|
|
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.
Site Home
Help & FAQs
Features
Submissions
Information
Advertisements
World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment
Pte. Harry William Bacon
British Army 9th (Queen Victorias Rifles) Btn. London Regiment
from:South Norwood, Surrey
My Grandfather, Harry Bacon, was severely wounded at Gommecourt on 1st July 1916 on the first day of the Battle of The Somme. This is an extract from his diary, written in August in Le Treport hospital.
"On evening of 30th June 1916 marched up to trenches and took up placers in front trench. Our company was first to go over. At 7:30am next morning over we went, under heavy bombardment from both sides. The Germans got wind of what was coming. I managed to get out of the trench and pushed forward as well as I could. I had only gone about 30 yards when I was hit by a piece of shrapnel in the stomach. It felt like a punch in the stomach and winded me. I tried to go on, but crawled into a shell hole which just covered me from rifle bullets. I stopped here for a bit but eventually chanced my luck and got back to our trenches and got to the dressing station. It was a miracle I did not get hit getting back. From the dressing station I got sent straight down the line to No.16 General Hospital Le Treport."
My Grandad was medically discharged and never returned to active service. He died in 1959 aged 65
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:
The Wartime Memories Project Website
is archived for preservation by the British Library
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.
