Sgt 23839 George Frederick Tallis

• Age: 21
• From: Liverpool
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 20th Btn
• K.I.A Thursday 12th October 1916
• Commemorated at: Caterpillar Valley, Longueval
  Panel Ref: XI.B.15

George Frederick Tallis was born in late 1895 in Liverpool and was the son of George Henry Thomas and his wife  Annie (nee Kinrade) who were married in 1885 at St. John The Baptist Church, Tuebrook. 

The 1901 Census shows the family living at 22 Turton Street, Kirkdale. His father, George, is aged 36, born in Egremont, Cheshire in 1865 and whose occupation is shown as a weights clerk, on the docks, his mother, Annie, is aged 35, born 1866 in Douglas, Isle of Man. They have six children in the household, all born in Liverpool; Maud aged 12, born 1889, Catherine aged 9, born 1892, Mabel aged 7, born 1894, George aged 5, born 1896, Charles aged 3 born 1898 and Thomas born 1901.

The 1911 Census shows the family living at 18 Cubbin Street, Kirkdale, Liverpool. His father George is aged 46, occupation dock porter, his wife Annie is aged 44. They have been married for 26 years and have had 9 children, seven of whom have survived;  Maud aged 22, born 1889 and occupation general servant domestic, Catherine aged 19, born 1892 occupation tailoress, Mabel aged 17, born 1894 a shop assistant, George aged 15, born 1896 and occupation junior clerk, Thomas aged 10, born 1901, Annie aged 7, born 1904 and Ruth aged 5, born 1906 all at school. Charles had died in 1904 aged 6.

Prior to the war George was employed by the Great Central Railway in the Goods Department as a Clerk. 

George enlisted in Liverpool joining the 20th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private 23839.

Formed in November 1914 the 20^th Battalion were originally billeted at He arrived in France on 7^th November 1915.Tournament Hall, Knotty Ash before on 29^th January 1915 they moved to the hutted accommodation purposely built at Lord Derby’s estate at Knowsley Hall. On 30th April 1915 the 20th 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 reached France with his Battalion on 07th November 1915.

He had reached the rank of Sergeant when he was killed in action on the 12th October 1916, aged 21, during the Battle of the Transloy Ridges which was part of the ongoing Somme Offensive.

According to the 20^th Bn War Diary, on 10th October 1916 the battalion marched from Dernancourt via Mametz to Bazentin Le Grand where it bivouacked for the night. The next day the battalion moved up to site for assembly trenches, arriving about 11 p.m., where it dug in two good trenches, Nos.1 and 2 Coys front and Nos.3 and 4 Coys in rear.

From the War Diary:

Near Eaucourt L’Abbaye.  12/10/1916. The 4^th British and 6^th French armies continued the attack. Zero 2.5 p.m.  The whole XVth Corps attacked […]  The attack of 89^th Inf Bde was carried out with 2^nd Bn Bedf Regt on right, 17^th Bn KLR on left, 20^th Bn KLR in support, 19^th Bn KLR in reserve.  Battalions attacked in four waves. On the departure of the attacking battalions Nos. 1 and 2 companies advanced, each in two waves, to garrison the front line trench vacated by 2^nd Bn Bedf Regt on right and 17^th KLR on left. On Nos 1 and 2 Coys vacating front assembly trench, it was occupied by two platoons of Nos. 3 and 4 Coys respectively, from rear assembly trench. As the assaulting waves left their trenches they were met by intense machine gun fire, especially on our left. The enemy also opened heavy barrages on our front support and assembly trenches. […] Capt. H. Beckett, commanding No.1 company, reached the front line with few casualties, but Lieut R.D. Paterson leading No.2 company was killed. His company also had few casualties. The assaulting battalions were held up by very heavy machine gun fire, and made little progress.  […] At 4.20 p.m. two platoons, No.4 Coy, under Cpl Brighouse, were sent up to reinforce the left, and No.3 Coy under Cpl Sutton followed at 4.45 p.m.  Battalion HQ moved up to front line at 4.55 and remaining two platoons of No.4 Coy moved up to join Cpl Brighouse. 

Casualties during action: 

Officers – Killed Lieut. R.D. Paterson, 2^nd Lieut G.L. Grennan, Wounded – 2^nd Lieuts A.E. Griffin, L.E. Mclean Hayes, C. Buttemer, Wounded Cpl g. Brighouse.

Other Ranks killed – 20. 

It had rained incessantly at the beginning of October 1916 and the ground was full of mud. In his book ‘The Liverpool Pals’ Graham Maddocks describes the day Herbert was killed.

It was obvious that the Germans knew an attack was coming and from which direction it would be mounted. On the evening of the 11th the 20th Battalion moved up the line and dug two deep assembly trenches behind the 17th Battalion’s position for the attack the next day. The 19th Battalion also moved into its reserve positions known as Flers Trench. Although the rain has stopped, the ground was like a morass, with all the natural vegetation destroyed, it was difficult to tell exactly where the objectives lay. On the afternoon of the 12th at exactly 2.05pm, the attack began along the whole Corps line, covered by the local batteries of the Royal Field Artillery which still had line of sight. As the whistles blew, the 17th Battalion left its trenches to move forwards, at the same time No.1 and 2 Companies of the 20th Battalion moved forward and occupied the trenches vacated by the 17th. As they too went over the top, No.3 and 4 Companies took their place and waited in their turn to follow. No.2 and 3 Companies of the 19th Battalion moved up to occupy the assembly trenches dug the previous night by the 20th.

As soon as the attacking waves left their trenches the enemy artillery began to register on them and at the same time the defending infantry commenced a murderous rain of fire. Those German regiments were trained and experienced soldiers, well dug in on high ground, and for the most part, looking out on uncut wire. As such it was virtually impossible for them to miss the City Battalion men struggling to advance in the mud towards them.

Brigadier-General F.C.Stanley wrote that the Battalions were also suffering casualties due to the short shooting of the British heavy artillery fire. “I know from practical experience that they were our own guns which were shooting, and which were causing us quite a considerable number of casualties. The fault lay at that time from the fact that the heavy gunners would not send their FOO’s (Forward Observation Officers) far enough forward, but were content to observe us from right back”

Some ground was gained that day, about 150 yards, the 20th Battalion were not relieved until 24 hours later causing the men to endure another day and night in the front line trench.

George’s death was reported in the Liverpool Daily Post dated 19th December 1916:

Killed in Action –

Sergeant G. F. Tallis of the Kings (Liverpool) who was killed in action October 12 was in his 22^nd year.  He joined the Kings (Liverpool) Regiment shortly after the outbreak of war and was drafted to France in Nov of 1915.  Prior to enlisting he was employed by the Great Central Railway.  He was very popular and had a wide circle of friends in and around Kirkdale.

George was buried close to where he fell. After the war, when graves were concentrated his body was exhumed and reburied. He now rests at Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval, France.

Caterpillar Valley was the name given by the army to the long valley which runs West to East, past "Caterpillar Wood", to the high ground at Guillemont. Longueval village is on the Northern crest of this valley and 500 metres West of the village, on the South side of the road to Contalmaison, is Caterpillar Valley Cemetery.

Caterpillar Valley was captured during a successful night assault by the 3rd, 7th and 9th Divisions on Bazentin Ridge on 14 July 1916. It was lost in the German advance of March 1918 and recovered by the 38th (Welsh) Division on 28 August 1918, when a little cemetery was made (now Plot 1 of this cemetery) containing 25 graves of the 38th Division and the 6th Dragoon Guards. After the Armistice, this cemetery was hugely increased when the graves of more than 5,500 officers and men were brought in from other small cemeteries, and the battlefields of the Somme. The great majority of these soldiers died in the autumn of 1916 and almost all the rest in August or September 1918.

CATERPILLAR VALLEY CEMETERY now contains 5,573 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War. 3,798 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to 32 casualties known or believed to be buried among them, and to three buried in McCormick's Post Cemetery whose graves were destroyed by shell fire.

Both cemetery and memorial were designed by Sir Herbert Baker.

George is also commemorated on the following Memorials:

Hall of Remembrance, Liverpool Town Hall, Panel 36 

National Railway Museum, York 

His mother died, aged 54, in July 1919 and was buried on the 24th July at Kirkdale Cemetery. .

His father died, aged 86, in the March quarter of 1950 and was buried on the 14th March at Kirkdale Cemetery.   

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