Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Grave: | Zantvoorde British Cemetery | VI. G. 15. | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.138 | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
Son of Jesse and Keturiah Wilford; husband of Lilla Emily Weedon (formerly Wilford), of 3, Police Quarters, Factory Gate, Royal Dockyard, Woolwich, London. Born at Waltham, Leicestershire.Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 2/Scots Guards |
2nd Battalion August 1914 : at Tower of London. September 1914 : attached to 20th Brigade, 7th Division. 9 August 1915 : transferred to 3rd Guards Brigade, Guards Division |
| Action : The Battles of Ypres 1914 (First Ypres) |
19 October - 22 November 1914. Following the failure of the German Schlieffen Plan in August and September 1914, both sides engaged in a series of linked battles as they sought to outflank each other. The climax of these manouvres was at Ypres in November 1914 when the might of the German Army attempted to break the much outnumbered British Expeditionary Force. The political importance of Ypres, being the last town of any size in Belgium that remained in allied hands, established its importance for both sides and ensured a series of battles over four years.
The First Battle of Ypres in 1914 is characterised by a series of linked heroic stands by outnumbered British soldiers in conditions of confusion and weary endurance. The Germans never knew how close they had come to winning - at one point just the clerks and cooks were the last line of defence for the BEF. By the end of the battle the magnificent original BEF, composed of professional regular soldiers, had been all but destroyed and already the Territorial battalions were called into battle. From the end of 1914 a 'Regular' battalion was in terms of its compostion little different to a Teritorial or later Service Battalion. The professional soldiers had all but vanished.
Detail :
WILFORD, Herbert, Company Sergeant Major, 2/Scots Guards, G Coy 26th October1914 - The defence of the Ypres perimeter Quite early in the day the trenches of the two Companies of the 2/Scots Guards holding the apex of the salient - these companies had taken part in the counter attack on the village (Kruiseecke) on the previous night- were completely destroyed and many men were buried and had to be dug out, whilst others were suffocated. The Germans managed to infiltrate through the British lines and the Scots Guards were cut off but were told to hold their position at all costs. Their sacrifice allowed the Grenadier Guards to slip away and reform. The Germans captured 9 officers and 300 O/R's of 2/Scots Guards as they defended a hopeless position. CSM Herbert WILFORD was killed in this action.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Beach No. 2622 E.C. | London |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
21st January 1913 | 8th April 1913 | 18th May 1913 |
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