Second Lieutenant Thomas Rathesay CONNING, MC, who was killed in action on the 27th May 1917 serving with the 2nd Royal Welsh Fusiliers, was one of several of the battalion’s officers who spent an evening of recreation in Amiens while the unit was still on the Somme. Part of that excursion involved a decent bath followed by dinner at the Restaurant Godbert. One of the […]
Archive | Arras South
“Another veteran of the Messina earthquake” – Arras South – Page 239
Italy is no stranger to earthquakes, but the first time I became aware of the Messina quake, which struck at around 5.20 a.m. on the 28th December 1908, was while researching Warlincourt Halte British Cemetery. The entry in the CWGC register for Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Arnold LLOYD-JONES, DSO, Royal Army Medical Corps, notes that he held the Italian […]
“Going overdrawn – one man’s account” – Arras South – Page 274
One of the many interesting characters in ‘Arras South’ is Company Serjeant-Major Frederick William WATSON, 5th King’s Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry), who fell in action on the 27th August 1918. The CWGC register for Gomiecourt South Cemetery shows a bar to his Distinguished Conduct Medal, in addition to the Military Cross, despite the fact that nobody to date seems to […]
Some issues regarding the Military Cross – Arras South
One of the decisions I had to make when writing all three “Visiting the Fallen” titles was whether to include awards and citations of the Military Cross. My first thoughts were that it would prove too time consuming and that I should only include those recipients to whom one or more bars were awarded. It was only about two years into the […]