Liverpool & South West Lancashire FHS - Forum

My grandee Harriett 14, has to write an essay about a battle in WW1 using a fictional person.
We've had a good chat, most of the class are doing Gallilopi. I've suggested we look at the Kings Lpool Regiment and she's very happy about that, knowing her heritage.
Please can you suggest an important battle for our regiment?
She needs to know weapons from both sides, life in the trenches, well we all know how awful that was.
I asked her would she like her hero to have died and she said yes, that's the whole point of giving his life for all of us......she surprised me when she said "you're never dead if someone remembers"....
So we need to find him in CWGC.
I'm hoping you blokes can help me out here.
ps I'm away from Fri till Monday arvo

You've brought up that girl well Tina, she has a lovely attitude.

What a brill thing for your g.dtr to do. Just googled ww1 Kings Liverpool regiment battles and got loads of hits, biographies et al. These are just a few of those that should be useful.

http://www.ww1photos.com/KingsLiverpoolRegt.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King's_Reg ... Liverpool)
http://www.ww1battlefields.co.uk/flanders/hooge.html
http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forum ... pic=109653

Wishing Harriet success in the project...

I have loads of letters sent home describing the conditions in the trenches etc let me know what battle and I'll see what I can send.

this was the battle my grandad died in. at least presumed dead

LEE, WILLIAM 858 Sergeant
1/7th Battalion King's Liverpool Regiment
Born: North Meols
Lived and enlisted: Southport
Killed in action F&F 16-5-1915
Commemorated on the following memorials:
St. Marie's Church War Memorial, Southport.
Le Touret Memorial, France.
Information from the Southport Visiter 3- 12-1916 (no photo):
"MISSING SINCE FESTUBERT BATTLE"
Sergeant Lee was the husband of Mrs. Lee, of 26 Thornton Rd. With his battalion he took part in the famous charge at Festubert, and since then nothing was seen or heard of him. In civilian life he followed the trade of painting, but had always had a tendency towards army life. He took part in the South African War and was invalided home through an attack of enteric fever. At that time he was a corporal in the 3rd VB. K.L.R. He was about 40 years of age and left a family of four young children.

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The Battle of Festubert, 1915
Forming part of French Commander-in-Chief Joseph Joffre's Artois Offensive in the spring of 1915 - his second large-scale infantry assault following the Champagne Offensive in December 1914 - the Battle of Festubert, in the Ypres Salient, was fought by the Allies (British, Canadian and Indian troops) against the Germans from 15-27 May 1915.
Many of the men who died in the attack and subsequent holding of captured positions at Festubert have no known grave today: most are commemorated on the Memorial to the Missing at nearby Le Touret.

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1/7th Battalion August 1914 : in Bootle, Liverpool. Part of Liverpool Brigade, West Lancs Division.
8 March 1915 : landed at (Le) Havre.
8 March 1915 : attached to 6th Brigade, 2nd Division <2div.htm>.
4 September 1915 : transferred to 5th Brigade, 2nd Division <2div.htm>.
11 November 1915 : transferred to 22nd Brigade, 7th Division <7div.htm>.
7 January 1916 : transferred to 165th Brigade, 55th Division. <55div.htm>
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REGIMENT PANEL No NAMES
King's Liverpool Regiment 6, 7 & 8 463
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FESTUBERT
One of the forgotten battles of the Great War, the main fighting for Festubert took place between 15th – 25th May 1915. The initial fighting involved a night attack on the 15th/16th May at 11.30pm when units of the 2nd Division attacked on a 1,300 yard front, with elements of the Indian Corps on their flank. Initially this was successful, and 300 yards of No Man’s Land was crossed by the 2nd Division with few casualties, although the commander of the 1st King’s Royal Rifle Corps was mortally wounded. The fighting around Festubert continued, Canadian troops becoming involved in a position know afterwards as ‘Canadian Orchard’. In an action fought here on 16th May 1915, a Victoria Cross was won by L/Cpl J.Tombs of the 1/King’s Liverpool Regiment. His citation reads:
On 16 May 1915 near Rue du Bois, France, Lance-Corporal Tombs, on his own initiative, crawled out repeatedly under very heavy shell and machine-gun fire to bring in wounded men who were lying about 100 yards in front of our trenches. He rescued four men, one of whom he dragged back by means of a rifle sling placed round his own neck and the man's body.
During the May 1915 Battle of Festubert the following casualties had occurred among the units involved in the battle:
OFFICERS OTHER RANKS
UNIT KILLED WOUNDED MISSING KILLED WOUNDED MISSING
2nd Division 46 120 12 536 3,725 1,006
7th Division 57 98 12 674 2,628 654
47th Division 26 138 2 207 1,387 595
1st Canadian Division 25 70 2 356 1,536 215
Meerut Division (British) 29 38 3 103 766 123
Meerut Division (Indian) 2 30 - 91 1,203 134

Thank you everyone for great replies.
Harriett has decided her soldier is a private not an officer. She will choose his name.
He died in France. He was a hero...saving his best friend and got a bravery medal after his death.
No girlfriend just letters to his Mother, born in Liverpool enlisted as soon as war broke out and lied about his age.
She would like his memorial listed at the Town Hall.
Not much to ask ......
HELP@@