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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment
Pte. William Gromadzki
British Army 23rd Btn. Royal Fusiliers
from:Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
(d.31st May 1918)
William Gromadzki served with the 23rd Royal Fusiliers.
Additional Information:
The training of the 18th service Battalion took about 15 months and it was deployed to France in November 1915. As many of the men of the 18th left the battalion to take up commissions (become officers) the battalion soon ran out of foot soldiers and was disbanded in April 1916 whereupon William transferred into the 23rd service Battalion Royal Fusiliers. The 23rd service Battalion was also a Pal’s Battalion, consisting of men with a background in sports, such as football or cricket, and entertainment. The 23rd had a tough reputation, as recounted by Fred W. Ward in his book: ‘Hard work and plain but plentiful food soon made the Battalion as hard as nails, a phrase coined by the London Evening News, and a phrase that stuck.’ (‘The 23rd (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers (First Sportsman's)A Record of its Services in the Great War, 1914-1919’ by Fred W. Ward). The 23rd saw heavy action at the Western Front, among others at the Somme, Beaumont Hamel, Vimy Ridge, Bourlon Wood, and near Arras.
William was killed in action on 31st May 1918. Fred W. Ward’s war diary indicates that on that particular day the battalion was not on the frontline but back in billet (camp) at Berles-au-Bois for rest and training. Unfortunately this did not protect them from attack by the enemy. Extensive searching led to a story about Lance Corporal John (Jack) Williamson, Reg. No. 73172, killed on the same day as William: ‘The battalion were in billets at Berles au Bois near Arras when they came under fire. Jack who was in the Transport Section, died while taking horses from the stables.’. While it cannot be entirely be ruled out that William died from injuries sustained in previous battles, or from chemical assault which the battalion had suffered repeatedly in previous weeks, or even from the Spanish flu which was raging at that time, it is likely that William was also killed during that attack on the 31st May 1918, along with Jack and a further two men. In the Berles New Military Cemetery the headstones of Pvt Leonard George Briggs (age 25), Pvt William Gromadzki (age 40), Lance Corporal John Williams (age 26) and Company Quartermaster Sergeant Albert Gordon Barnes (age 32) lie side-by-side (Plot III, row A, positions 10, 11, 12 and 13). May their names liveth for evermore.
Susan Lockey
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