WORLD WAR ONE NORTHAMPTON INDEPENDENT SOLDIER NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
LANC. CORPL. Reginald Shrigley
[Above] Shrigley's War Medals, left to right 1914-15 Star, British War Medal & Victory Medal.
From the 12th Royal Fusiliers War Diary written at the time, Reginald Shrigley’s last week in the trenches …
|
SANCTUARY WOOD XE "LOCATIONS:SANCTUARY WOOD" . WARRINGTON AVENUE XE "TRENCHES:WARRINGTON AVENUE" TRENCHES B1 - B4 XE "TRENCHES:B1 - B4" |
Fri |
10 Mar |
1916 |
Snow fell in the early hours of the morning. Enemy artillery active about 2p.m. Over 200 shells being fired in SANCTUARY WOOD XE "LOCATIONS:SANCTUARY WOOD" . Casualties OR 2 wounded. |
|
SANCTUARY WOOD XE "LOCATIONS:SANCTUARY WOOD" . WARRINGTON AVENUE XE "TRENCHES:WARRINGTON AVENUE" TRENCHES B1 - B4 XE "TRENCHES:B1 - B4" |
Sat |
11 Mar |
1916 |
More snow fell during the night. Enemy artillery rather active especially round B2 XE "TRENCHES:B2" . Casualties OR 2 killed, 5 wounded, 7 shell shock. |
|
SANCTUARY WOOD XE "LOCATIONS:SANCTUARY WOOD" . WARRINGTON AVENUE XE "TRENCHES:WARRINGTON AVENUE" TRENCHES B1 - B4 XE "TRENCHES:B1 - B4" |
Sun |
12 Mar |
1916 |
Enemy activity has increased considerably especially over ZOUAVE WOOD XE "LOCATIONS:ZOUAVE WOOD" and its vicinity. Casualties OR 1 killed, 4 wounded, 1 shell shock. |
|
SANCTUARY WOOD XE "LOCATIONS:SANCTUARY WOOD" . WARRINGTON AVENUE XE "TRENCHES:WARRINGTON AVENUE" TRENCHES B1 - B4 XE "TRENCHES:B1 - B4" |
Mon |
13 Mar |
1916 |
A fairly quiet day. We worried the enemy with hand grenades especially in the BIRDCAGE XE "TRENCHES:BIRDCAGE" . 13th MIDDLESEX XE "UNITS:13th MIDDLESEX" took over B4 XE "TRENCHES:B4" . Casualties OR 1 killed, 1 wounded, 1 shell shock. |
|
SANCTUARY WOOD XE "LOCATIONS:SANCTUARY WOOD" . WARRINGTON AVENUE XE "TRENCHES:WARRINGTON AVENUE" TRENCHES B1 - B4 XE "TRENCHES:B1 - B4" |
Tue |
14 Mar |
1916 |
Enemy exceedingly active. His attention to GOUROCK ROAD XE "TRENCHES:GOUROCK ROAD" , CHARING CROSS XE "TRENCHES:CHARING CROSS" and LOVERS WALK XE "TRENCHES:LOVERS WALK" and Battn HQ being very marked. Casualties OR 2 killed, 11 wounded, 1 shell shock. |
|
SANCTUARY WOOD XE "LOCATIONS:SANCTUARY WOOD" . WARRINGTON AVENUE XE "TRENCHES:WARRINGTON AVENUE" TRENCHES B1 - B4 XE "TRENCHES:B1 - B4" |
Wed |
15 Mar |
1916 |
Enemy again very active especially around Battn HQ and LOVERS WALK XE "TRENCHES:LOVERS WALK" . Battn HQ decided to move to WARRINGTON AVENUE XE "TRENCHES:WARRINGTON AVENUE" . Casualties OR 5 killed, 1 wounded, 6 shell shock. |
|
SANCTUARY WOOD XE "LOCATIONS:SANCTUARY WOOD" . WARRINGTON AVENUE XE "TRENCHES:WARRINGTON AVENUE" TRENCHES B1 - B4 XE "TRENCHES:B1 - B4" |
Thurs |
16 Mar |
1916 |
Enemy artillery active all day. New Battn HQ, WARRINGTON AVENUE XE "TRENCHES:WARRINGTON AVENUE" and front line heavily shelled. 2/Lt CAMPBELL XE "PEOPLE:CAMPBELL" wounded owing to the premature explosion of a rifle grenade fired from the frontline trench. Casualties OR 1 killed, 17 wounded, 4 shell shock. |
|
SANCTUARY WOOD XE "LOCATIONS:SANCTUARY WOOD" . WARRINGTON AVENUE XE "TRENCHES:WARRINGTON AVENUE" TRENCHES B1 - B4 XE "TRENCHES:B1 - B4" |
Fri |
17 Mar |
1916 |
Enemy still active. Consett Dugouts shelled. 2/Lts T.M. SHEPHERD XE "PEOPLE:SHEPHERD" and D.W LINSTEAD XE "PEOPLE:LINSTEAD" joined. Casualties OR 4 killed, 6 wounded, 11 shell shock. |
|
SANCTUARY WOOD XE "LOCATIONS:SANCTUARY WOOD" . WARRINGTON AVENUE XE "TRENCHES:WARRINGTON AVENUE" TRENCHES B1 - B4 XE "TRENCHES:B1 - B4" |
Sat |
18 Mar |
1916 |
A quiet day. Relieved by 1st RF XE "UNITS:1st RF" . Marched to CAMP C XE "CAMPS & DUGOUTS:CAMP C" . |
Sanctuary Wood is about 2 miles south east Ypres. The wood was anything but a sanctuary from November 1914 onwards, but the name Tommy gave it early in the war stuck.
Reginald Shrigley was killed on the 17th March, as were three of his chums. Only two of the bodies were identified, the other two are remembered on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing. Eighteen men of the 12th Battalion Royal Fusiliers died during that miserable, wintry week. One death on the 10th was unrecorded at the time, and William Wilkins succumbed to his wounds in hospital at Lijssenthoek on the 16th. His death was also unrecorded.
[Above] Shell holes and trenches in Sanctuary Wood 2007.
Thanks to Barry Fleming. If you have any information on the 12th Royal Fusiliers then please contact him at barry@12RF.org
