Pte 21832 Samuel Dawson Irwin

• Age: 19
• From: Liverpool
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 19th Btn
• K.I.A Sunday 30th July 1916
• Commemorated at: Thiepval Memorial
  Panel Ref: P&F1D8B &8 C.

Samuel was 4 at the time of the 1901 Census and lived with his parents William 27, a labourer in a glass warehouse, Mary is 26 and sister Margaret aged 1, at 6 Kendrick Street, Kirkdale. Also living with them was William’s brother Joseph aged 22. William is a general labourer.  

Samuel enrolled in St. Lawrence School, Croylands Street, Kirkdale, in the autumn of 1901, having previously attended St. John’s School.  He left school in 1911 when he reached 14 years of age.

Henry Alexander was born in 1902 and Cyril Francis in 1906. Sadly, Henry died in 1908 when he was 5 years old.  

By 1911, the family live at 1 Alexander Square, Liverpool. His parents are both 36 years old and have had another son called Cyril who is aged 5. William is working as a general labourer in a glass warehouse, Samuel is 14 and Margaret 11. Their three children are at school, and the family have two boarders.

Sadly six year old Cyril died in 1912. 

Samuel was employed prior to the war as an apprentice with Ellerman and Co, Derby Road, Liverpool.

He enlisted on the 16th December 1914 at Liverpool, joining the 19th Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment as Private 21832. and gave his age as 19 and born in 1895 when in fact he was only just 18 being born in 1896 and gave his occupation as a clerk. He was five feet four inches tall, weighed 108 lbs with a 34 inch chest. He named his father as next of kin at 1 Alexander Square.

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 29th April 1915, the day before all four of the Liverpool Pals Battalions left via Prescot Station he was posted to K.L.R. City Depot, 22nd Battalion.

On 10th August 1915 he was confined to barracks for two days due to him "coming on parade buttons not cleaned".

His parents had another son, William Francis, born on 29th August 1915, when Samuel was in training.

He embarked for France on the 08th March 1916 via Folkestone and arrived at Etaples on 9th March.

He arrived at the front on 29th March 1916.

He was serving in the 19th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private No 21832 when he was involved in the action at Guillemont on 30th July 1916 during the Somme Offensive, and was killed in action, aged 19.

19^th Battalion Diary 

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.     

Samuel was initially reported as Wounded, and his name appeared in the local paper among K.L.R. casualties on 11th September 1916.  On 30th September he was listed as Wounded and Missing.

He earned his two medals. 

His anguished mother contacted the British Red Cross on 07th September 1916 seeking information on Samuel, of A Company, 1st Platoon.  

His family must have only been advised of Samuel's confirmation of death in the following May as they put a notice in the Liverpool Daily Post on 12th May 1917:

IRWIN – July 30th 1916, previously reported wounded and missing, now reported killed in action on that day, Private Samuel (Sam) Irwin K.L.R. the dearly loved eldest and only son of W. And M. Irwin, 1 Alexander Square, Stanley Park, Liverpool.

Another notice appeared in the Liverpool Evening Express on 23rd May 1917

Pte. Samuel D. Irwin, K.L.R., age 19 years, previously reported wounded and missing on July 30th, 1916, is now officially reported killed in action on that date. Before joining the "Pals" on the outbreak of war he was an apprentice at Ellermans and Co., Derby-road. He was the eldest and only son, and resided with his parents at 1, Alexander-sq., Stanley Pk., Kirkdale.

Sam's body was not recovered from the battlefield or was subsequently lost and he is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme.

The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916. 

On 01st August 1932 the Prince of Wales and the President of France inaugurated the Thiepval Memorial in Picardy. The inscription reads: “Here are recorded the names of officers and men of the British Armies who fell on the Somme battlefields between July 1915 and March 1918 but to whom the fortune of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death.”

His Army pay of £3 6s 9d and a War Gratuity of £7 went to his mother, who was awarded a pension of 8/- a week from June 1917. 

On the 25th August 1917 his mother received Sam’s razor and handkerchief which was all the possessions he left.

His parents suffered another loss six months after Samuel’s death when the last of their four sons William died at 16 months, leaving Margaret as the only one of their five children to survive.

Two years after he was reported missing, in 1918 his mother contacted the International Red Cross, hoping Samuel had been taken prisoner, but was notified in a reply dated 16th August 1918 that they held no information on her son.

In 1939 his parents were still at 1 Alexander Square. His father, 67, was working as a lead light cementer, his mother was 66. His sister Margaret became a nurse and appears not to have married. 

His father died in 1949 aged 77, and his mother in 1965 at the age of 92, having outlived Samuel by nearly 50 years. 

Sam is also remembered on the following Memorials:

St John the Evangelist Church in Kirkdale

St. Lawrence School, Kirkdale.

We currently have no further information on Samuel Dawson Irwin. If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.