Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Heilly Station Cemetery, Mericourt-L'Abbe | II. C. 57. | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.134 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 47C GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 1/Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) |
1st Battalion August 1914 : in Glasgow. 11 August 1914 : landed at Rouen as Lines of Communication troops. 22 August 1914 : attached to 19th Infantry Brigade, which was not allocated to a Division but was an independent command at this time. 12 October 1914 : transferred with Brigade to 6th Division. 31 May 1915 : transferred with Brigade to 27th Division. 19 August 1915 : transferred with Brigade to 2nd Division. 25 November 1915 : transferred with Brigade to 33rd Division. |
| Action : The Battles of the Somme 1916 |
The Battle of the Somme 1st July - 18th November 1916 is inevitably characterised by the appalling casualties (60,000) on the first day, July 1st 1916. Having failed to break through the German lines in force, and also failed to maximise opportunities where success was achieved, the battle became a series of attritional assaults on well defended defence in depth. The battle continued officially until 18th November 1916 costing almost 500,000 British casualties. German casualties were about the same, and French about 200,000. The Somme could not be counted a success in terms of ground gained or the cost, but it had a strategic impact as it marked the start of the decline of the German Army. Never again would it be as effective whilst the British Army, learning from its experience eventually grew stronger to become a war winning army. The German High Command recognised that it could never again fight another Somme, a view that advanced the decision to invoke unrestricted submarine warfare in an attempt to starve Britain of food and material, and in doing so accelerated the United States declaration of war thus guaranteeing the eventual outcome. 287 Brethren were killed on the Somme in 1916.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Sir Walter Raleigh No. 2958 E.C. | Devonshire |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
16th March 1910 | 20th April 1910 | 18th May 1910 |
Henry is listed as a 26 year old "traveller," most likely meaning commercial salesman resident at Plymouth at the time of his initiation into Sir Walter Raleigh Lodge No. 2958 in 1910. The contribution record shows war service on his line entry followed by "Killed in Action Aug 1916" with a further comment "W.S. 1915," taken to mean that from the masonic perspective he was engaged in war service from that time.
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