Rifleman 16849 Alan Wensley

Alan Wensley was born in Blundellsands, Crosby, in about July 1895, the youngest son of William Walthew Wensley and his wife Ellen Augusta Catherine Bellamy (née Phillipps). Both born in Liverpool in 1855, his parents married in Ormskirk district in 1877 and had nine children. Alan’s siblings were Nellie, born in 1877 in Ormskirk, then his parents moved to the Wirral, where Mabel 1878, James 1880, Albert 1882 (but died in 1884 age 1), Harold 1884, May 1886 and Cyril 1888 were born.  They then moved to  Crosby, where Isabel was born in 1892 and Alan in 1895.  

 

In 1901 the family is living at 40 Rossett Road, Great Crosby, with seven children. His parents are both 45, his father is a clerk for Liverpool Corporation, Alan is 5.

 

His sister Isabel died in 1907, aged 15.

 

By 1911 Alan is living with his married sister Mabel, her husband and two young sons at “Roseville”, Victoria Road, Aughton, near Ormskirk.  Alan is 15, and employed as an accountant’s clerk.  His parents, both 55, with May and Cyril, are living in “Burton”, 32 Cambridge Avenue, Crosby, eight miles away.  His father is a summons clerk for the Corporation.  Three of their nine children have died.

 

Alan enlisted at St George's Hall on 31st August 1914 joining the 18th Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment as Private 16849 giving his age as 19 years and 30 days, and his occupation as a clerk. He is described as being 5’ 5” tall, weighing 109 lbs, with a fresh complexion, grey eyes, and brown hair.  He gives his religion as Church of England and as his next of kin his father William, Cambridge Avenue, Crosby, later changed to “The Bungalow”, Oswaldkirk, Yorkshire.

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. 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. He arrived in France on 7^th November 1915.

His service record survives and shows - 

 

15/4/1916 attached 201 Field Company, Royal Engineers

30/4/1916 resumed duty with battalion

03/6/1916 on leave to U.K.

13/6/1916 resumed duty

09/8/1916 attached to 21st Brigade

31/8/1916 awarded Good Conduct Badge on completion of two years’ service

 

09/01/1917 resumed duty with battalion

03/02/1917 attached 2nd Bn Yorks Reg.

16/7/1917 attached 21st Infantry Brigade H.Q.

06/09/1917 on leave to U.K.

28/9/1917 resumed duty

 

24/2/1918 attached to 21st Bde H.Q. as observer

06/5/1918 resumed duty with battalion

14/5/1918 joined Infantry Brigade Depot

27/5/1918 posted to 2/6th Bn K.L.R. ‘A’ Company

29/5/1918 joined battalion 

 

In May 1918 the 2nd/6th Bn was in the line east of Gommecourt.  The Battalion War Diary records the events of the next few days - 

 

29/5/18 -

Draft of 126 O.R.s posted to Bn.  Draft remained with nucleus party at MARIEUX.  Bn relieved in front line by 2/7th Bn K.L.R.  Relief complete 12 midnight.  Bn went into Bde Reserve. During relief 1 O.R. killed, 1 O.R. wounded. 

 

1/6/18 - 

3:30 a.m.  Enemy raided post held by 2/7th Bn Lpool Reg. in front of Gommecourt.  S.O.S. was put up on both flanks for a considerable distance.  Heavy barrage put down by our Artillery.  A prisoner captured stated about 50 or 60 men took part in raid but that no officers took part.

 

2/6/18 - 

2:15 a.m.  Enemy bombarded sector with gas shells mixed with H.E.

4:30 a.m. 95 O.R.s were relieved by 121 O.R.s from reinforcements from MARIEUX.

5:40 a.m. About 40 shells 4.5 fell in vicinity of ROM trench

4:20p.m. 25 O.R.s reported from reinforcements and joined companies.

 

3/6/18 -  

At midnight our Artillery bombarded enemy trenches in front of Gommecourt for 1/5 L.N.L. Reg. raid. Barrage was kept up for a short time only as raid was postponed at the last minute to the night of the 4th inst.  Slight enemy retaliation.  During the day B.H.Q. was shelled with 4.5s. 

 

4/6/18 - 

1:00 a.m.  Barrage put down by our Artillery for 1/5 L.N.L. raid.

 

5/6/18 - 

10:00 a.m.  32 O.R.s proceeded out of line for 24 hrs rest

 

6/6/18 - 

32 O.R.s proceeded for 24 hrs rest, being relieved by fresh men.

 

7/6/18 - 

Bn relieved by 1/5 Bn L.N.L. Reg.  Bn H.Q. and C and D Coys minus Bn H.Q. and D Coy Lewis Guns proceeded to CHATEAU DE LA HAIE.  Capt. Eccles and Bn Lewis Gun officer with A & B Coys + L.G. of H.Q. + D Coy took over BEER trench and defences of FONQUE VILLERS.  Relief completed at 7:10 p.m.

 

 

As Alan was declared Missing on 8th June 1918, and he served in ‘A’ Company, we can assume that this soldier referred to in the Diary as having been blown up in the trench was Alan.

 

In July 1918 the Lancashire Constabulary’s help was requested to determine the location of his next of kin, and informed Infantry Records that his father was living in Oswaldkirk, 20 miles north of York, and his brother Harold in Crosby.

 

His family made enquiries with the British Red Cross on 02nd August 1918, and again on 20th November 1918.

 

They were still seeking information months after the end of the war.  His brother Harold, at 17 Brookfield Avenue, Crosby, wrote on 15th February 1919 requesting news, and enquiring into the disposition of his brother’s effects.

 

In March 1919 his father, living at “The Bungalow”, Oswaldkirk, near Malton, Yorks, wrote a similar letter, and received in response, ”It is deeply regretted that definite information of some character concerning the fate of your son cannot be given to you.”

 

Alan’s death was later presumed, for official purposes, to have occurred on or since  08th June 1918. He was 22 years of age.

His body was not recovered from the battlefield and he is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial in France.

 

The POZIERES MEMORIAL relates to the period of crisis in March and April 1918 when the Allied Fifth Army was driven back by overwhelming numbers across the former Somme battlefields, and the months that followed before the Advance to Victory, which began on 8 August 1918. The Memorial commemorates over 14,000 casualties of the United Kingdom and 300 of the South African Forces who have no known grave and who died on the Somme from 21 March to 7 August 1918. The Corps and Regiments most largely represented are The Rifle Brigade with over 600 names, The Durham Light Infantry with approximately 600 names, the Machine Gun Corps with over 500, The Manchester Regiment with approximately 500 and The Royal Horse and Royal Field Artillery with over 400 names. The memorial encloses POZIERES BRITISH CEMETERY, Plot II of which contains original burials of 1916, 1917 and 1918, carried out by fighting units and field ambulances. The remaining plots were made after the Armistice when graves were brought in from the battlefields immediately surrounding the cemetery, the majority of them of soldiers who died in the Autumn of 1916 during the latter stages of the Battle of the Somme, but a few represent the fighting in August 1918. There are now 2,758 Commonwealth servicemen buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 1,380 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to 23 casualties known or believed to be buried among them. There is also 1 German soldier buried here. The cemetery and memorial were designed by W.H. Cowlishaw, with sculpture by Laurence A. Turner. The memorial was unveiled by Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien on 4 August 1930.

His parents were so proud of Alan joining the Pals that they had the fact that Alan enlisted in the Liverpool Pals Battalion in August 1914 entered on their record with CWGC.

 

Alan earned his three medals which his father signed for in 1922.  His father received a War Gratuity of £22.

 

The pension card (showing 18th K.L.R.) in the name of his mother, at “The Cottage”, Oswaldkirk, appears to show that a pension was refused. In cases of soldiers missing in action pensions were often awarded later, but the details are unknown.

Liverpool Echo 15th July 1918

MISSING - INFORMATION WANTED

WENSLEY - Rifleman Alan, 16849 A Co., K.L.R. (late Pals), missing June 8th. Information welcomed by brother - 17 Brookfield Avenue, Crosby.

His brother Cyril enlisted on 12/9/1914 in the 2/6th K.L.R., served in France with the R.G.A., achieved the rank of Sergeant, and was demobbed in July 1919.

 

His father died in Yorkshire in 1924 aged 69;  his mother returned to Lancashire and died in 1928, aged 72.

 

Alan is commemorated on the following memorials - 

St. Michael’s, Blundellsands

Great Crosby & Blundellsands Memorial

Liverpool’s Hall of Remembrance, Panel 32 Left.

 

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