Pte 51716 James Frederick Young

James Frederick Young was born in Northwich, Cheshire, in the spring of 1897, the youngest child of Henry Young and his wife Elizabeth Ann (née Hilditch).  He was baptised on 23rd March 1898 in Holy Trinity, Northwich, and was known to the family as Jim. 

 

His father Henry, from Whitchurch, Buckinghamshire, and his mother Elizabeth, from Northwich, married at at St Helen's Church, Witton in 1877 and had 8 children, 2 of whom died young. The couple lived briefly in Whitchurch, Buckinghamshire (per 1881 census), but all the children were born in Northwich. James had older siblings Mary, born in 1878, Joseph 1880, Martha 1882, George 1886 (died at age 1) , George 1889, Ruth 1891, and Amy 1893 (died at age 2).

 

In 1901 the family is living at 3 Waterloo Road, Northwich. His father Henry aged 43, and brother Joseph aged 20 are general labourers, mother Elizabeth A. is 42, Martha is 18, George is 13, Ruth is 11, and James is 4. 

By 1911 they have moved to the Liverpool area and are at 10 Springwell Road, Orrell, Bootle. His father, 53, is a night watchman in a match factory, his mother is 50. They advised that they had been married for 33 years and have had 8 children, 6 of whom have survived. George, 22, works for a rubber refiner, Ruth, 20, is a packer in a match factory, James is 14, and at school. His eldest brother Joseph, 30, a widower, is also living in the household with his two daughters. Joseph is a cardboard box maker for a match manufacturer, Edith is 4 and Ruth 2. They have a boarder, Annie Benson, 17, also a packer in a match factory. 

James enlisted as Rifleman 4845? joining the 6th Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment (Liverpool Rifles). He embarked from Folkestone-Boulogne on 27th July 1916, reaching the 24th Infantry Base Depot on 29th July, he then proceeded to 17th Battalion K.L.R. on 06th August and was posted from 05th September 1916 to the 20th Battalion K.L.R.

James was killed in action on the 12th October 1916 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.

His body was not recovered or was subsequently lost as he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, France. 

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 mother, still at 10 Springwell Road, Orrell, Bootle, received his effects, including a War Gratuity of £3 and a pension of 15/- a week.