Military History

William was is listed as being killed in action on 4 Oct 1917 and the war diary entry for that day is transcribed below in full.

4th Oct 1917 - near Sanctury Wood: The disposition of the battalion for the attack were as follows: Battalion right boundary Jut Farm ~ Italian left boundary Reutel-Black Watch Corner Road. Battalion Headquarters was in Pill Box at Cameron House, A Company (2/Lt G.F. Clarke) right assaulting companu; B Company (Capt R H Hughendon) left assaulting company, D Company (Capt J N Baines) close support and C Company (2/Lt B Dench) reserve company.

Assembly positions were in shell holes and old trenches 100 yards E of Cameron House. The night passed quietly except for hostile machine gunfire and desultory shelling. 2/Lt G.F. Clarke was mortally wounded bomb machine gunfire at about midnight. 2/Lt G.P. Crouch then took over command of A company.

At about 1.15am Lt Col C B Norton went round the assembly positions and saw all company commanders. At 5.30am the enemy opened a heavy barrage on our back areas and assembly positions. At 6.00am I want barraged opened and hostile barrage appeared feeble by comparison.

The assaulting waves went over in perfect formation but met with considerable opposition from infantry machine guns and pillboxes in W edge of Cameron Covert.  There was also considerable enfilade fire from Polderhoek Chateau. This opposition delaid at the assaulting waves and they lost touch with the barrage. After Serbia fighting the enemy was driven from Cameron Covert and 200 prisoners and 15 machine guns were captured. Three tanks which came up Reutel Road rendered great assistance during the latter stages of the attack.

No further oppositions were encountered from enemy infantry until final objective on Juniper Hill was reached but it was found impossible to consolidate 3^rd portion of objective bowing to enfilade machine gunfire and accurate artillery due to direct observation from the Chateau Spur. The remnants of assaulting companies keeping in touch with the brigade on our left side slipped to the north of the Reutel Road.

From 7.30am onwards enemy barrage became very heavy. No definite news was received from companies partly owing to the fact that the majority of officers had become casualties and partly because runners were either killed or wounded by machine gun and shell fire.

Hostile artillery fire continued intense for 13 hours but slackened off between 6 and 7pm, at 7pm enemy fire slackened somewhat and Lt Col C B Norton made a personal reconnaissance of objective line. He found there was a gap of 400 yards between remnants of our companies in touch with 21^st Division on left and the battalion on our right south of the Reutel Beek. In order to cover this gap all available troops in the vicinity of Cameron House, numbering about 150, were formed up on the line of our original assembly position.

Information was received from 21^st Division that at 3pm enemy were seen reinforcing the Chateau. S.O.S signals were sent up on our flanks at 9.35pm and 12.35am [on the 5^th] but as far as could be ascertained no serious counter attack developed and the night passed away fairly quietly but was very dark. END