IWM Collections

S/30365 Rifleman Thomas Newberry, probably b. 1898 at Chessington,(Epsom), Surrey. In 1911 living in Reigate. 9 RB was a K1 battalion and went to France in May 1915 as part of 14th Light Division - being a unit in 42nd Brigade. Rfn Thomas Newberry is likely to have been a volunteer or conscript into the Army in 1916 and to have joined 9 RB as a battle casualty replacement once trained. On 3rd May 1917, 14th Light Division attacked Cherisy and Triangle Wood near Arras. The attack was launched behind an artillery fireplan from first light at 03.45am. 9RB, the left forward battalion of the Brigade, was already out in no-mans-land under cover of darkness, lying down behind a taped jumping-off line some 500 yards from the enemy position. As 5 Ox & Bucks, on the right, came up to them, 9RB rose at 04.03am to advance into the attack. Both leading battalions in 42nd Brigade were badly shot up by machine-guns hidden in Triangle Wood and 9RB in particular took heavy casualties. The advance was hung up and went firm under machine-gun fire, which was continuous from both flanks and proved the chief obstruction. The only messages received by runner at Bde HQ were from two detached platoons commanded by 2nd Lieutenant Daubeny and Serjeant Everett respectively, who both stated that advance was impossible and asked if they were to withdraw at dusk. They also stated that it was apparent that the high ground on the left, north of the Arras-Cambrai road and the Cojeul, was not in British possession and that they could see our troops on the left hung up one thousand yards short of their first objective and that they themselves were being caught in our own barrage. Previous instructions had been given to "D" Company 9RB to communicate hourly by Lucas lamp with the London Rifle Brigade at an arranged point. Communication was duly established at this point, but with the enemy, who was in occupation, not the L.R.B. Later orders were received by 9RB to recall what was left of the Battalion, but the two closest platoons of D Company were the only ones with which it was possible to get touch. About 9.30 p.m. on 3rd May news was received that one company was still out and holding a line of shell holes and a strong point which it had made. Two patrols were sent to recall this company but they were unable to find it, though they came in contact with enemy posts and brought back six men of the Battalion from shell holes. That night, 3rd/4th May, as much of the Battalion as could be found came out of the line and moved back to trenches north of Wancourt. But the next night - the 4th/5th - a message was received from 2nd Lieutenant H.C. Round MC asking for small arms ammunition, rifle grenades and water; this officer, with twelve men, had organized and held a strong point since 5.15 a.m. on the 3rd. He and his party were recalled by the CO 5th Bn. Kings Shropshire Light Infantry, who were then up and holding the line, but he refused to withdraw until parties had been sent out to bring in the wounded. Next night again Rifleman Aitkins made his way back from the shell-hole where he had been guarding two wounded men, one of whom he brought back. Casualties in this attack over 3-6 May 1917 for the 9 RB were:- Officers wounded - Captains A.D. McKinstry and C.F.C. Letts, Lieutenants J.P. Day, S.H. Russell, 2nd Lieutenants W.L. Cooper, S. Bates, C.J. Dowson: Wounded and missing, Lieutenant R.H. Plater, 2nd Lieutenants G.E.A. Wade, A.J. Statham, W.H. Howatt and W.C. Wheatley, with two hundred and fifty seven other ranks casualties in killed, wounded and missing. It is likely that Rfn Newberry was mortally wounded during this period; he may have been one of the men defending the ad hoc position in the shell holes with 2Lt Round at the limit of the attack. More probably he was wounded and lying out for a considerable time, in whatever cover he could find, unable to get back until the attempt at recovery of all troops forward on the night of 5th/6th May. 2Lt Harold Cecil Round MC, who had held out with his men, got back safely and was subsequently awarded a DSO for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. The citation states: "When our troops were forced to withdraw he collected a few men and made a strong-point within 70 yards of the enemy trench. This position he held for two days without supplies of any kind. He was finally able to get a valuable report through before being ordered to withdraw." Captain Harold Cecil Round MC DSO RB was later killed in action aged 21 on 24 Aug 1917.//

www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/91514/NEWBERRY,%20THOMAS shows his service number as S/30365. UK Soldiers Died in the Great War gives the following details: Name:Thomas Newberry Birth Place:Chessington, Surrey Residence:Chertsey, Surrey Death Date:5 May 1917 Death Location:France & Flanders Enlistment Location:Whitehall, Middx. Rank:Rifleman Regiment:Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) Battalion:9th Battalion Number:S/30365 Type of Casualty:Died of wounds Theatre of War:Western European Theatre Public tree on www.ancestry.co.uk shows a photograph of his CWGC headstone giving his age at death as 19 which is in keeping with Gary's research above.

In 1911 Thomas was living with his family at Dene Farm House, Chipstead Redhill, Surrey. Dene Farm is mentioned in the Chipstead Village website www.chipsteadvillage.org/About-Chipstead/A-History/The-Gr.... Thomas's parents were Thomas Stone and Emily Fanny Newberry. They had been married for 27yrs and had 8 children, 1 of whom had died. Thomas Stone Newberry was a Farm Bailiff. Thomas jnr was probably born at Roebuck Cottage, Church Lane, Chessington, Surrey which was the address the family were resident at in 1901.

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Tommy was my great uncle. My grandmother was his younger sister. They were the two youngest of the family. Tommy is the only one who did not return from the war. We hold his medals.

GRATWICKE, PHILIP CHARLES
Rank:Lieutenant
Date of Death:30/03/1918
Age:23
Regiment/Service:Army Cyclist Corps
IX Corps Cyclist Bn
Panel ReferencePanel 90.
MemorialPOZIERES MEMORIAL
Additional Information:
Son of Charles J. and Mary Gratwicke, of 76, Ballater Rd., Brixton, London.

Name: Philip Charles Gratwicke
Death Date: 30 Mar 1918
Rank: Lieutenant
Regiment: Army Cyclist Corps
Battalion: 9th Battalion
Type of Casualty: Killed in action
Comments: [Territorial]

In the 1911 Census he is recorded as being born in Lambeth, London. He was living at 76 Ballater Road, Stockwell, London with his parents Charles J & Mary and a brother Walter age 23 and sister Florence age 18. The address is still standing and is just off the A2217 Acre Lane

Help piece together the Life Stories of more than 8 million men and women who made a contribution during the First World War at www.livesofthefirstworldwar.org/

The photo below at the NLI was taken by his brother Walter in Dublin (Walter took many photos of trams). It looks like Philip in uniform:

In the “SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 8 NOVEMBER, 1945” I found the listing “537540 W.O. II W. H. BAYES”. Is it possible that this is actually the man depicted in the photograph? - not being an army expert by any stretch of the imagination, I did some research: “In February 1915, with the general introduction of warrant officers throughout the army, Conductors and Sub Conductors became Warrant Officers Class I.” (Wikipedia) As regards insignia “from 11 July 1900, Conductors were authorised to wear a crown within a laurel wreath on their lower sleeve and Sub-Conductors a crown, although they did not start actually wearing these until 1901 and 1904 respectively. In 1915, Conductors were authorised a crown in a laurel wreath and Sub-Conductors the royal coat of arms. In 1918, Conductors began wearing the royal arms in a laurel wreath, still their badge of rank.” (Wikipedia) The man shown in the photograph appears to have this insignia on the badge on his cap – you can’t see the lower sleeves. I’ve also discovered that there is a listing for a ‘William Bayes’ on the Woking Memorial to World War One in the Town Square but no rank is listed against the listing. Not sure if this helps at all but thought I should post these facts with nothing seemingly known about this brave man.

I wonder if this was actually H H W Boyes who served in the Royal Engineers. His medal card says his rank was Temporary Captain. Corps of Royal Engineers: Temp. Lt. H H W Boyes from N. Staff. R., to be Temp. Lt. 9th April 1916, with seniority as from 13th Oct 1915. Source: Suppl. to the London Gazette 6th May 1916. H H W Boyes M.C. was granted the rank of Major when he resigned his commission in 1919. Source: Suppl. to the London Gazette 5 Nov 1919. This would mean he had survived the First World War and checking on the CWGC website there's no record of the loss of H Bayes or H Boyes during WW1. The Free BMD indexes record the death of a Henry H W Boyes in the Hove district of Sussex in 1959, aged 71. [b.c.1888].

Thank you Coolshanagh25 and M2901. Interesting questions, we will have to do a bit more work here to get to the bottom of this. This is going to take a little time, so please bear with us. In the meantime, if anyone else has anything to add to this, we'd welcome their comments here.

I concur with the research done by 'Coolshanagh25'. This is Captain (later Major) H H W Boyes MC RE. He was a "Tunnelling Officer" on the Western Front, having transferred to the Royal Engineers from the North Staffordshires in the Autumn of 1915 (officers of relevant experience were sought out in preparation for the 'mining' of German positions in the Somme sector). Temporary Lieutenant H H W Boyes MC was promoted to Acting Captain in the Royal Engineers whilst commanding a section of a Tunnelling Company with effect 13 Oct 1915. (LG 29838 dated 24 Nov 1916). Captain H H W Boyes MC RE was promoted to Acting Major with effect 2 Sep 1918. (LG 31110 dated 3 Jan 1919).//

Temporary Captain Henry H W Boyes MC RE was also awarded a Mention in Despatches published in the London Gazette on 11 December 1917. The 1891 census for Scotland shows a Henry H W Boyes born in Roxburghshire in 1888. The Institute of Mining Engineers records (Transactions Volume LIX) for 1919-1920 shows a Henry H W Boyes, registered with the Mining Institute of Scotland, as working at Ropp Tin Mines, Ropp, on the Jos Plateau in Bukuru, Northern Nigeria. The Bulletins of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy for 1946-1947 report that Lt Col H H W Boyes arrived from Northern Nigeria and was appointed as Officer for West Africa (Bulletin 478); and that he later returned to Northern Nigeria (Bulletin 481).//