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Pte. Henry Fell
British Army 1st Btn. Border Regiment
from:Wigton
Henry Fell was a Territorial in the 5th Battalion when war broke out. He went to France in late 1914 but did see combat until May of 1915. He witnessed his brother John get shot in the abdomen while bringing water for the troops in Ypres. He was in the line when the Germans used poison gas for the second time at the battle of Battle of Bellewaarde were the battalion took over 300 casualties.
Between this date and the 1st of July 1916, he was transferred to the 1st Border Battalion. I know this because he did an interview for a book written by Melvyn Bragg in the 70's called Speak for England, where he takes about being there on the 1st of July. The 5th Border Regiment did not enter the Somme battlefield till much later. From there he was at all the major engagements that the 1st Battalion took part in. In the interview he mentions Passchendaele and Cambrai.
He was never badly wounded, I know that he suffered from shell shock after the first day on the Somme. He also took a bullet through an ear which grazed the back of his head in 1917. He survived the war and lived to the grand age of 92 passing away in 1985.
Luckily, I have a number of resources that feature Henry. The first, the above-mentioned book, where he and his brother W.S Fell MM with 2 bars are interviewed. Also, he has many mentions and published letters in the Wigton Advertiser. The research continues.
