Sgt 17703 George Gonat Roger

George Gonat Roger was born in Wrexham on 18th February 1886, the son of Louis Roger and his wife Mary Elizabeth (née Nadin). His father was born in Paris and his mother in Wrexham. They married on the 23rd September 1882 at St Mary's Church, Chester and had seven children, all born in Wrexham. George had older siblings Florence Blanche and Eugene Leon, and younger siblings Frank, Lucy (who died at 9 months), Louis Nadin, and Joseph.  

In 1891 the family is living at 6 Roderic Terrace, Wrexham, with four children. His father is 39, a leather dresser, his mother is 32, at school are Blanche 8, Leon 7, and George 5. Frank is 3. 

 

His father died on the 05th August 1894, aged 42, leaving £184-8s to his widow.

 

Approaching the first anniversary of his death, he was remembered by his wife in the Wrexham Advertiser on Saturday 03 August 1895 

Only after his father’s death were the children baptised. On 15th September 1895, when George was 9,  Florence, George, Frank, Louis, and Joseph were baptised together in St. Giles' Parish Church, Wrexham. 

 

His mother remarried Thomas Coleman in 1897 and had two more children: Hilda (died in infancy), and Emily.

 

In 1901 the family are at 3 Trevor Street, Wrexham. His stepfather is 33, a gas main layer born in Oxfordshire, his mother is 39, George is 15, an iron moulder apprentice, Frank, 13, is an errand boy, Louis is 10, Joseph 8, and half sister Emily Coleman is 3.  

 

George evidently decided to change his occupation and joined the police. (His maternal grandfather had been a police sergeant.) 

 

The 1911 Census finds George, 25, working as a police constable in Nottingham, boarding at 39 Cromwell Street.  His mother and stepfather and family are at 20 Edward Street, Wrexham. 

 

At some point after the Census, George moved to Liverpool and joined the Liverpool City Police.  

 

He enlisted on 18th September 1914 in Liverpool joining the 19^th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private 17703. 

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.

George was serving as Sergeant 17703 when he was declared Missing on 30th July and his death later presumed to have occurred on or since 30th July 1916.

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.   

George was initially reported as Wounded but this was updated in the Liverpool Daily Post on Saturday 30 September 1916: 

George's body was not identified until 1931 and he now rests at Serre Road Cemetery No 2, Beaumont Hamel, France. The inscription on his headstone reads:

"REST IN PEACE"

In June 1916, the road out of Mailly-Maillet to Serre and Puisieux entered No Man's Land about 1,300 metres south-west of Serre. On 1 July 1916, the 31st and 4th Divisions attacked north and south of this road and although parties of the 31st Division reached Serre, the attack failed. The 3rd and 31st Divisions attacked once more on the 13 November, but again without success.

Early in 1917, the Germans fell back to the Hindenburg Line and on 25 February, Serre was occupied by the 22nd Manchesters. The village changed hands once more in March 1918 and remained under German occupation, until they withdrew in August.

In the spring of 1917, the battlefields of the Somme and Ancre were cleared by V Corps and a number of new cemeteries were made, three of which are now named from the Serre Road. Serre Road Cemetery No.2 was begun in May 1917 and by the end of the war it contained approximately 475 graves (Plots I and II, except for Row E, Plot II which was added in 1922 and Row AA, Plot I which was added in 1927), but it was greatly enlarged after the Armistice by the addition of further graves from the surrounding area.

There are now 7,127 Commonwealth burials of the First World War in the cemetery, mostly dating from 1916. Of these, 4,944 are unidentified.

The cemetery, which was not completed until 1934, was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

The Cemetery details for Serre Road Cemetery No. 2 are as follows:

 

In June 1916, the road out of Mailly-Maillet to Serre and Puisieux entered No Man's Land about 1,300 metres south-west of Serre. On 1 July 1916, the 31st and 4th Divisions attacked north and south of this road and although parties of the 31st Division reached Serre, the attack failed. The 3rd and 31st Divisions attacked once more on the 13 November, but again without success.

Early in 1917, the Germans fell back to the Hindenburg Line and on 25 February, Serre was occupied by the 22nd Manchesters. The village changed hands once more in March 1918 and remained under German occupation, until they withdrew in August.

In the spring of 1917, the battlefields of the Somme and Ancre were cleared by V Corps and a number of new cemeteries were made, three of which are now named from the Serre Road. Serre Road Cemetery No.2 was begun in May 1917 and by the end of the war it contained approximately 475 graves (Plots I and II, except for Row E, Plot II which was added in 1922 and Row AA, Plot I which was added in 1927), but it was greatly enlarged after the Armistice by the addition of further graves from the surrounding area.

There are now 7,127 Commonwealth burials of the First World War in the cemetery, mostly dating from 1916. Of these, 4,944 are unidentified.

The cemetery, which was not completed until 1934, was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

His CWGC headstone, based on information provided by the family, gives his age as 36.  However, all records (baptism, birth registration, censuses) give his birthdate as 1886 and his age therefore as 30.  The error could be due to a mistranscribing of handwriting.

 

His mother, at 20 Edward Street, received the War Gratuity of £11-10s and was awarded a pension of 5/- a week from May 1917.  

Geoge was remembered on the second anniversary of his death in 1918:

In loving memory of Sergeant George Roger, K.L.R., late of Liverpool Police Band, killed in action July 30, 1916. - Fondly remembered by Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Grandma, and Joe (in France), 20 Edwards Street, Wrexham.

 

His brother Louis served as C.S.M. in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, went to France in December 1915, suffered a gunshot wound to the heel, transferred to the Labour Corps, and was demobbed in June 1919 with a disability pension.

 

His mother died in 1937, aged 76.

 

George is commemorated on the family headstone in Wrexham Cemetery, together with his father and siblings Lucy and Eugene:

GEORGE ROGER, KILLED IN FRANCE 1916 (no age given).

 

He is also commemorated on the following Memorials:

Hall of Remembrance, Liverpool Town Hall, Panel 45  

Merseyside (Liverpool City) Police 

Wrexham and East Denbighshire Book of Remembrance

Wrexham War Memorial.

 

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