14964, Private, William Henry BURRELL
Aged 23
|
Born in Newmarket in Q1-1894, as Henry William [Newmarket 3b:516], eldest son of Henry and Fanny Louisa BURRELL (née NIGHTINGALE), of 52 Lowther Street,
Newmarket. 1901 census...Henry William [7] was at 52 Lowther Street, Newmarket with his father Henry[40], a stableman born Norwich; his mother Fanny [41] born Cambridge; his sisters Eleanor [13] Ada [9] and Kathleen [1] and his brother John [4]. All the children were Newmarket born. 1911 census...William [17] was a servant at The Stables, Stanley House (Joe Cannon) Bury Road, Newmarket, lodging with Reg and Minnie Osgood. His family were living at 2 Granby Gardens, Granby Street, Newmarket. The Newmarket Journal October 1918 reported that William's brother John Frederick BURRELL was wounded and in No.2 Canadian General Hospital but he appears to have survived the war. William enlisted in Ipswich. |
|
At midnight on October 11-12 the 8th battalion began moving up towards Rose trench, near Poelcappelle on the Langemarck side. This was in preparation for the
first battle of Passchendaele. It was a long march, in pouring rain, and on its way up the battalion was badly gas-shelled. Rose trench was found to be water filled
and the surrounding ground was a swamp, churned up by shell-fire. For the rest of the night the troops had to stand in icy water up to their waists.
Battalion HQ was in the debris of a small building called Pheasant farm which could only be entered by crawling on all fours. On October 12, at 5.25am, a
British attack was launched between the Ypres-Roulers railway and Houthulst forest. An hour later Lieut.-Colonel Hill moved the battalion forward being
directed towards the left corner of Poelcappelle. Between Rose trench and the Langemarck-Poelcappelle road heavy shelling was encountered. The whole ground
was pock-marked with shell-holes, so full of water that men often had to struggle to prevent themselves from drowning. The valleys of the streams were
altogether impassable and the operation was abandoned. The battalion suffered 232 casualties of which 23 were killed. Such were the conditions that only one of these was identified later.
The rest, including William, have their names on the Tyne Cot Memorial. |
click here to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for full cemetery/memorial details