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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment
Pte. William Thomas Wiggins
British Army 9th Btn. East Surrey Regiment
from:Willesden
(d.16th Aug 1916)
William Wiggins served with the 9th East Surreys. He landed in France on 4th of November as part of a draught sent over it make the battalion up to strength after Loos. William saw action at Ypres in November 1915 and was gassed at Wulverghem in March 1916. He was, as with most British troops, based mainly around Ypres, Hooge, Poperinghe and the infamous Ploegsteert. William was killed in at Guillemont in August 1916.
Pte. Cyril Gordon Wigglesworth
British Army 4th Btn. Norfolk Regiment
from:Sculcoates, Kingston upon Hull, East Yorkshire
Cyril Wigglesworth is my grand father. Cyril enlisted on the 3rd of May 1915 and was discharged on the 11th of January 1917 due to sickness. I only know of this information due to the online resources. I am shocked as I always thought my grand father served in Europe along with his two brothers. I didn't realise he served in Gallipoli. Sadly, I have no other information too add apart from God bless and thank you.
Cpl Thomas "Tim" Wight
British Army 15th (1st Edinburgh) Battalion Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment)
from:Edinburgh
Pte. Archie Wightman
British Army 9th Battalion Gordon Highlanders
from:Berwickshire
(d.28th June 1917)
Archie Wightman was my grandfather's brother. One of six brothers in the Army. He enlisted into the Gordon Highlanders at Berwick, Nov 1914. I have a letter written to my grandfather from Archie dated 13th of June 1917. Archie died 28th of June 1917 aged 23. He was laid to rest at Menin Road South Cemetery.
Pte. Walter Reginald Wightman
British Army HMHS Letitia Royal Army Medical Corps
from:Leicester
My father, Reg Wightman was on the HMHS Letitia during WW1. He was in France to begin with but must then have been transferred to the ship. He finished the war in Thesselonica.
I have pictures of the Letitia. My father's barbers shop, the stage of the sports club 'after well' deck 1916, the ship docked in Alexandria with some of the crew swimming and men relaxing on deck. I have been trying to find out what the ship actually did. My father had postcards of Constantinople, the Dardenelles and Alexandria. He was obviously fond of the ship as he named two of the houses he lived in Letitia.
As I was a young child in WW2 and only saw my father in ARP uniform I didn't really question what he did in the Army. His records were destroyed and I only became interested when it was too late to ask.
Pte. Oswald Wightwick
British Army 18th (London Irish Rifles) Btn. London Regiment
from:Staplehurst, Kent
(d.9th Oct 1915)
Pte John William Wigley
British Army 41st Stationary Hospital Royal Army Medical Corps
John Wigley was my great granddad. In 2018 I started to research his WW1 experience. I have his employment certificate to 41st Stationary Hospital, he worked there as a clerk and orderly from 1915 to 1915.
Pte. Joseph Charles Wigley
British Army 2nd Btn. Kings Royal Rifle Corps
from:London
(d.18th September 1916)
CSM William Ernest "Wig" Wigley DCM MID
British Army 2nd Btn York & Lancaster
from:Pontefract
I was too young to understand what my Grandfather must have endured in WW1. My mother said he would never talk about it, but when my Mother and Uncle died I inherited all my Grandfathers militaria including newspaper clippings articles from the Tiger & Rose and a box full of post cards every single card that my Grandfather wrote to my Grandmother during the War. Amusingly he would always say "from me to it, I am alright, somewhere in France" (they could never give their exact location). I have managed to piece things together as best I can. He served with the 2nd Battalion Yorks & Lancs but at the start of the War he embarked with the Battalion from Ireland to France where he then joined the 1st Battalion and first saw action in the Ypres Salient after a period of rest they were then moved to the Somme then back to the Ypres salient and Salonika. During this period he was mentioned in despatches 27/11/1917, received the 1914 Star, BWM,VM, DCM (18/02/18), French Silver Medal of Honour with swords. It didn't stop there , 1919-21 saw him in Mesopotamia and NW Persia, where he received the GS Medal with clasp. At the outbreak of WW2 he had the task of mobilising the Reservists, the formation of the ITC and eventually the formation of the. ATS Training Centre. After retirement my Grandfather (now a Major), joined the civilian staff of the Regimental Depot at Pontefract as Museum Curator and was entirely responsible under various Depot Commanders for setting up the new Museum in the old Depot Sergeants Mess. I know, from what my Mother and Uncle have said, he was very proud of the Yorks & Lancs, having enlisted in 1906, and kept in touch with them right up until his death in 1974 and I am very proud to be his Grandson, I know he lost a lot of friends in France during WW1 and I always shed a tear when I try to imagine what they must have Gone through. They will never be forgotten.
Pte. George "Wiggy" Wignall
British Army 1/6th Btn. West Yorkshire Regiment
from:Bradford
(d.3rd July 1916)
Having served in the 1st Battalion, Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire and felt the desire to revisit my family's military service history. Knowing my brothers, father and both grandfathers had served before me, I decided to check further records. I found my great uncle George, who none of my family had previously spoken about, due to his death on the 3rd day of the Battle of the Somme. This had induced my great aunt Mercy not to talk about his death. I visited the memorials for all the West Yorkshire soldiers and found uncle George on the Thiepval memorial. This was 98 years after his death.
Having checked the 1/6th history I believed I had the answers to how and where my uncle had died. However, the battalion's diary and proceeding book do not hold true to one another. Uncle George was recorded as being killed on 3rd July 1916 but the 1/6th Battalion West Yorks were at that time in divisional reserve after fighting on the Somme on the days of 1st and 2nd July 1916. There are no records of any deaths for the 1/6th Battalion on the 3rd July 1916 in the battalion's diary, but uncle George is recorded as dying in action on that day. This is a very confusing issue that I hope to resolve before July 2016. Nec Aspera Terrent (Eternity of rest to each and every military casualty or death).
Pte. John Wignall
British Army 11th Btn South Lancashire Regiment
(d.16th July 1917)
L/Sgt. Reginald Wigzell
British Army 6th Btn. Royal Irish Regiment
from:Dublin, Ireland
(d.5th June 1917)
Reginald Wigzell was born in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, Ireland in 1887. His father, my great grandfather, John Wigzell born in Seven Oaks in Kent was a sergent in the British Army and was stationed in Clonmel. Reginald had a nephew named Reginald Heap,3rd radio officer on ship called Llanashe, who was killed in the 2nd World War when ship was torpediod in 1943.
Cpl. Charlie Wilbraham
British Army 15th Btn. Lancashire Fusiliers
from:Hoole, Cheshire
Charlie Wilbraham served with 15th Btn. Lancashire Fusiliers.
Pte. Arthur Wilbur
British Army 8th Btn. Leicestershire Regiment
from:Hinckley
(d.21st March 1918)
Pte. Arthur Wilbur
British Army 8th Btn. Leicestershire Regiment
from:hinckley, leics
(d.21st March 1918)
Samuel Wilbur
British Army 1st Battalion Leicester Regiment
from:Hinckley
(d.7 August 1915)
Pte. Samuel Wilbur
British Army 1st Btn. Leicestershire Regiment
from:Hinckley, Leics
(d.7th August 1915)
Thomas Wilbur
British Army 7th Btn. East Kent Regiment (The Buffs)
from:Regent St, Hinckley, Leics
(d.7th August 1917)
Thomas Wilbur was blinded whilst sheltering in a farmhouse which came under attack. He died from his horrendous injuries. Married to Annie and had 1 daughter, Maud. His brothers and father also fought in this war.
Tpr. Harry Wilby
British Army Royal Horse Guards
from:Leeds, Yorkshire
My father Harry Wilby, born in April 1898, Leeds, enlisted in the Royal Horse Guards in Leeds, on the 24th of October 1914. Although his enlistment papers have his declared age as 18 years & 204 days, he was actually 16 years & 178 days. Harry was stationed in the UK until 31st of May 1916, being transferred to 8th Machine Gun Squadron in the field on the 30th of June 1916, after a short period at the RHG Depot at Etaples, France. Harry was transferred with his unit to the 7th Machine Gun Squadron on the 6th of October 1916. After a short period of hospitalisation early in 1917 in Etaples he returned to the 7th Machine Gun Squadron on 13th of April 1917. On the 20th of April 1918 he rejoined his original RHG Cavalry unit and was assigned to the 3rd MG Battalion. Harry returned to the UK on 28th of February 1919 to No.1 Dispersal Unit Clipstone to await being discharged 30th March 1919 and returned home in Leeds. Harry died aged 73 in August 1971.
2nd Lt. Sydney Charles Wilby
British Army 7th Btn. Northamptonshire Rgt.
from:Finedon, Northants
Charles Sydney Wilby was born in Finedon, Northamptonshire on 1st July 1896, and his birth was registered on 6th July 1896. When he applied for a duplicate birth certificate after the end of the First World War, he put Sydney Charles Wilby on it. All his military records are listed as Sydney Charles Wilby.
He enlisted in the Army on 14th September 1914, having attested that he was aged 19 years 2 months, not 18 and that his trade was engineering. On his enlistment papers it states that he was 5ft 3 inches tall, of sallow complexion with dark eyes and hair and was a Wesleyan.
He was posted to the 7th Northamptonshire Regiment on 15th August as a Private and appointed (unpaid) Lance Corporal on 1st December 1915 and (paid) Lance Corporal on 24th December 1915. On 18th September 1916, he was promoted to Corporal. On 30th October 1917, he was discharged to a commission in the Northumberland Fusiliers.
The 7/Northamptonshire were formed at the behest of Edgar Mobbs an England Rugby International who was killed in WW1.
Sydney Charles Wilby was first sent to the Western Front on 31st August 1915 and remained on active service until 11th May 1917, when he returned to England for officer training, going back to France in November 1917. He took part in the Battle of Loos in September 1915. The regiment then moved up to Ypres in early 1916.
On 29th April 1916, he was wounded in action, probably at Hell Fire Corner at Ploegstraat, Belgium. His wounds included a shrapnel wound to the face. He was admitted to a field hospital and transferred to the Military Hospital in Boulogne on 30th April before being moved to Etaples. He was then transferred to the Canadian Field Hospital in Boulogne, where the Doctor was Lieutenant Colonel John McRae, who wrote the famous poem ‘In Flanders Field’. Lance Corporal Wilby was discharged to base on 13th May and returned to duty in the field on 20th May 1916.
The 7th Northants were not present at the start of the Battle of the Somme, but moved there in early August 1916. They were ordered to take the village of Guillemont, attacking east from Trones Wood, which had been captured in July. Other attacks to take Guillemont had failed, as did this one. The casualties were as follows: 45 killed, 49 missing and 258 injured. In September the regiment did another tour at the front, near Delville Wood before moving away from the Somme to Vimy, where they were remained in the trenches for a few weeks and raided German lines. Lance Corporal Wilby was promoted to Corporal on 18th September 1916. In October 1916 the regiment moved back to Loos where they stayed until March 1917, when again they moved back to Vimy, taking part in the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917.
On 11th May 1917 he was sent to England for appointment to a cadet unit and returned to the front on 30th October 1917 as a 2nd Lieutenant with the 16th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers. During his time with the Northumberland Fusiliers, he took part in the defence of Operation Michael – the German offensive to push the British back from St Quentin to Amiens in late March 1918. He was wounded again on 31st March 1918 in the jaw. The casualties on the British side were high, and the battalion was sent to Givenchy, near the river Lys, to rebuild. However, they were hit by Operation Mars, a second German offensive in early April 1918. Again there were large numbers of casualties.
After this, the battalion was sent to Notre Dame les Dames on the Aisne, and fought there on 27th May 1918. By now, the battalion was so severely depleted that it was broken up and the remainder transferred to the Lincolns.
He joined the Lincolnshire regiment on 19th June 1918 being posted to D Company on 25th June. During the latter part of 1918, he took part in the final advance on Albert, on the Somme in August 1918, Epehy in September 1918 and Cambrai in October 1918.
On returning to England he was transferred again to the Northumberland Fusiliers and relinquished his commission on 21st December 1920, but retained the rank of 2nd lieutenant.
He was finally notified that as he had reached the ‘age limit of liability’ on 20th November 1945, he could finally relinquish his commission.
Pte. George Haigh Wilce
British Army 10th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers
from:Nottingham
(d.27th Mar 1918)
George Wilce was my mother, Dorothy's, brother. Their mother, Ruth, died in 1912, aged 50 when my mother was eight and George was thirteen. As members of a typically large family in those days he became her guardian angel while much older siblings were comparatively distant. She idolised him, which was the term she always used when telling me about him many years later, always with a tear in her eye.
It is difficult to imagine the grief she experienced when, at aged nineteen, when she was only fourteen, he failed to return from France. He died on 27th March, 1918 and is buried in Ribemont Communal Cemetery Extension in the Somme, eight kilometres south-west of Albert, which I have visited, although my mother, sadly, never managed it.
We will remember them.
Pte Frank Ernest Wilcock
British Army 7th Btn. Royal Lancashire Fusiliers
from:Boltom
Pte. Frank Ernest Wilcock
British Army 7th Battalion. C Coy. Lancashire Royal Fusiliers
from:Bolton
Gnr. Herbert Wilcock
British Army 135th Siege Battery Royal Garrison Artillery
from:Luddenden, West Yorkshire
Capt. H. R. Wilcox
British Army 18th Btn. Lancashire Fusiliers
from:Cheshire
(d.13th Feb 1919)
Captain Wilcox was the husband of Ellen Wilcox of Delgany, Heswell Hills, Cheshire. He died 13th February 1919 from sickness contracted on active service in France 1917 aged 30 years and is buried in the Greystones (Redford) Cemetery, Delgany, Co. Wicklow, Ireland.
Pte. John Thomas Wilcox
British Army 7th Battalion South Lancashire Regiment
from:Tarporley, Cheshire
(d.22nd July 1917)
My great grandfather John Wilcox died near Ypres when my grandmother was a few months old. His body was never recovered so his name is inscribed on the Memorial at the Menin Gate. I will be visiting there to remember the great sacrifice our forefathers made for our freedom.
My great grandmother was widowed with three daughters while her male cousin was widowed with children. They married out of necessity to keep the family together. All three daughters became nurses (to keep a roof over their heads) and my great aunt was the midwife at my birth. My grandmother never knew her father but he will always remain in our hearts in gratitude.
Sgt. Leslie Alfred Wilcox
British Army 68th Siege Battery Royal Garrison Artillery
from:London
Pte. Arthur Wild
British Army 18th Btn. West Yorkshire Regiment
(d.5th Sep 1916)
Pte. Arthur Wild served with the 18th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment. He was executed for desertion on 5th September 1916 aged 24 and is buried in Vieille-Chapelle New Military Cemetery, Lacouture, France.
Pte. Ernest Frederick Wild
British Army 1st/5th Btn. Wiltshire Regiment
from:Calne Wiltshire
(d.10th May 1916)
Ernest Frederick Wild was the son of Frederick and Sarah Wild. He married Sarah Anne Reeves in 1909, lived in Calne Wiltshire. He joined the 1st Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment and was injured at La Bassee in October 1914. After his recovery, he transferred to the 5th Battalion. He was wounded in fighting in Mesopotamia and died on 10th May 1916 as a result of his wounds. He is buried in Kirkee 1914-1918 war cemetery in India.
Pte. Ernest Sidney Wild
British Army 1st Battalion East Lancashire Regiment
from:Clayton Le Moors
(d.15th May 1915)
Ernest was my great uncle and died of wounds during the second Battle of Ypres.
Page 44 of 76
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