Pte 17368 William Henwood

• Age: 22
• From: Liverpool
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 19th Btn
• K.I.A Sunday 30th July 1916
• Commemorated at: Thiepval Memorial
  Panel Ref: P&F1D8B &8 C.

William Henwood was born in Liverpool on 12^th December 1893, the son of Arthur Edward Henwood and his wife Louisa (née Towler). His parents, both from Liverpool, were married in St. Mary’s Church, Walton,  on the 11th March 1888.  Arthur was aged 26, father Henry, whilst Louisa was aged 23, father John. 

William was baptised in the same church on 03^rd January 1894.  His parents were then living at 42 Workhouse Street, and his father’s occupation is listed as painter.  William was the second of eight surviving children.  He had an older brother Arthur, and younger siblings George, Herbert, Ernest, Alice, Alfred, and Lillian.   

In 1901, Arthur and Louisa, with their four sons, Arthur, William, George, and Herbert, are living at 42 Waterhouse Street, Everton.  Arthur is aged 39, a journeyman house painter and paper hanger, Louisa is aged 42. William is 7 years of age.  

The 1911 Census finds the family at 9 Priory Grove, Everton, now with eight children, ranging in age from 2 to 20. His father is aged 49, a painter and paper hanger, mother Louisa is recorded as aged 43. They have been married for 23 years, and have had 9 children 8 of whom have survived.  All eight surviving children are in the household; William, 17, is a tanner’s clerk; brother Arthur 20 is a cotton broker’s clerk, and George 15 is a post office telegraph messenger, Herbert 13 a scholar, Ernest 9 a scholar, Alice 6 a scholar, Alfred 3 and Lillian 2.  

All four of the brothers of military age served during the war.  Arthur had enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery in 1913, and younger brothers George joined the Mercantile Marine Reserve and Herbert the Royal Navy.  

William enlisted at St George's Hall in Liverpool on 2^nd September 1914, as Private 17368, 19^th (Pals) Battalion ("A" Company), The King’s Liverpool Regiment, giving his age as 20 years and 272 days, and his occupation as clerk. He was described as being 5 feet seven inches tall, weighed 116lbs,  34" chest with grey eyes and dark brown hair. He stated his religion as Church of England and gave his next of kin as his father Arthur, at 9 Priory Grove. 

After training locally at Sefton Park and Knowsley Hall, then at Belton Park in Lincolnshire, and finally at Lark Hill Camp on Salisbury Plain, William ships to France with his battalion, disembarking at Boulogne on  7^th November 1915. After a night at Ostrehove Rest Camp, the battalion entrains at Boulogne for Pont Remy and are billeted at Buigny-l’Abbe.  Soon after, they move to Vignacourt, much closer to the front line.  At the end of May they come out of the line and move to Abbeville for specialist training for the ‘Big Push’. At the beginning of June 1916 the Pals battalions take up positions in the south of the Somme line, near Carnoy.  His service record shows that on 13^th June 1916 William was deprived of 4 days’ pay for ‘losing anti-gas appliances’. 

The 01^st July 1916 is the beginning of the Battle of the Somme. William survives the deadly early days but on the 29^th the battalion takes up positions in Maltz Horn Trench for the attack on Guillemont.  The attack fails, costing nearly 500 casualties among the Pals battalions, the worst day of the war for the city of Liverpool.  The battalion War Diary for the day reads:

19^th Battalion Diary 30^th July 1916

MALTZ HORN FARM

BATTLE begun. ZERO hour 4:45 am. The Battalion reached its objective, but suffered heavy losses, and had to evacuate its position owing to no reinforcements.

Everard Wyrall gives details of the attack in his book The History of The King’s Regiment; 

"The 2nd Attack on Guillemont- 29th July 1916 the 89th Brigade the 20th King's were to attack on the right and the 19th on the left. During the evening of the 29th the night was dark and foggy when the Battalions moved off and the 19th with Lt Col G Rollo commanding, when passing the South east of the Briqueterie they were heavily shelled first with H E and then with a new kind of asphyxiating Gas shell which had curious results, at first it had no nasty effect but about 8 hrs later men began to fall sick with violent headaches and pains in the stomach. All ranks had to wear gas masks which in the darkness and mist made the going terribly difficult. It was indeed wonderful that they were able to reach their Assembly point at all. But they did and by 2.45 a.m. on the 30th July 1916 the Btn was assembled having suffered about 30 Casualties on the way up ready for the Zero hour at 4.45 a.m.

It is known that the two left Companies of the 19th under Capt. Dodd and Capt. Nicholson advanced in touch with the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers on their left although they suffered many casualties from Machine gun Fire did not encounter many Germans and reached their final objective about the time allocated, beginning at once to dig in south of the orchard on the South east corner of Guillemont.  

On the left of the 19th the Scots Fusiliers most gallantly forced their way through Guillemont to the eastern side of the village but were soon overwhelmed by the enemy and few returned. 

At 8 a.m. finding that the village was not held the two left Companies of the 19th received no word from the rear or either flank believed themselves to be totally isolated so were forced to fall back and dig in, their position being untenable.

At midday the effective fighting strength of the 19th Btn was just 7 Officers and 43 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.

Casualties in the 19^th Battalion were 11 Officers and 435 Other Ranks 

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. 

William was initially declared Missing and later that day declared killed in action.

Liverpool Daily Post on Monday 18 September 1916: 

Missing. 

King’s(Liverpool Regiment) - Henwood, 17368, W.; 

His death was reported in the Liverpool Echo on Thursday 19 April 1917: 

DEATHS.  

KILLED IN ACTION.  

HENWOOD — July 30, previously reported missing, now officially reported killed, Private William Henwood, K.L.R., the dearly-beloved second son of Arthur and Louisa Henwood, of 9 Priory-grove, Everton.  

Saviour, in Thy gracious keeping 

Leave we now our loved one sleeping. 

(Sadly missed by all at home.) 

HENWOOD — July 30, previously reported missing, now officially reported killed, Private W. Henwood, K.L.R. 

(One of the best. Sadly missed by his sorrowing fiancée Alice.) 

It was reported again in the Liverpool Daily Post on Tuesday 01 May 1917: 

PREVIOUSLY REPORTED MISSING, NOW  

REPORTED KILLED 

Liverpool R. - Henwood, 17368, W.; 

His body was never recovered or subsequently lost as William is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial. He was 22 years of age.

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 parents contacted the International Red Cross in hopes that their son had been taken prisoner, but were informed in a reply dated 12th December 1916 that they held no information on William.

His parents received his three medals and memorial plaque and scroll.  

In the Liverpool Echo, on 30th July 1917 under the heading Lost At The Battle of Guillemont, his family paid tribute to William:

“July 30, 1916, killed in action, previously reported missing, Private William Henwood K.L.R. (Pals), second son of Louisa and Arthur Henwood, of 9 Priory Grove. Saviour, in Thy gracious keeping Leave we now our loved one sleeping. Sadly missed by all at home, also Brother Arthur (in Egypt), and never forgotten by his Fiancée Alice.”

The family suffered further tragedy when George Henry was the second of the brothers to die. He died from disease on 22^nd April 1918 at H.M.S. Eaglet. He is remembered in Anfield Cemetery, Liverpool.  He was also 22 years of age.

William's parents placed an In Memoriam notice in the Liverpool Echo, on the second anniversary of his death on 30^th July 1918: 

 “In loving memory of Private William Henwood (3^rd Pals), killed in action, July 30, 1916, the second beloved son of Arthur and Louisa Henwood, also George, the third beloved son, who passed away April 22, 1918, late of H.M.S. Eaglet.  – Never forgotten by all at home, 9 Priory Grove.”

William was engaged to be married when he was killed.  His fiancée’s family also placed an In Memoriam notice in 1918:

“In loving memory of Private William Henwood (3^rd Pals), killed in action, July 30, 1916.  Never forgotten by Teddy.  Better pal I never had.  Never once forgotten by his fiancée, Alice, and all at 21 Leadenhall Street.”  (Alice eventually married in 1924 and raised a family.)

Only three weeks after placing the notices, the grieving family learned of the death of yet another son, their eldest. Arthur served in Egypt and France; he was awarded the Military Medal in 1916 for bravery in the field.  Cpl Arthur Henwood 690055 R.F.A. died of wounds on 22^nd August 1918.  He now lies in St. Venant-Robecq Road British Cemetery, Pas de Calais. He was 28 years of age and had a fiancée Gert.  

His death was reported in the Liverpool Echo on Thursday 29 August 1918: 

EVERTON M.M. KILLED IN ACTION.  

Corporal Arthur Henwood, M.M., has been killed in action was the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. A. Henwood, of 9, Priory-grove, Everton, was an old scholar of St. Benedict's Mixed School, and was formerly employed by Mr. Stephens, of the Cotton Exchange. He the second son Mr. and Mrs. Henwood have lost the war. 

His youngest brother, Herbert, survived the war.  After his service in the Royal Navy he transferred to the Royal Air Force.  He later married, had a family, and died in 1984, aged 86.

Their mother Louisa died in 1930, aged 64 and their father Arthur lived until 1953, dying at the age of 91. 

William is commemorated in the Hall of Remembrance, Liverpool Town Hall Panel 59 and Arthur at Panel 56.

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