Pte 24596 William Andrew Madden

• Age: 29
• From: Liverpool
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 17th Btn
• D.O.W Tuesday 25th June 1918
• Commemorated at: Niederzwehren Cem Cassel Germany
  Panel Ref: IV.K.18

William Andrew Madden was born on the 05^th February 1889, and was baptised on the 10^th in St. John’s Roman Catholic Church, Liverpool. His parents William Madden and Ann (nee Birmingham) were married on the 27^th November 1884 in the same church.  His father was born in Tipperary, Ireland and his mother in Liverpool. Their first born child, John Joseph, died in infancy.  William had two younger sisters, Annie and Catherine.

In 1891 they are living at 40 Lambeth Road, Kirkdale. His father is a waterman (barge). William is 2. They also have a boarder.  

They are at the same address in 1901. His father works for Liverpool Corporation. William is 12, Annie is 9, and Catherine is 5. They have three male boarders.

His parents and sisters are still in Lambeth Road in 1911. His father is a turncock for the Corporation. Sister Ann, 19, is a shop assistant; Catherine is 15, at home. William appears on crew lists (giving his address at 40 Lambeth Road) in 1912 as an assistant cook on the “Lake Champlain”, which was a steamship operated by the Canadian Pacific Line on the Liverpool to Quebec run.  

His service record has not survived so the dates and details of his service are unknown. We do know that William enlisted in the 17^th Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment as Private 24596, and after training in the UK, arrived in France on 16^th December 1915. William would have seen action with his battalion during the months of the Battle of the Somme, and later at Arras. In May 1917 the battalion moved to the dreaded Ypres Salient and in July took part in the Third Battle of Ypres (also known as Passchendaele). In the New Year the battalion moved south to St. Quentin in readiness for the German Spring Offensive, which cost the battalion many casualties. Then in early April they were back in the Ypres Salient. On the 9^th April the Germans opened an offensive, later referred to as the Battle of the Lys. By the 25^th April the battalion had taken up positions of readiness in the Voormezeele sector.

According to the battalion War Diary, on the night of the 27^th, at 8.30 p.m. they moved to the line to relieve 4^th Bn, relief completed about 1 a.m.

28^th – At about 1 p.m. a company of composite battalion gave way on the left of our line and the Bosche penetrated from the Canal Bank to the left of my battalion front, which position he maintained despite 5 hours fighting. My reserve company was ordered to counter-attack and restore the position at 7.45 p.m. but enemy laid down a barrage at 7.43 a.m. and the counter attack was unable to proceed. The enemy bombardment lasted until 10.30 p.m. and I then organised a defensive flank.

29^th – At 3.30 a.m. heavy enemy bombardment opened, followed later (9.00 a.m.) by enemy attack and our line was forced back to G.H.Q.1 where I organised and held on to the position. The enemy got through on both flanks practically surrounding 2 of my companies. ‘A’ company was actually surrounded and after severe fighting were captured.

The line stands firm and by the end of the day the Battle of the Lys is over.  Total casualties 27^th – 30^th April:

Officers: 2  Killed, 1 Wounded, 2 Missing

Other Ranks: 17 Killed in Action, 80 Wounded, 1 Gassed, 2 Wounded & Missing, 177 Missing

Private William Madden was one of those Missing/Captured.

Information learned from International Red Cross POW records reveals that William was captured on 29^th April 1918 at Voormezeele, shot in right upper arm and left shoulder, he served in ‘C’ Company; his date of birth was 05/02/1889; he was 29 years old and he was a labourer by trade.

He died on the morning of 25^th June 1918 in the POW Hospital, Beyreuth as a result of erysipelas (bacterial infection of the skin) and heart failure.  Beyreuth is nearly 400 miles east of where William was wounded and captured. It must have been an excruciating journey in his condition.  His date of death reported on the German records was officially accepted by the Army. 

He was originally buried at Bayreuth in the POW plot at grave 9672  but was reburied at Niederzwehren. 

The cemetery was begun by the Germans in 1915 for the burial of prisoners of war who died at the local camp. During the war almost 3,000 Allied soldiers and civilians, including French, Russian and Commonwealth, were buried there.

In 1922-23 it was decided that the graves of Commonwealth servicemen who had died all over Germany should be brought together into four permanent cemeteries. Niederzwehren was one of those chosen and in the following four years, more than 1,500 graves were brought into the cemetery from 190 burial grounds in Baden, Bavaria, Hanover, Hesse and Saxony.

There are now 1,796 First World War servicemen buried or commemorated in the Commonwealth plot at Niederzwehren. This total includes special memorials to 13 casualties buried in other cemeteries in Germany whose graves could not be found.

In addition, in June 2018, five special memorial headstones were erected to five Second World War airmen who were known to have been buried in Ohrdruf Cemetery, but whose graves were later lost.

Evidently, William’s family did not learn of his death until October. They placed a notice in the Liverpool Echo on 21^st October 1918: 

 “June 25, died of wounds in hospital, at Beyreuth, Germany, after three years’ active service, Private W. A. Madden, K.L.R., only son of William and Ann Madden, 5 Croxteth Road, Bootle.”

His death was reported in the local press and in the Midland and Nottingham Catholic News on the 23rd November 1918: 

William is commemorated on St. Elizabeth of Hungary RC church, Litherland, and Litherland Roll of Honour.

His father William died aged 58 in December 1915 and his mother Ann died December 1920 aged 59. 

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