Trying to trace memorial

[rikimbo]

My Grandfather Arthur Edward Hughes enlisted under age as his big brother second Lt William George Hughes had joined up and served with 12th Bn The King's (liverpool regt) .

William was KIA on 23rd July 1918 aged 23, my Grandfather informed me that he fought at Paschendale and became a POW working in the Submarine yards of Kiel. I have no information regarding his regiment and none of his medals.

Parents were William and Edith Mary Hughes of 29 Rostron St, Higher Broughton.

As this is a special year an I am interested in finding where the memorial is with his name in his home town of Higher Broughton.

Any other help with info concerning my Grandfather would also be appreciated.

Thanks

[shred]

Welcome to the forums rikimbo.

I am sorry to report that we have not found the name of William George Hughes inscribed on any of the memorials we have covered to date. We shall let you know if we find his name in the near future.

I read your message as William was KIA 23rd July 1918 aged 23. Your Grandfather informed you that he (your grandfather Arthur Edward Hughes) fought at Passchendaele and became a POW. Is this correct?

I ask as William George Hughes did not enter a theatre of war until 20th of June 1918 (as indicated on his medal index card).




I will have a look for any information on Arthur Edward Hughes and get back to you shortly.

Best wishes.

[rikimbo]

Hello, thanks very much for getting back to me. The war graves commission info states that William 'died on Tuesday 23rd July 1918'.I have assumed that he was KIA as my Grandmother always said that they 'found nothing of him, but a tin cup', just made up I guess. The info you supplied looks as though he only survived 4 weeks and assume that he died in his first combat. I am sure he was C of E, I wonder why his name doesn't appear anywhere, he deserves that at least. Where can I get more info on him?

Regarding my Grandfather Arthur, I cannot recall his regiment but I vaguely recall him mentioning Durham Light Infantry and he was a Private. My father ( who trained as a pilot in WW2) put his medals down a grid as a child. My grandfather told me many stories in his later years (early 1980's) when I used to go to see him at his home on Devonshire St. He was taken prisoner and put in the shipyards in Kiel. I would love to find out more info but don't know where to start.

Thanks again.

[shred]

Finding Arthur may be difficult.

He isn't named on the 1918 AVL. William is shown as being with the Officers' Training Corps.

[shred]

Jan 28, 2014 20:09:53 GMT rikimbo said:

Hello, thanks very much for getting back to me. The war graves commission info states that William 'died on Tuesday 23rd July 1918'.I have assumed that he was KIA as my Grandmother always said that they 'found nothing of him, but a tin cup', just made up I guess. The info you supplied looks as though he only survived 4 weeks and assume that he died in his first combat. I am sure he was C of E, I wonder why his name doesn't appear anywhere, he deserves that at least. Where can I get more info on him?

Regarding my Grandfather Arthur, I cannot recall his regiment but I vaguely recall him mentioning Durham Light Infantry and he was a Private. My father ( who trained as a pilot in WW2) put his medals down a grid as a child. My grandfather told me many stories in his later years (early 1980's) when I used to go to see him at his home on Devonshire St. He was taken prisoner and put in the shipyards in Kiel. I would love to find out more info but don't know where to start.

Thanks again.

William was killed in action on 23rd of July 1918. The following is from the Soldiers died in The Great War records:
Name: William George Hughes
Death Date: 23 Jul 1918
Rank: 2/Lieutenant (Temp)
Regiment: King's (Liverpool Regiment)
Battalion: 12th Battalion
Type of Casualty: Killed in action

He may have been remembered on the St John's memorial; The plaque from this memorial was stolen in the 1980's. We believe we have a list of the names that were initially inscribed, but believe that additional names were added at a later date. link
We are waiting for permission to enter St John's to take a photograph of their Roll of Honour.

I shall see if there was an obituary published for William in the Salford Reporter it may give some information on Arthur.

[rikimbo]

Thanks again, fascinating. Is there any additional info you would like regarding Arthur which would assist?

[shred]

I think we have enough to go from. Fingers crossed we find him.

[rikimbo]

Many thanks

[shred]

I am sorry to report that I was unable to find any articles relating news of Arthur or William in the Salford Reporter. I even double checked with a young volunteer who is currently indexing all the legible articles.

We shall continue the search.

[rikimbo]

Thank you for trying, i'll see what info I can find to assist you.

[rikimbo]

Did anyone ever get in St Johns to see the roll of honour

[shred]

No.

I have left my phone number with a gentleman who said that he would ask the church authorities to allow access. Unfortunately he hasn't made contact.

[sphinx]

On 22nd July 1918 the 12th (S) Bn The King's were in the trenches around the coal mines south of Lens. On the night of 22nd/23rd a concerted multi Battalion Trench Raid was to take place intent on gathering intelligence and killing as many of the enemy as possible. 2nd Lt William George Hughes was commanding No. 4 Platoon whose objective was to attack The Fosse. The raid started at 11.45pm and he led his platoon most gallantly and reached  the southern slope of the Fosse when he fell riddled with bullets. An attempt to get his body back failed as he was within a few yards of a machine gun which continued active throughout the night. During one of those attempts Sgt. Houghton was wounded. One man was found to be missing in the morning and probably became a casualty during one of the attempts to get back the body of 2nd Lt. Hughes. Also killed was Pte. 95279 John Edward Chambers, aged 20, the son of John William and Martha Annie Chambers, 138 Margaret St, Ashton under Lyne.

For his attempted recovery of his 2nd Lt's body and the successful rescue of Sgt. Houghton, one member of the Platoon Elija Millett from Oldham was awarded the Military Medal.

Hope the original poster reads this.

regards

[shred]

Sphinx,

I am sure that the original poster will be extremely grateful for the excellent information that you have posted.

Your post inspired me to have another look into William.

I have found the following family in the 1911 census:
Name: William George Hughes
Age in 1911: 15
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1896
Relation to Head: Son (Child)
Gender: Male
Birth Place: New York, USA
Civil Parish: Lytham
County/Island: Lancashire
Country: England
Street address: 95 Clifton Street Lytham
Marital Status: Single
Occupation: Office Boy
Registration district: Fylde
Registration District Number: 477
Sub-registration district: Lytham
ED, institution, or vessel: 2
Household schedule number: 340
Piece: 25388
Household Members:
Name Age
William Hughes 42
Edith Mary Hughes 43
William George Hughes 15
Arthur Edward Hughes 11

Given the above information I managed to find this small snippet:



King Edward VII School, Lytham, suffered the largest sacrifice rate of any public school in Britain (link).The school has a war memorial which William may be remembered on. Worth further investigation!

[sphinx]

Glad to be of help.

regards