Site Home
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you agree to accept cookies.
If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation.
Great War Home
Search
Add Stories & Photos
Library
Help & FAQs
Features
Allied Army
Day by Day
RFC & RAF
Prisoners of War
War at Sea
Training for War
The Battles
Those Who Served
Hospitals
Civilian Service
Women at War
The War Effort
Central Powers Army
Central Powers Navy
Imperial Air Service
Library
World War Two
Submissions
Add Stories & Photos
Time Capsule
Information
Help & FAQs
Glossary
Our Facebook Page
Volunteering
News
Events
Contact us
Great War Books
About
231872Pte. Brandon Platt
British Army 21st (Pioneer) Btn. West Yorkshire Regiment
from:Denshaw, Saddleworth
(d.8th July 1916)
Brandon Platt walked with his best friend Thomas Hilditch from his home village of Denshaw, Saddleworth, this being in Yorkshire they went to Triangle and rode the tram to Halifax to join a Yorkshire Regiment, were inspected and joined the army at the former tram depot at Highroad Well in Halifax then were sent home until called for. (Pioneers had an extra 2d per day pay over the normal 1/-shilling.)
Training was at Skipton and also Ripon, certainly North Yorkshire as both Hilditch and Platt took a long weekend and were late on parade, this was 'glossed over'. They were then to be sent to Egypt but the 'big push' changed all that and they were sent to France.
During the 4th Division attack the next wave to go over was 21st WYR when the attack was called off, so he was in the front trench it was necessary for the 21st West Yorks to hold the line for quite a few days until they were able to be relieved, certainly they were still in the area as of 9th July
Thomas Hilditch and Brandon Platt served together and on the evening of 8th July 1916 Hilditch was selected as part of a work party and Platt volunteered to go too, as they waited in the rear area to go into the trench system to work on the trench walls a shell fell to the right of Hilditch and Brandon Platt on his left fell dead, a passing RMC Captain was on scene and he immediately examined Pte Platt but found no wound however it transpired that a piece of shrapnel had penetrated the neck and heart causing his immediate death.
Brandon is buried at Colincamps (Sucerie) Cemetry near Mailley Maillet on the Somme.
Additional Information:
commemorated Saddleworth pots & Pans war memorial & Denshaw war MemorialNEIL Barrow
Related Content:
Can you help us to add to our records?
The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them
Did your relative live through the Great War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial?
If so please let us know.
Do you know the location of a Great War "Roll of Honour?"We are very keen to track down these often forgotten documents and obtain photographs and transcriptions of the names recorded so that they will be available for all to remember.
Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice.
Celebrate your own Family History
Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Great War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc.
Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.
The free section of The Wartime Memories Project is run by volunteers.
This website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources and we currently have a huge backlog of submissions.
If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small to help with the costs of keeping the site running.
Hosted by:
Copyright MCMXCIX - MMXXIV
- All Rights Reserved -We do not permit the use of any content from this website for the training of LLMs or for use in Generative AI, it also may not be scraped for the purpose of creating other websites.