 21 Sep 1902 the Regt was posted to India. Trooper Colgrave was promoted to LCpl on 27 Dec 1902. He remained in India until 25 Jan 1906.
On his return to UK he was posted to the 5th Lancers before he transferred to the Army Reserve relinquishing his stripe, effective from 6 Aug 1906. On 4th of August 1914 he was recalled to the colours. He rejoined 5th Lancers and proceeded with the Regiment to France from Dublin with the British Expeditionary Force in Aug 1914 as part of 3rd Cavalry Brigade (5th Royal Irish Lancers, 4th Hussars and 16th Lancers), Brig Gough commanding. The 5th Lancers were in action at Mons, where they were the last Regiment to withdraw. During the Retreat 5th Lancers took part in the Battles of Le Cateau and the Marne, where the Germans were halted before Paris.
They then took part in the advance to the Aisne. Tpr Colgrave was awarded a Mention in Despatches and Distinguished Conduct Medal for gallantry and leadership in the face of the enemy during the First Battle of Ypres at Hollebeke on Messines Ridge on 30th October 1914, Gazetted on 16th Jan 1915, "On 30th October 1914 near Hollebeke, showed great presence of mind and coolness during an emergency in rallying several bodies of Indian troops who had lost their officers".
He was promoted again to L/Cpl on 12th Nov 1914. The 5th Lancers fought dismounted at the Battle of Loos and in the trenches throughout the war mainly in the Ypres Salient but were also held in readiness for the breakthrough which did not come until 1918. On 3 Mar 1916 he was promoted to Cpl.
On 25 Mar 1917 he was posted back to UK into the 1st Reserve Regt Lancers where he remained as an instructor and on 19 Nov 1917 was promoted to LSgt. He was a qualified bombing instructor. LSgt Colgrave DCM was transferred to the Reserve on 22nd May 1919.
He joined the Home Guard on the outbreak of the Second World War.
L/Sgt Colgrave DCM had 20 years Regular and Reserve service. He collapsed and died whilst taking part in the Royal Review of 63,000 ex-servicemen and women in Hyde Park, London. He was looking for his wife who had a seat in the stands when he collapsed near the Serpentine. He was taken to a First Aid post but died in the ambulance on the way to hospital on 5th July 1953.
He was awarded the DCM, MiD, Queens South Africa Medal clasps Cape Colony and Transvaal, King's South Africa Medal clasps 1901 and 1902, 1914 Star clasp 5Aug-29Nov, British War Medal, Victory Medal, and Defence Medal 1945.
204668Dalton E. Colins
British Army 2nd Btn. Lancashire Fusiliers
from:
I'm trying to find any information regarding a young man called Dalton E Collins. I recently bought a poetry book and on the flycover was the name Dalton E Collins, Bristol 1917, 2nd Lanc Fus and I'm fascinated as to what became of this man. Please can anyone help in any way? I have submitted his name into the national archives with no luck. I realise its a long shot but I so want to find out what became of him and his war record.
222821Pte. George Frederick Collarbon
British Army 3rd Btn. Royal Fusiliers
from:London
(d.24th Nov 1916)
George Collarbon served with the 3rd Royal Fusiliers.
224568Pte. Edwin Lewis Collard
British Army 26th Btn. Royal Fusiliers
from:Bondleigh, Devon
(d.17th June 1917)
2234932nd Lt. Richard Jordan Collard
Australian Imperial Forces 10th Australian Machine Gun Coy
from:184 Hyde St Yarraville, Victoria
My Grandfather Richard Collard died before I was born, so we only have his war records to go by. He joined the Army in 1916 leaving a wife and 2 little girls. He made sure that his wife and family were looked after by his family.
Richard moved up the ranks very quickly as he enlisted as a matured person at the age of 26. His service was terminated on the 30th of Jun 1919. However as an officer his termination from the army was not. On the 20th of April 1922 Richard was promoted to Captain then Major on the 31st of December 1922. This is only going what I understand reading his army records.
255121Pte. Elijah Colledge
British Army 6th Btn. York and Lancaster Regiment
from:Leeds, West Yorkshire
(d.10th Apr 1917)
253649Pte. Herbert Colledge
British Army 9th Btn. West Yorkshire Regiment
from:Beeston, Leeds
(d.29th Feb 1920)
Herbert Colledge suffered a gun shot wound to face and right eye in 1917. He died 29th of February 1920 at home in Leeds
2218092nd Lt. Norman Owen Collen
British Army 1st Btn. East Yorkshire Regiment
from:Southend-on-Sea, Essex
(d.25th Sep 1916)
Norman Collen was killed in action 25th Sep 1916, aged 18. He is commemorated on Sp. Mem. 16 in Warlencourt British Cemetery in France. He was the son of Mr. C. S. Collen, of 67, Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea.
2262062nd Lt. William Stewart Collen
British Army 6th Btn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
from:Dublin
(d.7th Aug 1915)
2nd Lieutenant William Collen was klled in action at Suvla Bay on the 7th August 1915 aged 25 years.
261582Pte. Frank Stephen Collett
Royal Navy HMS Goliath Royal Marine Light Infantry
from:Plymouth
(d.13th May 1915)
Frank Collett was serving on the battleship HMS Goliath during the Gallipoli campaign when the ship was torpedoed and sunk by a German-built Turkish destroyer named Muavenet-I-Miliet. He was one of 570 men who lost their lives in the sinking.
234642Able Sea. John Francis Collett
Royal Navy HMS Astraea
from:Hampstead, London
(d.28th January 1916)
John Collett was the son of Mr. W. H. and Mrs. E. Collett of 50 Lawn Rd., Hampstead, London.
He was 20 when he died and is buried in the Douala Cemetery, Cameroon, Grave 24.
251829Pte. Reginald Jack Collett
British Army 8th Battalion Royal Fusiliers
(d.30th November 1917)
Reginald Collett was reported missing in action on 24th of November 1917 after the attack on Pelican Trench. His death was presumed on the 30th.
233825Pte. Ernest Colley
British Army 8th Btn. North Staffs Regiment
from:Longton, Stoke on Trent, Staffs
(d.9th August 1916)
Ernest Colley has no known grave and I am still trying to find out where and how he went missing and in which action. Ernest was the son of John and Alice Colley of Longton.
1206501Sgt. Harold John Colley VC MM
British Army 10th Btn. Lancashire Fusiliers
from:Smethwick, Staffs.
(d.25th August 1918)
Harold Colley died of wounds on 25th August 1918 aged 23 and is buried in the Mailly Wood Cemetery in France. He was the son of John and Hannah Elizabeth Colley, of 74 Cheshire Rd., Smethwick, Staffs.
An extract from The London Gazette, No. 30967, dated the 18th Oct., 1918, records the following:- "For most conspicuous bravery and initiative when in command of a platoon in support of forward platoons which had been ordered to hold on at all costs. When the enemy counter-attacked in force, he rushed forward on his own initiative to help the forward line, rallying and controlling the men holding it. The enemy by this time were advancing quicky, and had already obtained a footing in the trench. Serjt. Colley then formed a defensive flank and held it. Out of the two platoons only three men remained unwounded, and he himself was dangerously wounded. It was entirely due to Serjt. Colley's action that the enemy were prevented from breaking through, and were eventually driven off. His courage and tenacity saved a very critical situation."
257988Sgt. Harry Colley DCM.
British Army 253rd Tunnelling Coy. Royal Engineers
from:Sutton in Ashfield
(d.25th Nov 1917)
Harry Colley was my son-in-law's great grandfather. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal in November 1916 for conspicuous gallantry in action, his medal has been donated to the Royal Engineer's Museum at Chatham. He worked at rescue operations in full view of the enemy, saving the lives of three men who were buried under a collapsed trench. He was to die on the 25th of November 1917 (his 35th birthday) at the Third Battle of Ypres, Passchaendale. He is buried in the Bluet Farm Cemetery, Ypres in Flanders. He left behind a widow and five small children.
245112Capt. Robert Archibald Colley
British Army 74th Coy. Machine Gun Corps
from:Nottingham
(d.27th Feb 1917)
Robert Colley is the uncle of my Mother, he died in action in France.
262420Pte. George Rae Collie
British Army 9th Btn. Gordon Highlanders
from:Bucksburn, Aberdeen, Scotland
244857CSM David Collier
British Army 8th Btn. Royal Irish Regiment
from:Belfast
(d.5th August 1917)
208074Pte. Frederick John Collier
British Army 2/8th Battalion Manchester Regiment
from:Kington St. Michael, Chippenham, Wiltshire
(d.12th May 1917)
Frederick John Collier was my Grand Uncle. Records state he was killed in action at France & Flanders. Frederick is noted as being formerly with the Suffolk Regiment.
243990Pte. Henry Victor Collier
British Army 9th Btn. East Lancashire Regiment
from:27 Walter St. Nelson
(d.19th Sep 1918)
Henry Collier is my Grandmother's cousin. He was born in Heywood in 1897 and died on the 19th of September 1918. He is buried in Doiran Military Cemetery in Northern Greece on the Macedonian border. His parents are Solomon and Elizabeth Collier and lived at 27 Walter St., Brierfield, Nelson at his death.
249870Pte. John Collier
British Army 2nd Batallion Lancashire Fusiliers
(d.28th March 1918)
260183Pte. John Albert Collier
Canadian Expeditionary Force 5th Brigade Machine Gun Coy.
from:572 Wentworth Street, North, Hamilton, Canada
Jack Collier was born in London, England and emigrated to Canada in the care of the Salvation Army in 1910. He enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force on 18th of August 1915, embarking aboard the S.S. Adriatic with the 86th Machine Gun Battalion for Britain on 19th May 1916. He was initially stationed at the Canadian Machine Gun Depot, Risborough Barracks, in Shorncliffe, Kent and then later at Crowborough, Sussex. He was sent to the Canadian Machine Gun Pool at Camiers, France on 18 April 1917 and served with the 2nd Division's 5th Brigade Machine Gun Company for 4 and a half months.
Jack was severely gassed near Cite St. Pierre, near Lens on 21st of August 1917 during the Battle of Hill 70. He was returned to Britain for treatment and convalescence before being transferred to the 11th Battalion, Canadian Engineers for the duration of the War, serving in France for an additional 20 months. Jack embarked for Canada from Liverpool on 8 August 1919 along with his English bride and their six-week old daughter.
When WWII broke out, Jack guarded Canadian port and electrical facilities in the service of the Ontario Provincial Police and later enlisted in the 35th Company of The Veterans' Guard of Canada, escorting German P.O.W.s from Britain to Canada and serving as a guard at several P.O.W. camps in northern Ontario, Canada.
250535Pte. Leonard Collier
British Army 4th Btn. North Staffordshire Regiment
(d.29th Sep 1918)
246298Pte. William Edwin Collier
British Army 1st Btn. Grenadier Guards
from:Bristol
William Collier was born in about 1876 in Bristol. He attested for Short Service in 1900 and served in the 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards in the Second Boer War. For his service there, he was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal with the Cape Colony and South Africa 1902 clasps. In May 1903, he transferred to The 1st Class Army Reserve.
On 5th of August 1914, at London, he was mobilized into the 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards. Per his Medal Rolls Index Card, Pte. Collier's qualifying date for the 1914 Star was 12th of November 1914, there was no notation that indicated qualification for Clasp and Roses, but serving in a line unit, it is very likely that Pte. Collier would have been under fire from German mobile artillery prior to the midnight 22nd November cut-off date. If so, he would have probably qualified for this distinction, but he may have never applied for this. In addition to the 1914 Star, he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
According to records, Hewas discharged from the Grenadier Guards on 28th of May 1919, but he attested to the 53rd Company, Labour Corps the next day, 29th of May 1919. His service number in the Labour Corps was 695795. Pte. Collier was discharged from C Coy, Eastern Command Labour Centre on 29th of March 1920. Research sources included British Army Pension Records, UK Military Campaign Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1949 (2nd Boer War), UK WW1 Medal Rolls Index Card, 1914-1920 and UK WW1 Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920. Lastly, it is highly possible that Pte. Collier would have participated in the unofficial 1914 Christmas Truce.
2151852nd Lt. Joseph Henry Collin VC.
British Army 4th Btn King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)
from:Harraby, Carlisle
(d.9th Apr 1918)
Joseph Henry Collin was awarded his commission on the 28th August 1917 He was the son of Joseph and Mary Collin (nee McDermont) of 8 Petteril Terrace, Harraby Carlisle, he was born 10th April 1893 in Jarrow.
He was 24 years old and a Second Lieutenant in the 1/4th Battalion King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment when he was awarded the VC for his actions on 9th April 1918 at Givenchy France.
Citation: For most conspicuous bravery, devotion to duty and self-sacrifice in action. After offering a long and gallant resistance against heavy odds in the Keep held by his platoon, this officer, with only five of his men remaining, slowly withdrew in the face of superior numbers, contesting every inch of the ground. The enemy were pressing him hard with bombs and machine-gun fire from close range. Single-handed 2nd Lt. Collin attacked the machine gun and team. After firing his revolver into the enemy, he seized a Mills grenade and threw it into the hostile team, putting the gun out of action, killing four of the team and wounding two others. Observing a second hostile machine gun firing, he took a Lewis gun, and selecting a high point of vantage on the parapet whence he could engage the gun, he, unaided, kept the enemy at bay until he fell mortally wounded. The heroic self-sacrifice of 2nd Lt. Collin was a magnificent example to all. (The London Gazette, 25 June 1918)
His Victoria Cross is displayed at The King's Own Royal (Lancaster) Regiment Museum, Lancaster from the 26th August 2006. The bronze memorial memorial plaque to Second Lieutenant Joseph Henry Collin VC of 4th Battalion King's Own Royal Regiment, was successfully bid for by the Regimental Museum at a recent auction in Carlisle. Thanks to public donations, the Museum fought off three other bidders to secure the plaque for Ć‚Ā£2500. It will now be displayed alongside Collin's VC.
Joseph is buried in Vieille-Chapelle New Military Cemetery Lacouture and is commemorated in the Palmer Hospital in Jarrow.
12065332nd Lt. Joseph Henry Collin VC
British Army 4th Btn. King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)
(d.9th April 1918)
Joseph Collin was killed in action 9th April 1918, aged 24 and buried in the Vieille-Chapelle New Military Cemetery in France.
An extract from The London Gazette, dated 25th June, 1918, records the following:- "For most conspicuous bravery, devotion to duty and self-sacrifice in action. After offering a long and gallant resistance against heavy odds in the Keep held by his platoon, this officer, with only five of his men remaining, slowly withdrew in the face of superior numbers, contesting every inch of the ground. The enemy were pressing him hard with bombs and machine-gun fire from close range. Single-handed 2nd Lt. Collin attacked the machine gun and team. After firing his revolver into the enemy, he seized a Mills grenade and threw it into the hostile team, putting the gun out of action, killing four of the team and wounding two others. Observing a second hostile machine gun firing, he took a Lewis gun, and selecting a high point of vantage on the parapet whence he could engage the gun, he, unaided, kept the enemy at bay until he fell mortally wounded. The heroic self-sacrifice of 2nd Lt. Collin was a magnificent example to all."
253829Pte Cornelius Collind
British Army 1st Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment
from:Deptford, London
(d.26 Oct 1914)
Page 49 of 88
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