WW1 Medals Young Wiltshire Regiment KIA Casualty Middlesex Southampton Man

Description: Ernest was born in Harefield, Middlesex and resided in Southampton. He served with the Wiltshire Regiment when in September 1917 he would find himself in Kemmel near Ypres. When on the 20th September the battalion was at Opaque Wood. The battalion formed the right flank in the attack by the 2nd and 5th armies on the Menin Road adjoining hedges having the 9th Welch on left and having the 2nd Bedfords (37th Division) on the West bank of canal on the right. The dispositions of the battalion were as follows D Company right assaulting company, C Company left assaulting company, B Company right support, A Company left support, boundaries between companies the belt running SE by S from Opaque Wood the belt inclusive to left company. Carrying party and Battalion forward command post in rear. The battalion battle HQ on NE side of embankment Battle Wood. At zero hour 5:40am battalion advanced to the attack under a heavy creeping barrage by our artillery. Left front company met with little opposition except for continuous machine gun fire from the direction of Cemetery Embankment. The machine guns appear to be located beyond the objective line and to fire through the barrage. The dugouts in the wood were dealt with 3 Germans being killed and 19 taken prisoner. As D Company on the right seemed to meet with considerable resistance Captain Williams ( OC C Company) ordered his right front lewis gun to open fire on the dugouts. On the left the 9th Welch did not reach their objective until 30 minutes after C Company had began consolidating. To cover his left flank Captain Williams formed a defensive flank and asked for assistance. These ports from the left rear platoon were subsequently withdrawn when the 9th Welch came up. The company reached its objective within 37 minutes of zero and flares were lit in response to aeroplane calls at zero + 42 consolidation was covered by lewis guns and the company snipers who were heavily engaged picking off Germans moving down the railway embankment and also in keeping down enemy sniping. One platoon sniper remained isolated in a forward position from the morning of the 20th but was relieved on the night of the 21/22. Left support company consolidated its section in the intermediate line, several casualties were caused by sniping. The ground was very wet and water logged in places but firesteps were formed with sandbags on different occasions one platoon was moved up to assist with the left company to form a defensive flank before the 9th Welch had come into touch which was then reinforced by a second platoon to operate vigorously against Hessain Wood which was then believed to be holding up against 9th Welch. A battle patrol was then sent out from the company when the barrage lifted. Although it did not discover any enemy on the immediate front of the objective it came across a bombing party. On the 21st this section of the line was harassed by enemy snipers who made communications difficult it was also subjected to considerable shell fire the enemy apparently shooting by direct observation. All officers on right front company were killed attacking their objective there fore the only obtainable information was from their NCOs. On the embankment the attack was pushed well forward and a post established beyond the initial objective this post was held until relief on the night of 21/22 although at times heavily shelled. Touch was kept with the 2nd Bedfords on the right near the canal. To the East of the embankment Captain Langley led the attack South of Graves Copse. After he was killed the right sections of the party took up positions in shell holes South of the Copse and dug in at dusk. The left of the party which had reached the side of the Cemetery found the ground in the immediate front broken and wet and without a field of fire. The NCO in charge withdrew to the North side of the Cemetery to obtain a better field of fire. The movement appears to have been carried out in an orderly manner and a line of post dug on a semi circle the left in touch with C Company but the right flank up in the air although covered to the front by the advanced right posts. The right support company had a short way to go and they began digging the line but it was sufficiently light to recognise the landmarks when it was light the position had to be rectified. Throughout the day they were troubled by sniping from the left front and machine gun fire from the right front. A battle patrol was sent out but came under heavy machine fire and suffered heavy casualties. Subsequently two platoons were moved to the embankment which it was considered advisable to hold in greater strength as it covered the whole of the valley towards Hessian Wood. Carrying parties assembled with loads of wire and stakes behind each of the supporting companies who they followed through but due to sniping and machine gun fire it was impossible for work be carried out in daylight. The battalion lost 33 this day among those killed was Ernest Edwin Young. Included is Ernests Medal Index Card, Medal Roll, Soldier Effects, Transcript, War Diary, Family Grave Picture and other information. 31902 Ernest Edwin Young Killed in action 20th September 1917 6th Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment Remembered with honour at Tyne Cot Memorial

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End Time: 2025-01-04T09:02:24.000Z

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