Pte 24479 Nicholas De-La-Cruz

• Age: 27
• From: Liverpool
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 20th Btn
• K.I.A Sunday 30th July 1916
• Commemorated at: Thiepval Memorial
  Panel Ref: P&F1D8B &8 C.

Nicholas De-la-Cruz was born in Liverpool on 14th August 1888, the son of Philip (or Filipe) and his wife Sarah Ann (nee Clarkson). He was baptised at St Thomas' CofE Church, Liverpool on 23rd August 1888. Philipe and Sarah were married in 1883 in St Peters Church Liverpool. Philipe was 21, a mariner and had been born in the Philippines. Sarah Ann was 17. They had four children. Their first child, Philip Newton, died in infancy. Nicholas had younger siblings Harry Clarkson and Isabel, who died at 9 months.

At the time of the 1891 census Filipe and Sarah were running a boarding house at 12 Frederick Street. They had one child, Nicholas aged 3. His father is shown as a boarding house keeper born in 1859 in Manilla, whilst his mother is 23 years of age having been born in Bradford in 1868. Also living at the property is Sarah's younger sister Maggie Clarkson born in 1892 in Liverpool. There is also a domestic servant listed in the household.

His mother Sarah Ann 44 is still running the lodging house in Frederick Street. Living with her is son Harry, 19, a railway goods porter, her niece Jessie Clarkson, 7, from Leeds, plus two children "by adoption", Edith, 17, and Alick Lifstedt, 11, both born in Liverpool.

Nicholas' mother Sarah Ann died on 26th July 1911, aged 44. His father Felipe received his UK naturalisation in August 1911. His papers show he was a citizen of the Philippines previously, and that his parents were subjects of Spain.

A daughter, Myra, was born to Nicholas and Janet on 05th September 1912. A further daughter, Joan, was born in 1914, she sadly died aged 8 weeks on 14th December 1914. A son Nicholas was born in October 1915. Sadly, Nicholas died on 11th May 1918, aged two and a half. Both Joan and Nicholas are buried in the family grave which is situated in St. James' Cemetery, Liverpool, in the grounds of Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral. 

Nicholas enlisted in Liverpool in about January 1915 joining the 20th Battalion of The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private No 24479.

Formed in November 1914 the 20^th Battalion were originally billeted at 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 shipped to France with his battalion, disembarking at Boulogne on 07th November 1915.

Nicholas was killed in action on the 30th July 1916, aged 27, at the village of Guillemont, France, during the Somme Offensive.

The 20^th King’s Battalion Diary records:

“At 4.45am prompt the attack was launched. Unfortunately, a thick mist prevailed and it was impossible to see more than 10 yards ahead. This continued until about 6 o’clock when it lifted slightly, but it was still too hazy and impossible to see what was happening 100 yards ahead. This being so, it was not surprising to find that the attacking waves were experiencing great difficulty in maintaining connection.”

At 6am, Lt. RE Melly, No.1 Company, reported that his men had taken the German Maltz Horn trench.

At 6.30am, 2/Lt. CP Moore reported that he had 150 men, 4 Stokes Mortars and 2 Lewis Guns, but he was the only officer. He also said that due to the fog, both his “flanks were in the air” i.e. he was not in contact with neighbouring troops.

At 9.10am, Moore was still not in contact at his flanks, and now he had only 75 men, he had sent out 2 patrols and neither not returned. Later Moore established communication with the French on his right.

Around 10.00am, 2/Lt Musker reported that he had just over a company with him, but his left flank was suffering from German machine gun fire. Later he reported that he had over 30 casualties from the machine gun fire. His flanks were also “in the air”. No contact was made with this party until the remnants returned around 9.30pm, all runners sent were killed or missing. The War Diary states that this group had: ”held the ground won all day, and this permitted the consolidation of the ground won on the Maltz Horn ridge with little interference from the enemy”.

Relief for 20/Kings had been planned for 11.00pm, but it was 5.00am on the 31st July before it took place, ending a tragic day for the Liverpool Pals.

Casualties for 20^th Battalion were 16 Officers and 357 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. 

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. 

Nicholas was initially declared Missing in Action, his name published in the list of K.L.R. casualties on 14th September 1916.  He was later presumed to have been Killed in Action on or since 30th July 1916.

His body was not found or was subsequently lost as he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial in 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 01^st 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.”  

Nicholas is also remembered on the family headstone in St. James' Cemetery, Liverpool, in the grounds of Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral. 

NICHOLAS
KILLED IN ACTION AT THE BATTLE OF GUILLEMONT,
30TH JULY 1916, AGED 28 YEARS

He is also commemorated on the Memorial at St Michaels In The City Church, Upper Pitt Street, Liverpool.

He earned his three medals.

His Army pay and a War Gratuity of £6 went to his widow Janet.

Nicholas' pension card shows his widow Janet living at 9 Nova Scotia, Mann Island, Liverpool. She was awarded a pension of £1-0s-6d for herself and three children from  March 1917, increased to £1-9s-7d, but after the death of son Nicholas in 1918 the pension was reduced to £1-5s-5d.

His father paid tribute to his son in the Liverpool Echo on 30^th July 1917, under the heading, “Lost at Battle of Guillemont”:

His widow, Janet, remarried in late 1918 to Mariano Faulmino, who was also from the Philippines. They had a daughter, Adriana, and emigrated to the United States with Felipe and Myra, and lived in Manhattan. They had another daughter, Marion and later settled in the Bronx.

Online family trees show that Nicholas' son Felipe (Philip) died in 2004 and his daughter Myra in 2008. It is not known when Janet died (she appears as a widow on the 1950 census).

His brother Harry died of influenza in 1921, at the age of 29.

His father died in 1930, aged 70, and was buried on the 22nd October at Allerton Cemetery. .

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