Serjeant 64595 Joseph Ratcliffe

• Age: 26
• From: Ramsbottom, Lancs
• Regiment: 15 KOYLI
• Died on Tuesday 17th September 1918
• Commemorated at: Le Grand Beaumart Bc
  Panel Ref: I.I.17

Joseph was born in Ramsbottom, Lancashire the son of Robert and Annie Ratcliffe (nee Ellison) who CWGC have as living at 24 Darwin Street, Burnley. Robert and Annie had married at Bury Register Office in 1892.

The 1901 Census shows the family living at 22, Granville Street, Burnley. His father, Robert, is aged 30, born in Bacup in 1871 is employed as a railway porter, his wife, Annie, is aged 29, and has no occupation listed and was born in Leeds. At the taking of the Census they have four children, Joseph aged 7, born 1894, William aged 5, born 1896 and they were born in Ramsbottom, Robert aged 3, born 1898 in Haslingden and James born in 1901 in Burnley. They also haveAnnie's father William Ellison, a widower aged 88 born in Manchester 1813.  

Prior to the war Joseph ran a Hairdressing business in Oxford Road, Burnley and was a member of the Queensgate Wesleyan Chapel.

He served with the 17th Battalion with the serial number 15197 before transferring to the 15th Battalion of the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry as Serjeant 64595. Joseph was killed in action on the 17th September, 1918 aged 25.

A report in the Burnley Express describes how an officer wrote to his family to tell them the circumstances of Joseph's death:

"He met his death while in charge of a forward post in the front line. A German trench mortar bomb fell close to the post without warning, wounding five men and killing your son instantly"   

The report goes on to state that he has three brothers serving in the forces; James with the King's Liverpool Regiment, William in the Motor Transport Section of the Army Service Corps and Robert in the Royal Navy. 

Joseph is buried at Le Grand Beaumart British Cemetery where his headstone bears the epitaph:

"HE GAVE HIS ALL. HIS BRIGHT YOUNG LIFE THAT WE MAY LIVE. PEACE PERFECT PEACE"

Steenwerck remained untouched for much of the First World War, but on 10 April 1918 it was captured during the German advance and remained in their hands until the beginning of October. The original cemetery (now Plot I, Rows A to D) was made by fighting units and field ambulances in April and October 1918, and contained 55 graves. It was increased after the Armistice when graves were brought in from the battlefields of Steenwerck, Nieppe and Armentieres. Among them were 116 Commonwealth graves from STEENWERCK GERMAN CEMETERY, a large burial ground on the Steenwerck-Trois Arbres road. Le Grand Beaumart British Cemetery contains 553 burials and commemorations of the First World War. 108 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to 12 casualties known to be buried among them, and to three soldiers buried in the cemetery in April 1918 whose graves were destroyed by shell fire. Eight other special memorials commemorate casualties known to have been buried in Steenwerck German Cemetery whose graves could not be found. The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker.

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