Sgt 17785 George Harold Barlow (MM)

• Age: 23
• From: Liverpool
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 19th Btn
• K.I.A Sunday 30th July 1916
• Commemorated at: Guillemont Rd Cem
  Panel Ref: IV.L.3

George Harold Barlow was born on 09th June 1893 the son of William Barlow and his wife Mary Catherine (nee Halsall). His parents married at St Mary’s Church, Prescot on the 30th August 1881. William was a clerk of Prescot, father Robert a sadler, whilst Mary was of Prescot, father William. 

At the time of the 1901 Census his parents with six children and a domestic servant are living at 9 Barton Road, Walton on the Hill, Liverpool. His father is a stock broker/agent.  The three oldest sons are working:  William, 18, as a marine insurance clerk, Marcus, 17, is a manufacturing chemist’s assistant, and Herbert, 16, as a clerk to an accountant. George Harold is 7 years old.

Harold was educated at Liverpool Collegiate School and entered the school in 1905.

The 1911 Census finds the family are living at 10 Walton Park, Liverpool. Harold is 17 and is employed as a clerk for a tobacco manufacturer. He is living with both parents and five siblings. His father is a share broker born in Prescot in 1857, whilst his mother was also born in Prescot in 1860. They have been married for 29 years and have had six children all of whom have survived. His siblings, all born in Liverpool are recorded as follows; William 28, an underwriter's clerk, Marcus Halsall 24 is a commercial traveller, Herbert 26 is an accountant, Robert Gordon 20, a medical student at Liverpool University and Agnes Helen 12, a scholar. The family employ a domestic servant.

Prior to the outbreak of war he had been employed by Ogden’s Tobacco Company.

Harold enlisted at St George's Hall, Liverpool joining the 19^th Battalion of The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private 17785. 

Formed on 07^th September 1914 the 19^th Battalion trained locally at Sefton Park and remained living at home or in rented accommodation until November 1914. They then moved to the hutted accommodation at Lord Derby’s estate at Knowsley Hall. On 30th April 1915 the 19th Battalion alongside the other three Pals battalions left Liverpool via Prescot Station for further training at Belton Park, Grantham. They remained here until September 1915 when they reached Larkhill Camp on Salisbury Plain. He arrived in France on 7^th November 1915 and rose to the rank of Sergeant. 

Harold was killed in action on the 30^th July 1916, aged 23, at Guillemont, France, during the Somme Offensive. 

19^th Battalion Diary 30^th July 1916

MALTZ HORN FARM

BATTLE begun. ZERO hour 4:45 am. The Battalion reached its objective, but suffered heavy losses, and had to evacuate its position owing to no reinforcements.

Everard Wyrall gives details of the attack in his book The History of The King’s Regiment; 

"The 2nd Attack on Guillemont- 29th July 1916 the 89th Brigade the 20th King's were to attack on the right and the 19th on the left. During the evening of the 29th the night was dark and foggy when the Battalions moved off and the 19th with Lt Col G Rollo commanding, when passing the South east of the Briqueterie they were heavily shelled first with H E and then with a new kind of asphyxiating Gas shell which had curious results, at first it had no nasty effect but about 8 hrs later men began to fall sick with violent headaches and pains in the stomach. All ranks had to wear gas masks which in the darkness and mist made the going terribly difficult. It was indeed wonderful that they were able to reach their Assembly point at all. But they did and by 2.45 a.m. on the 30th July 1916 the Btn was assembled having suffered about 30 Casualties on the way up ready for the Zero hour at 4.45 a.m.

It is known that the two left Companies of the 19th under Capt. Dodd and Capt. Nicholson advanced in touch with the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers on their left although they suffered many casualties from Machine gun Fire did not encounter many Germans and reached their final objective about the time allocated, beginning at once to dig in south of the orchard on the South east corner of Guillemont.  

On the left of the 19th the Scots Fusiliers most gallantly forced their way through Guillemont to the eastern side of the village but were soon overwhelmed by the enemy and few returned. 

At 8 a.m. finding that the village was not held the two left Companies of the 19th received no word from the rear or either flank believed themselves to be totally isolated so were forced to fall back and dig in, their position being untenable.

At midday the effective fighting strength of the 19th Btn was just 7 Officers and 43 other ranks" 

When darkness fell on the battlefield the 30^th Division held a line from the railway on the eastern side of Trones Wood , southwards and including Arrow Head Copse, to east of Maltz Horn Farm. On this line the division was relieved by the 55^th Division during the early hours of the 31^st July. 

Casualties in the 19^th Battalion were 11 Officers and 435 Other Ranks 

The events of 30^th July 1916 were regarded at the time as Liverpool’s blackest day. There follows an extract from The History of the 89^th Brigade written by Brigadier General Ferdinand Stanley which gives an indication of the events of the day.

Guillemont

Well the hour to advance came, and of all bad luck in the world it was a thick fog; so thick that you couldn’t see more than about ten yards. It was next to impossible to delay the attack – it was much too big an operation- so forward they had to go. It will give some idea when I say that on one flank we had to go 1,750 yards over big rolling country. Everyone knows what it is like to cross enclosed country which you know really well in a fog and how easy it is to lose your way. Therefore, imagine these rolling hills, with no landmarks and absolutely unknown to anyone. Is it surprising that people lost their way and lost touch with those next to them? As a matter of fact, it was wonderful the way in which many men found their way right to the place we wanted to get to. But as a connected attack it was impossible.

The fog was intense it was practically impossible to keep direction and parties got split up. Owing to the heavy shelling all the Bosches had left their main trenches and were lying out in the open with snipers and machine guns in shell holes, so of course our fellows were the most easy prey.

It is so awfully sad now going about and finding so many splendid fellows gone.    

The Liverpool Evening Express of 25th August 1916 reported news of his death and his recent award of the Military Medal:

"Mr. and Mrs.Barlow, of Walton Park, have received word that their youngest son, Sergeant G.Harold Barlow, of the King's (Liverpool Regiment), was killed in action on the 30th July. He had been awarded the Military Medal for bravery on the field, his name appearing in the list published so recently as Thursday last. Before the outbreak of war Sergeant Barlow had been organist and choirmaster at St.Aidan's Mission Church, Cherry-lane, and he was on the staff of the Imperial Tobacco Co., Ogden's Branch, at their Dale-street depot".

A notice was placed in the Liverpool Echo on 28th August 1916: 

 “July 30, killed in action, Sergeant G. H. Barlow (Pals), 10, Walton Park. (A noble end to a noble life.) Fondly remembered by all at 1, Victoria Avenue, Crosby.”

The award of the Military Medal was published posthumously on 22nd August 1916 in the Supplement to the London Gazette.

Harold was buried close to where he fell and his grave marked with a cross (showing rank as Private). After the war, when graves were concentrated, his body was exhumed and reburied in Guillemont Road Cemetery, where he now rests.

Guillemont was an important point in the German defences at the beginning of the Battle of the Somme in July 1916. It was taken by the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers on 30 July but the battalion was obliged to fall back, and it was again entered for a short time by the 55th (West Lancashire) Division on 8 August. On 18 August, the village was reached by the 2nd Division, and on 3 September (in the Battle of Guillemont) it was captured and cleared by the 20th (Light) and part of the 16th (Irish) Divisions. It was lost in March 1918 during the German advance, but retaken on 29 August by the 18th and 38th (Welsh) Divisions.

The cemetery was begun by fighting units (mainly of the Guards Division) and field ambulances after the Battle of Guillemont, and was closed in March 1917, when it contained 121 burials. It was greatly increased after the Armistice when graves (almost all of July-September 1916) were brought in from the battlefields immediately surrounding the village and certain smaller cemeteries, including:-

HARDECOURT FRENCH MILITARY CEMETERY. The village of Hardecourt-au-Bois was captured by French troops on the 8th July 1916, and again by the 58th (London) and 12th (Eastern) Divisions on 28 August 1918. Five British Artillerymen were buried by their unit in the French Military Cemetery, in the middle of the village, in September 1916; and in 1918 the 12th Division buried in the same cemetery 14 men of the 9th Royal Fusiliers and two of the 7th Royal Sussex.

Guillemont Road Cemetery now contains 2,263 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War. 1,523 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to eight casualties known or believed to be buried among them.

The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker.

On the anniversary of his death he is remembered in the Liverpool Echo on 30th July 1917, under the heading, “Lost at Battle of Guillemont”:

“In loving memory of Sergeant G. Harold Barlow, 3rd Pals, K.L.R., killed in action July 30, 1916.”

Harold earned his three medals in addition to his Military Medal. His 1914-1915 Star was returned for amendment of rank.

His parents suffered further grief when his sister Agnes died, aged 19, on 10th January 1918.

Harold’s Army effects and a War Gratuity of £11-10s went to his father. No pension card has been found.

He is commemorated locally on the following memorials:

Collegiate School

Orrell FC

Ogden’s Tobacco Company  

Liverpool’s Hall of Remembrance, Panel 14 Left

G. Harold is remembered on the family grave at Everton Cemetery:- 

In Ever Blessed Memory 

 Sergt. G. Harold BARLOW,  

"3rd Pals"  

Killed in Action 

at Guillemont, July 30th 1916, 

Aged 23 years. 

His brother Robert graduated from Liverpool University with a degree in Medicine and Surgery; he was commissioned in the Royal Army Medical Corps, achieved the rank of T/Captain, and survived the war.

Robert’s son, Robert Frederick, graduated from Cambridge, became a surgeon, and served as a Surgeon Lieutenant in the Royal Navy in the Second World War.  He was killed when his ship, H.M.S. Limbourne, an escort destroyer, was hit by a torpedo on 23rd October 1943, exploding the forward magazine. Forty crew members lost their lives. Robert was 24 years old and is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.

Harold's father died, aged 78, on the 21st  August 1934 and was buried at Everton Cemetery on the 24th August. His mother died in 1937, aged 78 and was buried on 07th May.

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