Pte 17169 William Henry Bird

In February 1903 when William is aged 9 his elder sister Jessie died, aged 14. 

In the April 1911 Census aged 18 he is declared as a labourer in oil stores at Bibby's Oil Cake Mill. He is still residing with with his parents at 10 Denison Street, Islington, elder brother Samuel Bridgetown 26 and a clerk in oil stores lives with them with his own family, making a total of twelve persons living in seven rooms there. William's siblings are shown as; Catherine aged 24 assisting in the family business, Mary Jane aged 16 an out of work dressmaker, Lilian 14 and Edith Marella 13. William's parents John aged 55, and Annie aged 51 declared that they had been married for 32 years and seven of their ten children had survived.      

 

William enlisted at St George's Hall in Liverpool on 02nd September 1914 joining the 18th Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment as Private 17169. His enlistment papers show that he was aged 21 years and 192 days and was employed as a clerk. he is described as being 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighed 121lbs, with a 35 inch chest and had a fresh complexion with brown eyes and black hair. He stated his religion was Church of England. 

From the 23^rd September 1914 he was billeted at Hooton Park Race Course and remained there until 03^rd December 1914 when they moved into the hutted accommodation at Lord Derby’s estate at Knowsley Hall. He was appointed Lance Corporal on 19th February 1915. On 30th April 1915 the 18th 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. Jusat prior to departure to France, William was promoted to the rank of Corporal on 01st November 1915.

 

After 1 year 60 days training William and the 18th Pals sailed to France on board the SS Invicta arriving at Boulogne at 4.30pm on 07th November 1915.

He remained with the 18th Battalion until his death other than a period of five days in early April 1916 when he was attached to the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment.

 

On 1st July 1916 the first day of the Battle of the Somme begins- The Battle of Albert sees three Battalions of the Pals with the 30th Division whilst the 18th Battalion was part of 21st Brigade. The task was the capture of Montauban known as Montybong by the men.

At 6.30am the artillery commenced an intensive bombardment of the enemy’s trenches. Zero Hour – 7.30 am – the battalion commenced to leave their trenches and the attack commenced. The attack was pressed with great spirit and determination in spite of heavy shelling and machine gun enfilade fire which caused casualties amounting to 2/3rds of the strength of the Battalion in action. The whole system of German trenches including the Glatz Redoubt was captured without any deviation from the scheduled programme. Consolidated positions and made strong points for defence against possible counter attacks. 

Graham Maddocks provides more detail concerning the events of the day:

As the first three waves began to move forward towards the German reserve line, known as Alt Trench and then on to the Glatz Redoubt itself, they suddenly came under enfilading fire from the left. This was from a machine gun which the Germans had sited at a strong point in Alt Trench. The gun itself was protected by a party of snipers and bombers, who, hidden in a rough hedge, were dug into a position in Alt Trench, at its junction with a communication trench known as Alt Alley. These bombers and snipers were themselves protected by rifle fire from another communication trench, Train Alley which snaked back up the high ground and into Montauban itself. The machine gun fire was devastating and it is certain that nearly of the Battalion’s casualties that day were caused by that one gun.  

Lieutenant Colonel Edward Henry Trotter  wrote in the conclusion of his account of the days action:

I cannot speak to highly of the gallantry of the Officers and men. The men amply repaid the care and kindness of their Company Officers, who have always tried to lead and not to drive. As laid down in my first lecture to the Battalion when formed, in the words of Prince Kraft:

“Men follow their Officers not from fear, but from love of the Regiment where everything had always and at all times gone well with them”.    

Joe Devereux in his book A Singular Day on the Somme gives the Casualty Breakdown for the 18^th Battalion as Killed in Action 7 Officers and 165 men and of those who died in consequence of the wounds 3 Officers and 19 men a total of 194 out of a total loss for the four Liverpool Pals Battalions of 257. 

William was one of those killed in action, aged 23. 

 

His body was later buried at Dantzig, Mametz with a CWGC military headstone. 

The village of Mametz was carried by the 7th Division on 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, after very hard fighting at Dantzig Alley (a German trench) and other points. The cemetery was begun later in the same month and was used by field ambulances and fighting units until the following November. The ground was lost during the great German advance in March 1918 but regained in August, and a few graves were added to the cemetery in August and September 1918. At the Armistice, the cemetery consisted of 183 graves, now in Plot I, but it was then very greatly increased by graves (almost all of 1916) brought in from the battlefields north and east of Mametz and from certain smaller burial grounds.

Dantzig Alley British Cemetery now contains 2,053 burials and commemorations of the First World War. 518 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to 17 casualties known or believed to be buried among them. Other special memorials record the names of 71 casualties buried in other cemeteries, whose graves were destroyed by shell fire.

The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker.

His Army pay arrears of £9:19s:3d was sent to his father, John, at 10 Denison Street Islington Liverpool.

On 27th July 1916 his four sisters place an In Memoriam notice in the Liverpool Echo notifying of his death: 

BIRD - July 1, killed in action, aged 23, Cpl W. H. Bird (“Pals”), late of 10 Denison St. (Sadly missed by his four sisters Kit, Mary, Lil and Edie)  

His death was reported in the Liverpool Daily Post on 07th August 1916. 

KILLED. 

King’s (Liverpool Regiment) - Bird, 17169, Corpl. W. H. (Liverpool); 

 

On 29th November 1919 a War Gratuity of £9 was sent to his father, John, at 60 Netherfield Road, Everton. He was also received the Soldiers Effects and was awarded the dependents pension in respect of William.