Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Poperinghe New Military Cemetery | I. F. 16. | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.124 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 8A GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
Son of Dr. and Mrs. Habershon, of 88, Harley St., London.Education & Career :
Kenneth and this elder brother Captain Leonard Osborne Habershon (F, 1907-1912 East Yorkshire Regiment, who fell on November 18th 1916) both went to Wnchester.
They both entered Mr. Blore's House from Mr. H Bull's school at Farnborough. In his last year Kenneth was Head of his House, in Senior Division of Sixth Book and captain of O.T.H. VI; was also in Association XI and twelfth man for Lords in 1908.
After three years up at New College he went to Canada and was in business at Winnipeg when war broke out.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 12th (Service) Battalion The Rifle Brigade |
12th (Service) Battalion Formed at Winchester in September 1914 as part of K2 and attached to 60th Brigade in 20th (Light) Division. Moved to Blackdown, going on in February 1915 to Witley and then in April to Larkhill. 22 July 1915 : landed at Boulogne. |
| Action : Actions in Spring 1916 |
Actions in Spring 1916 covers a number of non specific actions on the Western Front in the period February to the end of June 1916. Much of this period concerned the build up to the Battle of the Somme, particularly the acclimatisation of the Service Battalions (Kitchener Volunteers) to trench routine. As the Battle of the Somme occupied the plans for 1916 no significant efforts were made in other sectors. Many of the casualties could be considered 'routine'. During the period December to June 1916 5845 British soldiers died in 'minor trench operations'.
Detail :
War Record of the 12th (Service) Battalion 1916: From the 5th to the 8th January, the Battalion was in the line and on the 11th marched to Sailly and the next day to billets near Strazeele. On the 22nd it marched to neighbourhood of Steenvoorde. 5th February - The Battalion marched to camp near Poperinghe and on the 11th moved to the neighbourhood of Brielen and took over trenches from the 9th Battalion K.R.R.C.. The line consisted of isolated pieces of trench, the distances between varying from 40 yards to 300 yards. All were in a very wet and bad state and the wire in front was practically non-existent. There were no communication trenches and it was impossible to get to any of the trenches except in the dark. There were five bridges across the canal but only one was of any use and all were under fire of the enemy. While the Battalion was in the act of taking over, the Germans attacked but were repulsed. They however inflicted considerable casualties, Captain K.R. Habershon being killed, Captain G.F. Finch, 2nd Lieutenants S.L. Gribble and G.H. Palmer wounded, and 22 other ranks killed, 88 wounded and 39 missing. Captain HABERSHON was one of 58 members of APOLLO LODGE No 357 who fell in the Great War.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Apollo University No. 357 E.C. | Oxfordshire |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
1st June 1909 | - | - |
From the contribution register of the Lodge it shows that Kenneth Habershon was not passed or raised. The register of 1910-21 shows that he also resigned "8.1.10". He cannot be found as a member of any other lodge.
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley