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Those who Served - Surnames beginning with O.

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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment

222378

2nd Lt. Christian Edwin Oates MC.

British Army Northumberland Fusiliers

My Grandfather, Christian Edwin Oates, was awarded the Military Cross and promoted from 2nd Lieutenant to Lieutenant following the capture of an Austrian machine gun at the Battle of the Piave River.




139573

Joseph Oates

3rd Balloon Squadron

My husbands grandfather Joseph Oates marriage certificate has him based as follows: 3rd Balloon Squadron Abbey Wood, London.1918 I have tried hard to find any mention of this squadron or anything to do with balloon squad at Abbey Wood. My husband seems to think his grandfather was initially in the Cavalry Can any one point me in the right direction? Thank You Jennifer Oates




214297

L/Cpl. Percy Edmunson Oates

British Army 589 HT Coy. Army Service Corps




214298

Robert Storey Oates

British Army Royal Artillery




244814

Rflmn. Sam Oates MM.

British Army 2/7th Btn. West Yorkshire Regiment

(d.28th November 1917)




225806

RSM. John Henry James Oatley MM.

British Army 16 Siege Bty. Royal Garrison Artillery

from:Plymouth, Devon

John Oatley (my maternal grandfather) joined the Army on short service on 8th July 1894 at the age of 18 years and 5 months. He was given the service number 5052 and joined the 5th Btn. Royal Fusiliers. After serving in the Boer war, he then served in WW1 rising up through the ranks and was discharged in Bermuda on 17th December 1920 with the rank of Warrant Officer Class 2, Battery Sgt Major.

He was mentioned in dispatches three times: 10th September 1901, 16th August 1914 awarded the French Medaille Militaire for bravery and also on 14th December 1917. I am trying to find out what was the brave action.




220595

Sgt. William Oatway

British Army 5th Battalion Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders

from:Manchester

(d.3rd Nov 1918)

My great uncle, William Oatway, served with the 5th Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders in WW1. I have no details of his service but know that he died of his war wounds at home in Manchester just days before the end of the war on November 3 1918. He was buried in the family grave in Philip's Park Cemetery, Manchester and is commemorated on the war memorial there, as well as on the Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh castle.




233019

Pte. P. OBrien

British Army 24th (Tyneside Irish) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers

from:Gateshead




233022

Pte. J. OConnor

British Army 24th (Tyneside Irish) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers

from:Seaham

J OConnor was wounded in his left leg, and was discharged in 1917




233020

Pte. P. OConnor

British Army 24th (Tyneside Irish) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers

from:South Shields

P OConnor was discharged in 1917 Sick




233021

Pte. Patrick OConnor

British Army 24th (Tyneside Irish) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers

from:Wrekenton

Patrick OConnor enlisted in 1914




237365

Pte. Edmund Odam MM.

British Army Sherwood Forresters




1206100

Pte. Arthur William Odell

British Army 8th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment

from:Marston Moreteyne, Bedfordshire

(d.25th Sep 1916)

Arthur William Odell was born on 17 April 1892, in Marston Moreteyne, Bedfordshire. His was a family struggling with extreme poverty. He was one of 14 children, only 7 of whom survived infancy, the others succumbing to malnutrition in the first months of their lives. His father, Charles, was a farm labourer, his mother, Ada, a dress maker. His elder brother, Albert had left home by the age of 15, to become an apprentice tailor in Luton.

In 1907, the family suffered a heavy blow, losing their father to a debilitating illness. Arthur was the oldest remaining son, and the main support for his mother, his two older sisters, and 3 younger brothers. He worked in the nearby brick yards from an early age.

Between 23rd and 25th October 1915, he enlisted in the Bedfordshire Regiment at Ampthill, and was assigned to ‘C’ Company, 8th Battalion. Initially he would have gone for training in Surrey. The earliest he would have been sent to France was February 1916, though it is more likely that he went a couple of months later. The strongest possibility is that he went, with other reinforcements, after the heavy hand-to-hand fighting of the night of 19th/20th April 1916, during which the 8th Battalion had suffered very heavy casualties. The first of these reinforcements arrived in France on 13th May.

He would have been involved in the front line action on 15th September 1916, the first time the new ‘tanks’ were put into use – his Company was running down the right hand side of the leading ‘tank’. An extract from the Battalion war diary for this date reads –

‘15 September – major offensive against German lines, which went badly wrong, causing heavy casualties. Late in the day, 8th Bn was withdrawn to reserve trenches south east of Guillemont.’ 122 names of those killed in action on this date are recorded, including Henry Charles Randall, a close friend of the family; Charles Whittington, Alfred Two, John Jellis, Leonard Hardy, Herbert Hare, Philip Evans and Arthur Busby – all locals who would have been known to the family at home.

In Arthur’s final letter home to his mother he is said to have written that he did not think he would survive much longer, because the artillery fire was so bad. He was killed on the night of 25th September 1916 at Morval, aged 24. The Battalion war diary has the following entry for this date – ‘25 September – trenches between Morval to Lesboeufs. Battalion in reserve to 16IB in attack on German lines between Morval and Les Boeff. Attack commenced at 12.35pm and Battalion moved up to original front line when second objective had been taken about 2.35pm. Casualties from enemy barrage very slight. Attack proved successful and many prisoners were taken. At night Battalion furnished carrying parties to front line Battalion with ammunition and water. C Platoon detached to 1/London Coy RE as working party in captured trenches. C Coy suffered very heavily from enemy shell fire.’ Only one of C Company, 8th Battalion’s 23 dead on this evening is recorded as having been identified and buried in a marked grave. All others are only remembered on the memorial at Thiepval. Photographs of Morval on the morning of the 25th September show it was a clear, sunny, dry day.

Unfortunately, his name has been engraved incorrectly on the village war memorial, the Parish Church memorial plaque, and the Stewartby Brickworks plaque – all of which read ‘A J Odell’ rather than ‘A W Odell’.

My great-uncle Arthur was the person who started my family history search, after the death of my last grandparent in 1998. I had a need to ‘resurrect’ him, as all who knew him had now gone. The only thing I knew at the start was that he was my paternal grandfather’s older brother, that he had died in the war, and that his name was wrong on the war memorial (I have corrected this on the Roll of Honour website). My father told me that he had asked about his lost uncle more than once, but his father would just sit and cry, so he was unable to offer any more information. I discovered a small, black-bordered ‘In Remembrance’ card amongst some of my grandmother’s papers, which gave me his full name and date of death, so I sent off to ask for copies of his army records. This was when I found out that Arthur’s service and pension records were destroyed in the Blitz. I began in the days when there was little available on the internet, but after 12 years of hunting and letter writing, and occasional checks for new, relevant websites, I finally managed to put his wartime service story together.

During this time I was also looking for a photograph, something I dearly wanted to find, but with no luck. Then, many years later when sorting through my grandmother’s old, pre-marriage birthday cards, looking in particular for those written by family members, I found two photographs of a soldier in the uniform of the Bedfordshire Regiment tucked inside one. The resemblance to my grandfather as a young man in his 20s was striking, and having checked the other brothers on both sides of my grandparent’s families, and their cousins who were also of an age to serve, I managed to rule out every single one except for Arthur. Therefore I have no doubt that these photos are of Arthur and that my grandmother had kept them hidden away, not wanting them out to cause upset, but keeping them safely among her own memories.




1205692

T. Odlam

Australian Imperial Force. 3rd Salvage Coy.




233023

Pte. H. ODonnell

British Army 24th (Tyneside Irish) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers

from:Ashington

H ODonnell was wounded in 1916




210733

Spr. Arthur Odwell

British Army Camouflage Section Royal Engineers

from:3, Malling Fields, Lewes

(d.12th Feb 1919)




247057

Pte. J. H. Oelofse

South African Infantry 3rd Regt.

(d.11th May 1917)

Private Oelofse is buried in the Jansenville Cemetery, Eastern Cape, South Africa.




233024

Pte. M. OFarrell

British Army 24th (Tyneside Irish) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers

M OFarrell was discharged in 1917 due to Mialga




234754

Pte. Moma Offa

The West African Frontier Force 4th Btn. Nigerian Regiment

(d.23rd November 1918)

Moma Offa was buried in the Limbe Botanical Gardens Burial Grounds in the Cameroons.




256538

Cpl. William Bernard Offutt

US Army Coy B 306th Infantry Regiment

from:New York, USA

William Offutt served with Coy B, 306th Infantry Regiment.




257157

Pte. David Ogden

British Army 20th (5th City) Btn. Manchester Regiment

from:4 Mercer St, Hulme, Manchester

(d.3rd Sep 1916)

David Ogden was my second cousin twice removed and he was killed in WW1. He served with the 20th Battalion Manchester Regiment. He died 3rd of September 1916 aged 31 years and is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial Pin France. Husband of Mary Ellen Ogden of 4 Mercer St., Hulme, Manchester.




215643

CSM. George Ogden

British Army 6th Btn. Lincolnshire Regiment

from:Rossington, Doncaster

(d.16th Oct 1915)

George Ogden was born in 1881 in Rossington, Yorks and was the son of Samuel and Sarah Ogden. He lived in Maltby and enlisted at Grimsby. He was killed in action in Gallipoli. There is no known grave and he is commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Gallipoli, Canakkale, Turkey.




1670

Pte Harry Ogden

British Army 19th Btn Northumberland Fusiliers

from:6, Clough Cottages, Manchester Rd., Mossley, Manchester

(d.27th March 1918)

Ogden, Harry. Private, 267975, Aged 22 years, Killed in action on 27th March 1918. Battalion Service history show service number as 47975

Remembered on the Pozieres Memorial panel 16 to 18.

Son of Herbert F. and Sarah Ogden, of 6, Clough Cottages, Manchester Rd., Mossley, Manchester.

From the Northumberland Fusiliers Roll of Honour




254247

Pte. Henry Valentine Ogden

British Army 6th Battalion Loyal North Lancashire Regiment

from:Ashton-under-Lyne




220814

James Ogden

British Army 6th Btn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

(d.15th Aug 1915)

My great uncle, James Ogden died of wounds nr Sulva Bay, Gallipoli.




214636

Pte. John William Ogden

British Army 2nd/5th Btn. Warwickshire Regiment

from:Jarrow

(d.3rd Dec 1917)

John William Ogden enlisted at Jarrow and joined the 2nd/5th Battalion Warwickshire Regiment. He died on the 3rd December 1917 age 19 and is remembered at Palmer Cenotaph, St. Paul's Church and at the Cambrai Memorial at Louveral.

His Medal Card shows him awarded the British War and Victory Medals (Mutt and Jeff). It also indicates former service as No. 3/31705 with the North Staffordshire Regiment.

The 1911 census show him as the youngest son, 13 years old and a student. He has two older brothers, Frederick either 17 or 19 working in Steelworks, Robert 14 working in a mineral water company and one sister Doretta aged 16 probably helping her mother at home. His widowed mother Catherine aged 56 has married John Hutchinson 59 who works as a watchman at a blast furnace works. His natural father was John Ogden who died some years earlier and his mothers maiden name was James.




223648

Sgt. Robert Ogden MM.

British Army 1st Btn. Lincolnshire

from:Grimsby

My great uncle, Robert Ogden, joined the Lincolnshire Regiment in 1904. At the time of enrollment, he gave his year of birth as 1885 although it was in fact 1887. The reason, I believe, would have been that, at that time, you needed to be 19 years old to serve abroad. He served with the Lincolnshire Regiment throughout the years leading up to the Great War, including a period of time in India.

At the outbreak of war, the Lincolnshire Regiment was at Portsmouth and immediately started preparations for transfer to France. At 0615 hours on 13th August 1914, they marched out of barracks to the railway station, where they were transferred to Southampton and boarded the SS Norman for the overnight voyage to Le Havre. From Le Havre they were transported, by train, to the Mons area where they were heavily involved in the early engagements of the war.

He served throughout the conflict, finishing as Sergeant at the end of the war. He was awarded the Military Medal (an entry appeared in the London Gazette in February 1919). I have been unable to, as yet, trace a citation or official record for the award but I believe that it was awarded for recovering an injured soldier, under fire, from no man’s land. He was discharged on 31st March 1920.




205445

Robert George Ogg

British Army Highland Guards

from:Glasgow

My Pop serviced in Gallipolli and was injured and sent to Ulster for rehab. He served in the Highland guards in Stirling Castle. He and family migrated to West Australia in 1921.




233902

Cpl David Ogilvie

British Army 12th Btn Northumberland Fusiliers

from:27 Frederick St South, Meadowfield, Brandon Colliery, Co. Durham

David Ogilvie was my grandfather. He survived the war, but I never met him. He died in 1953, when he was 54. He joined the Northumberland Fusiliers in 1915, when he was 16, and was sent to France in early October 1915, just after the Battle of Loos. He served with the 12th Battalion NF at the Battle of the Somme and took part in the capture of Fricourt, of Mametz Wood and several other actions in that part of the line. He was promoted to corporal on 23 October 1916. Just before the Battle of Arras in April 1917, he was sent home with a very nasty case of trench foot. He was discharged on 12 October 1917, officially 21 years old, but actually 18. He later joined the RAF. After the war, he married my grandmother and settled in Lincolnshire, working as a policeman. Emotionally, he was broken by his experiences on the Western Front and, by all accounts, he was very difficult to live with. My grandmother left him in the 1940s and he moved to Liverpool, where he died.

I have always been a bit obsessed with my grandfather and would love to find out more about him.




243937

2/Lt. W. E. Ogilvie

British Army 9th Btn. Border Regiment

(d.27th September 1915)

Second Lieutenant Ogilvie died on 27th September 1915 and is buried in Hangard Communal Cemetery Extention. He was aged 21 when he died. He was the son of George and Harriet Ogilvie.







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