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Grave in Somer Farm Cemetery of No R/30274 Rifleman Richard William Smith, Kings Royal Rifle Corps killed in action 30th August 1917 aged 30 years. Headstone bears inscription “He died at his post and is never forgotten by his mother wife and children and all who miss him.” Born Bethnal Green, Middlesex, enlisted Whitehall Middx resident Barking Essex.
Spy Communal Cemetery
Spy is a village West of Namur in Belgium and on the N912 near the larger village of Jemeppe sur Sambre. There is only one Commonwealth burial.
Grave in Spy Communal Cemetery of No. 20163 Private Harry Upex 6th Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment died on the 26th November 1918.
The Cause of Death is certified as Pneumonia.
Harry was the eldest son of John and Louisa Jane Upex . He was born in 1891 and in 1901 was living with his parents and 2 sisters and 3 brothers at 17 Robinsons Yard Warmington, a village between Oundle and Peterborough in Northamptonshire. In 1911 the family remained almost certainly at the same 7 roomed property in Warmington which may have been “tied” to John Upex’s job as a Farm Labourer. Harry aged 20 was working as a Contractors Labourer whilst John William Upex was 18 and employed like his father as a Farm Labourer as was the next brother Arthur 16. His younger brother John William Upex was killed in action on the 20th October 1917 but has no known grave and is commemorated on the Memorial to the Missing in Tyne Cot Cemetery.
Harry enlisted in Coventry.
The Battalion landed in France on the 26th July 1915 as part of 54th Brigade, 18th Division, the other battalions in the Brigade being the 11th Royal Fusiliers, 7th Bedfordshire Regiment and 12th Middlesex Regiment.
Private Harry Upex landed in France on the 20th October 1915 joining the Battalion in the Somme sector in the area of Meaulte/south of Fricourt.
For the history of the Battalion in the period up to the German Spring Offensive in March 1918 see the record of Private John Upex referred to above.
The Division remained in the Houthulst Forest area North of Ypres until February 1918 when it moved south to the vicinity of Noyon 25 miles south west of St. Quentin and north of the River Oise.
On the 21st March 1918 the German Army launched Operation Michael and by the end of the month the British 5th Army had been driven back to the neighbourhood of Amiens. The 18th Division remained in that area, being engaged in the defensive fighting in Villers-Bretonneux and Bois Hangard until the 8th August 1918 when as part of III Corps the Division began its attack towards the Chipilly spur in the Battle of the 100 days which was to end in the Armistice.
On the 29th October 1918 Sir Douglas Haig issued orders for the Fourth, Third and First Armies to carry out a concerted attack in the general direction of Maubeuge and Mons. A preliminary operation to secure Valenciennes was necessary before the general attack could be made and this was accomplished by the 2nd November. The attack of the British Armies was to be delivered on a frontage of about 30 miles from the Sambre and Oise Canal immediately north of Oisy to Valenceiennes and was to be extended to the south of Oisy for another 20 miles by the French. The 18th Division was in XIII Corps of the Fourth Army whose task entailed an attack through the southern portion of Mormal Forest, the forcing of the canal crossings at Landrecies and a total advance of approximately 10 miles. The 18th Division with an initial frontage of 3,000 yards which narrowed rapidly as the advance progressed was to attack through the Mormal Forest towards Sassegnies establishing itself on the canal east and south of that village. The attack was to be made by the 54th and 53rd Brigades and the 55th Brigade was to “leap frog” those two Brigades on the first objective as it was expected that the enemy would offer strong resistance at Preux-aux-Bois.
The 18th Division began its advance at 6.15 a.m. on the 4th November with the 6th Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment attacking north of Preux-aux-Bois and the 7th Royal West Kent Regiment from the 53rd Brigade advancing against the village of Hecq. Both of these villages are on the western edge of Mormal Forest, Preux-aux-Bois being the most southerly of the two. Their objectives were to capture a line beyond Hecq and East of Preux-aux-Bois, 2nd Bedfordshire were to follow 6th Northamptonshire but move to attack the village of Preux-aux-Bois itself from the North. The 11th Royal Fusiliers were to the south of the 6th Northamptonshires and 2nd Bedfordshire and they were to attack Preux-aux-Bois from the West save that a composite company from the Fusiliers, the Northamptonshire and the Bedfordshire were to clear the village from the north.
Under a notably accurate barrage the 6th Northamptonshires and the 7th West Kents made rapid progress in enveloping Preux-aux-Bois, the Germans weak barrage not causing many casualties but German machine-guns on the extreme right enfiladed the 6th Battalion causing casualties and by 8 a.m. the 6th Battalion had reached the line north-east of Preux capturing machine-guns and over 100 prisoners. The 7th West Kents had heavy fighting further north in Hecq where the Germans still held out. The composite company was commanded by Captain Hope from the 11th Royal Fusiliers which captured over 20 machine guns and some 200 prisoners including 5 German officers. The other company from the 6th Battalion made slow progress because of enemy machine gun fire and the Bedfordshire supported by 3 awe-inspiring tanks fought their way into the village to reach the church gaining touch with two companies of the 2nd Royal Munster Fusiliers who had been sent by the 50th Division to help from the south in the enveloping attack on the village. 1,400 French inhabitants were freed from the Germans when Preux was taken.
The advance to the East of the Forest was continued by the 8th Royal Berkshire to the North and the 10th Essex to the South which battalions were leap frogged by the 7th Queens and 7th Buffs until on the ever narrowing front the 8th East Surreys took over the advance entering the Forest about 2 p.m. by a central avenue Route de Preux running north east to reach their objective, a point on the road from Lacquignol (a village deep in the forest) running south east to cross the Sambre River to Maroilles. This battalion was greatly assisted by 2 armoured cars which further demoralised the Germans and a number of them abandoned their machine-guns without firing a shot and ran away.
The advance continued at dawn on the 5th November with the 8th Battalion East Surrey Regiment forming the advanced guard, there was little opposition and by 11.45 a.m. the eastern edge of the forest was reached at a point opposite the village of Sassegnies. Beyond that village were the railway from Maubeuge and the River Sambre, both of which skirted the forest as far as Landrecies which lies close to the southernmost corner of the forest. The previous night all the bridges over the Sambre had been destroyed by the enemy although patrols succeeded in crossing the river over the debris of the bridges. Orders were then received to stand fast on the line of the River Sambre, the 8th East moving into Sassegnies itself on the 6th November and then on the 7th marched back to Preux along roads filled with advancing troops and guns.
On the night of the 4th/5th November troops of the 54th Brigade went into billets among the cellars and broken houses of Preux and then on the 6th November went back to rest at Le Cateau where they were when news of the Armistice reached the troops.
On the 8th November the 8th East Surreys proceeded to Pommereuil near Le Cateau and in this period had 4 other ranks killed and 15 wounded, capturing 10 guns, many machine guns and some 20 prisoners.
After this defeat the German forces had no alternative but to fall back along the whole front and the Allied pursuit only required to be pressed home in order to compel the enemy to accept whatever terms the Allies were prepared to offer, hostilities ending at the Armistice at 11 a.m. on the 11th November 1918.
In the period between the 4th and 30th November 1918 the 6th Battalion had 31 soldiers who died.
On the 4th November 1918 the following were killed in action:
No. 13336 L/Cpl Sydney Bailey
No. 58759 Private Harry Bowker
No. 58953 Private Frederick Edwin Chambers
No. 58932 Private Alfred Dutton
No. 59511 Private Robert John Easter
No. 30726 Private Frederick Fitzhugh
No. 59478 L/Cpl Ben Hancock
No. 59477 Private Charles Hayden
No. 41860 Private Robert John Hickton
No. 59585 Private Arthur Ernest Homewood
No. 17703 Corporal Alfred Thomas Lane
No. 49037 A/Cpl Bert Minney
No. 20611 Private Sidney Stokes
No. 58658 Private Basil Sturgeon
No. 18510 L/Cpl William Waller
No. 59239 Private William Archie West
No. 204806 L/Cpl William Albert Tarrant Wilson.
All these 17 casualties are buried in Preux-au-Bois Communal Cemetery which records a total of 65 U.K. burials.
On the 4th November 1918 3 soldiers died of wounds.
No. 59525 Private Frederick Albert Ernest Chase – buried in Le Cateau Military Cemetery.
No. 58395 Private Herbert Charles Cook – buried in Montay Neuvilly Road Cemetery, Montay.
No. 27741 Private James Lucas – buried Busigny Communal Cemetery Extension
On the 5th November 3 soldiers died of wounds
No. 59301 Private Arthur Leslie Bodger – buried in Busigny Communal Cemetery Extension.
No. 59299 Private Frederick Arthur Edwards – buried in Busigny Communal Cemetery Extension.
No. 24888 L/Cpl Alexander Mack – buried in Busigny Communal Cemetery Extension
On the 6th November 1 soldier died of wounds
No. 59589 Private Albert Edward Hallaway – buried in Busigny Communal Cemetery Extension.
On the 9th November 1 soldier died of wounds
No. 52146 Private Hartley Birtwisle Thompson – buried in Busigny Communal Cemetery Extension.
After the Armistice another 10 soldiers died.
On the 12th November 1918 No. 14521 Private Robert Edwards buried in Roisel Communal Cemetery Extension; on the 14th November 1918 No. 30243 L/Cpl Charles William Clarke buried in St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen; on the 19th November 1918 No. 45609 Private Charles Alfred Parker buried in Belgrade Cemetery, Namur.
Nos. 47815 Private Charles Wilfred Truelove and 488896 Private William Waterhouse died in the United Kingdom on the 14th and 16th November 1918.
Private Harry Upex died on the 26th November 1918 followed by the death on the 1st December 1918 of Private J T Hudson who died a Prisoner of War and is buried in Niederzwehren Cemetery in Kassel in Germany. On the 3rd December 1918 Private H J Ducker died in the United Kindom and on the 30th April 1919 and on the 6th December 1919 Private T H Gawler and C S M John Coates died both in the United Kingdom.
With the exception of St. Sever Cemetery Extension Rouen, Roisel Communal Cemetery Extension and Belgrade Cemetery and of course Spy Communal Cemetery all of the burials overseas were burials in the vicinity of the fighting in November 1918. Rouen was a Hospital Centre and Base Supply Depot and the Cemetery Extension was begun in September 1916 and records over 8,350 casualties. Roisel Communal Cemetery is in the village of Roisel about 6 miles East of Peronne, many miles South of Mormal Forest. However between the 18th and 20th September 1918 the 6th Battalion was involved in fighting in this area, particularly in the capture of the village of Ronssoy which is about 3 miles North East of Roisel when Lance Corporal Lewis of the Battalion won a V.C. It is possible Private Edwards was wounded in that action.
Belgrade Cemetery is located in the commune of St. Servais to the west of Namur in Belgium. Namur was attacked by the Germans on the 20th August 1914, the forts were destroyed by heavy artillery and at midnight on the 23rd /24th August 1914 the garrison was evacuated, the town then remaining in German hands until the end of the war. Belgrade Cemetery contains 249 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, most of them dating from the eleven months when casualty clearing stations were then posted to Namur after the Armistice.
Busigny is a village about 6 miles south west of Le Cateau and was captured on the 9th October 1918 in the advance to Victory. At the date of the Armistice there were three Casualty Clearing Stations at Busigny, including No. 48. After the Armistice units of the Fourth Army occupied the liberated territory in Belgium with HQ at Namur. New positions were taken up by the Casualty Clearing Stations and No. 48, was moved North and based at Namur.
Private Harry Upex may well have been involved in the fighting on the 4th November 1918 but was a victim of the influenza pandemic.
In June 1918 influenza began its epidemic and then pandemic course. Influenza is an acute infectious disease of sudden onset caused by a virus of which there are at least 3 types.It was identified in India and Britain and in July 1918 700 Londoners died in a week. The epidemic abated but in the Autumn returned as a pandemic. On October the 15th it was announced 1,500 Berliners had died of the disease, in Bombay more than a thousand Indians died and in London the toll was 2,225 deaths.
The United States lost a total of about 48,000 from military action in the Great War but 62,000 died from influenza.
The disease was identified on the Western Front in late June 1918 soldiers complaining of sore throats, headaches and loss of appetite but recovery was usually rapid and it was called the 3 day fever.
Later in the year the symptoms became much more severe, with about a fifth of those affected rapidly developing broncho- pneumonia or septicaemic blood poisoning and a large percentage of these men died.
Private Upex almost without doubt caught the influenza virus and with more severe symptoms was taken to a Casualty Clearing Station probably No. 48 which was later posted to the Namur area and when he died on the 26th November 1918 he was buried in Spy Communal Cemetery, Private Parker who had died 7 days before being buried in Belgrade Cemetery. Spy is under 2 miles West of St. Servais.
In 1921 His Majesty’s Stationery Office published, on behalf of and by authority of the War Office, lists of the officers and other ranks who gave their lives in the Great War. The original volumes represented a regiment subdivided into battalions. Against each name is noted how the casualty died, killed in action, died of wounds or died, the last being an indication that he was not the casualty of direct or indirect fighting but for example died from an accident or disease.
The entries for both Private Parker and Private Upex is “Died.”
The original medal index cards were produced in a number of variations by the Army Medal Office and include names, regiments and medals to which the soldier was entitled and the first operational theatre the soldier served in and the date of entry to that theatre but this information is not normally found after January 1916. Other important remarks may appear, for example that he was killed in action or died of wounds.
The Card for Private Parker records the award of the Victory and British War Medal and the 1915 Star and that he landed in France on the 14th November 1915. That for Private Upex has a note Died of Wounds 26th November 1918 in red handwriting like the majority of the entries on his card.
It is possible that he was wounded in the action on the 4th November but later developed pneumonia but the Death Certificate would normally be expected to reflect that.
Private Harry Upex was awarded the Victory and British War Medals and the 1915 Star.
Solferino Farm Cemetery, Brielen, West Flanders. 3 miles NW of Ypres, 2 miles SW of the old German line of June 1917 N of village of Brielen. Records 293 UK, 1 Newfld., and 1 B.W.I. Although the French had a Dressing Station and camp here early in the War the Cemetery was not begun until October 1917 during the Third Battle of Ypres. It remained in use until August 1918. Solferino was the name given to the farm opposite the Cemetery by the French. Of the 295 graves, 100 are men from artillery units, 24 from Labour Battalions of the Royal Army Service Corps and twenty one are engineers showing this area was always well behind the front-lines.
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