Royal Welsh Fusiliers - Roll of Honour of Officers of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers Who Died in the Great War Whilst Serving With 1/4th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers TF

No	Date Died	Surname	Forenames	Rank	Decs	Age	Cause	Country	Location/Sector	Cemetery/Memorial	Notes
Died in 1915
1	26th January	HUGHES	John Arthur	Lt	MiD	27	DOW	France	CCS at Bethune	Bethune Town Cemetery (II.B.6)	(1)
2	9th May	CROOM-JOHNSON	Brian	Lt	-	24	KIA	France	Near Richebourg-L'Avoue	Le Touret Memorial (Panel 13/14)	1/p205
3	9th May	HAZLEDINE	John Turner Clough	2Lt	-	39	KIA	France	Near Richebourg-L'Avoue	Rue des Berceaux Military Cemetery (II.D.33)	1/p205
4	9th May	FRANCE-HAYHURST	Frederick Charles	Lt Col	-	43	KIA	France	Near Richebourg-L'Avoue	Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery (XXVIII.B.20)	1/p205 (2)
5	10th May	EVANS	John Eric	Capt	-	24	DOW	France	CCS at Bethune	Bethune Town Cemetery (II.G.5)	(3)
6	5th October	DAVIES	Reginald Percy	2Lt	-	30	DOW	France	CCS at Labourse	Labourse Communal Cemetery (B.1)	(4)
Died in 1916
7	25th September	EVANS	Francis Graham	Lt	-	23	DOI	UK	Hospital at Liverpool	St George (St George Churchyard) (I.1.79)	(5)
Died 1917
8	23rd July	MORRIS	Tom Bernard	Lt	MiD	23	DOW	Belgium	CCS at Lijssenthoek	Lijssthenhoek Military Cemetery (XIV.A.2)	(6)
Died in 1918
9	23rd March	QUICKE	Henry	2Lt	-	21	KIA	France	Near Equancourt	Arras Memorial (Bay 6)	3/p119
10	23rd March	ROBERTS	John William	2Lt	-	27	KIA	France	Near Equancourt	Arras Memorial (Bay 6)	3/p119
11	25th March	MINSHALL	Thomas Charles Wynne	Capt	-	29	DOW	France	CCS west of Fricourt Wood	Gordon Dump Cemetery (III.I.7)	(7)
12	6th April	AXTENS	Harold Surridge	Lt	-	33	KIA	France	Near Aveluy Wood, Somme	Martinsart British Cemetery (I.F.6)	3/p128
13	6th April	EVANS	Robert Cecil	Lt	-	24	KIA	France	Near Aveluy Wood, Somme	Martinsart British Cemetery (I.F.5)	3/p128
14	6th April	HOWARD	John Brereton	Capt	-	22	DOW	France	DS west of Aveluy Wood, Somme	Martinsart British Cemetery (I.H.30)	3/p128
15	6th April	JONES	Thomas Esmor	Lt	-	21	KIA	France	Near Aveluy Wood, Somme	Pozieres Memorial (Panels 36/37)	3/p128
16	6th April	JONES	Wilfrid Griffith	Lt	-	31	KIA	France	Near Aveluy Wood, Somme	Martinsart British Cemetery (I.F.16)	3/p128
17	6th April	WALSHE	James	Lt	-	26	KIA	France	Near Aveluy Wood, Somme	Martinsart British Cemetery (I.F.42)	3/p128
18	6th April	WILSON	Neville Inchbald	Lt	MC	25	KIA	France	Near Aveluy Wood, Somme	Pozieres Memorial (Panels 36/37)	3/p128
19	6th April	WOODCOCK	Geoffrey Herbert	2Lt	-	25	KIA	France	Near Aveluy Wood, Somme	Martinsart British Cemetery (I.F.23)	3/p128
20	4th September	SHINGLER	John Stanley Marsh	Capt	MC	25	DOW	France	CCS at Dernancourt	Dernancourt Communal Cemetery Extn (VIII.B.14)	3/p191 (8)
Notes: (The numbers marked with a "p" in the Notes column refers to the page within the trio of Books "The Welsh At War" - (Book 1) - From Mons to Loos and the Gallipoli Tragedy, (Book 2) - The Grinding War :The Somme and Arras and (Book 3) - Through Mud to Victory: Third Ypres and the 1918 Offensives, by Steven John, where the death of the officer is mentioned or indicated). 1. HUGHES was wounded at Givenchy on 25th January 1915. 2. FRANCE-HAYHURST was originally buried in a battlefield grave to the west of Richebourg-L'Avoue and reburied in Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery in January 1925. 3. EVANS was wounded at Rue de Bois on 9th May 1915. 4. DAVIES was wounded near Annequin on 4th October 1915. 5. EVANS was evacuated sick from the Battalion on 29th August 1916. 6. MORRIS was wounded in the Ypres area on 23rd July 1917. He had seen previous service in the Royal Flying Corps. 7. MINSHALL was wounded near Contalmaison on 25th March 1918. He was originally buried near Fricourt Wood and reburied in Gordon Dump Cemetery after the Armistice. 8. SHINGLER was born in Australia. He was wounded near Rancourt Wood, east of Combles, on 2nd September1918.

Those Officers of Other Regiments Who Died in the Great War Whilst Serving With

1/4th (Denbighshire) Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers TF

No	Date Died	Surname	Forenames	Rank	Decs	Age	Cause	Country	Location/Sector	Cemetery/Memorial	Notes
1	9th May 1915	PERN	Montague	Lt	-	26	KIA	France	Aubers Ridge	Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery (XVIII.B.32)	1/p205 (1)
2	3rd April 1918	TAYLOR	Herbert Hampden	Capt	-	35	DOW	France	CCS at Doullens	Doullens Communal Cemetery Extn No.1(VII.A.15)	(2)
3	5th April 1918	CHETTLE	Ernest Frederick	Lt	-	32	DOW	France	No.7 Stationary Hospital, Boulogne	Boulogne Eastern Cemetery (VII.B.37)	(3)
4	10th September 1918	MARSHALL	Harold	Lt Col	MC	48	DOI	UK	Residence in Southampton	Throop UR Churchyard (4.32)	(4)
Notes: (The numbers marked with a "p" in the Notes column refers to the page within the trio of Books "The Welsh At War" - (Book 1) - From Mons to Loos and the Gallipoli Tragedy, (Book 2) - The Grinding War :The Somme and Arras and (Book 3) - Through Mud to Victory: Third Ypres and the 1918 Offensives, by Steven John, where the death of the officer is mentioned or indicated). 1. PERN was detached from the RAMC as Battalion Medical Officer. 2. TAYLOR was detached from the RAMC as Battalion Medical Officer. He was wounded near Bouzincourt on 3rd April 1918. 3. CHETTLE was detached from the Middlesex Regiment. He was wounded near Bouzincourt on 3rd April 1918. 4. MARSHALL was detached from the Hampshire Regiment. He was appointed CO of the Battalion in February 1918. He was sent on sick leave in August 1918 and died of lung congestion/meningitis at his home whilst on leave.

Battalion History

The 4th (Denbighshire) Battalion TF (detailed history here) was formed on 1st April 1908 as a result of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907, and was based at Poyser Street, Wrexham, under command of the North Wales Brigade, Welsh Division TF.

On mobilisation, the Battalion was moved to its war location at Conway and at the end of August 1914 to the Northampton area to prepare it for service in India but on 18th November it was warned for combat operations with the BEF (it was one of the first TF units to reinforce the hard-pressed Regular British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front). In September 1914, the Battalion was split into two separate units. The 1/4th Battalion was formed from men who has signed the Imperial Service Order and were fit for combat, and the 2/4th Battalion from men who could not or would not sign up for Imperial Service. On 5th November 1914 the 1/4th Battalion was moved by train to Southampton and embarked for Le Havre on HMT "Architect", arriving there on 6th November. The Battalion then concentrated at a camp near Le Havre and departed for St Omer, via Abbeville, by train on 9th November. Billeted at a camp at Heuringhem, south of St Omer, the Battalion went on route marches, practiced musketry, battle and field skills and undertook physical exercise until 13th November when it commenced the art of digging and draining trenches. Intensive training continued until 6th December 1914 when the Battalion marched to Hazebrouck and then on 7th December to Bailleul when it came under command of 3rd Brigade, 1st Division. The Battalion saw action at Givenchy and Aubers Ridge and remained under command of 1st Division until 1st December 1915 when it was transferred to 47th (2nd London) Division as the Pioneer Battalion. Full details of the battles and operations that the 47th Division took part in can be viewed here.

At the Armistice on 11th November 1918 the Battalion at was stationed at Bizencourt, near Tournai. On 13th November the Battalion marched to east to Beclers and was put to work on railway repairs before marching west to Angstaing on 18th November. The Division continued its march westward to the Auchel area, west of Bethune, arriving there on 27th November, when the Battalion was quartered at Rimbert, undertaking educational lectures but continuing military and physical training. The Battalion remained here until 3rd January 1919 when it marched east to new billets at Labeauvriere. Gradual demobilisation began on 5th January 1919 and continued throughout February and March. The Battalion marched west to Calonne Ricouart on 18th March 1919 and 2 officers and 6 men were moved to Dunkirk to join the 26th Battalion. On 28th March 1919 the 47th (2nd London) Division ceased to exist and became the 47th Brigade Group of Cadres. Throughout April and May demobilisation continued and selected officers and men left to join the 26th Battalion. On 10th May 1919 the Battalion Cadre was bussed to Pernes and then to le Havre arriving on the 11th May. The Cadre embarked for the UK 15th May 1919.

The brass “collar dog” insignia worn by men of Pioneer Battalions in the British Expeditionary Force. The design is of a crossed rifle and pick, representing the battalion's dual fighting and labouring role.

The 2/4th Battalion TF was formed at Wrexham on 11th September 1914 the from men who could not or would not sign up for Imperial Service. The Battalion remained at Wrexham until March 1915 when it was moved to Northampton. On 22nd April 1915 the Battalion was placed under command of 203rd (2nd North Wales) Brigade, 68th (2nd Welsh) Division . The Battalion was moved to Bedford area in July 1915, to Aldeburgh, Suffolk in November 1916 and to Henham Park Halesworth, Suffolk in May 1917. The Battalion was finally moved to Yarmouth in October 1917 and was disbanded there in March 1918.

The 3/4th Battalion was formed at Wrexham in March 1915 as a Depot unit for the 1/4th and 2/4th Battalions providing trained reinforcements. On 8th April 1916, at Oswestry, it was renamed the 4th (Reserve) Battalion TF and on 1st September 1916, in the Welsh Reserve Brigade, absorbed the 5th, 6th and 7th (Reserve) Battalions TF. In March 1818, the Battalion was moved to Kinmel Park, Rhyl, and in July 1918 to Herne Bay in Kent until disbandment on 23rd September 1919.

Regimental History

The Regiment was formed on 1st July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms which saw the 2 separate Battalions of the 23rd (Royal Welsh Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot re-titled to become the regular 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Regiment, with the Regimental Depot based at Hightown Barracks, Wrexham.

The 1881 reforms also redesignated the Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVC) and Militia units within the Regimental District of Anglesey, Carnarvonshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Merionethshire (and later in 1908, Montgomeryshire) as numbered Battalions of the Regiment - the 1st Denbighshire Volunteers becoming the 1st Volunteer Battalion and the 1st Flintshire & Carnarvon Volunteers becoming the 2nd Volunteer Battalion.

The Militia units of the Regiment were the Royal Denbigh and Merioneth Rifles and the Royal Carnarvon Rifle Corps. In 1908, as part of the Haldane Reforms, the Militia Battalions were reorganised and restructured forming the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion and the RVC Battalions (which were re-organised in the late 1890s when the 3rd Volunteer Battalion was formed) were retitled. The 1st Volunteer Battalion became the 4th (Denbighshire) Battalion TF, the 2nd Volunteer Battalion became the 5th (Flintshire) Battalion TF, the 3rd Volunteer Battalion became the 6th (Carnarvonshire & Anglesey) Battalion TF and the 4th Volunteer Battalion became the 7th (Merioneth & Montgomery) Battalion TF of the Regimental Territorial Force.

After the Declaration of War on 4th August 1914 and up to 1st June 1918, the Royal Welsh Fusiliers had formed, disbanded or reconstituted 45 Regular, Territorial Force, Service, Garrison and Reserve Battalions.

Analysis of 1/4th Battalion Officer Casualties

Year	BE	FR	UK	Total
1915		6		6
1916			1	1
1917	1			1
1918		12		12
TOTALS	1	18	1	20

Page last updated: 9th April 2024

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