Fallen Officers of the Great War

No

Date Died

Surname

Forenames

Rank

Decs

Age

Cause

Country

Location/Sector

Cemetery/Memorial

Notes

Died in 1915

1

10th August

LELAND

John Henry Frederick

2Lt

-

31

KIA

Gallipoli

Scimitar Hill

Helles Memorial (Panel 78/81)

1/p233

2

10th August

MOCATTA

Robert Menzies

2Lt

-

23

KIA

Gallipoli

Scimitar Hill

Helles Memorial (Panel 78/81)

1/p233

3

10th August

PHILIPS

Basil Edwin

Lt Col

MiD

51

KIA

Gallipoli

Scimitar Hill

Green Hill Cemetery (II.B.9)

1/p232  (1)

4

10th August

SYNNOTT

FitzHerbert Paget

2Lt

-

21

KIA

Gallipoli

Scimitar Hill

Helles Memorial (Panel 78/81)

1/p233

5

10th August

WALTON

Robert Clare

2Lt

-

22

KIA

Gallipoli

Scimitar Hill

Helles Memorial (Panel 78/81)

1/p233

6

12th August

HEAD

Bernard

Major

-

39

KIA

Gallipoli

Near "Kabal Kuyu", Suvla Bay

Helles Memorial (Panel 78/81)

1/p234

7

12th August

WILLIAMS

Hugh Osborne

Lt

-

38

KIA

Gallipoli

Near "Kabal Kuyu", Suvla Bay

Helles Memorial (Panel 78/81)

1/p234

Died 1917

8

26th March

BATE

Thomas

Lt

-

28

KIA

Palestine

Near Gaza

Jerusalem Memorial (Panels 19/22)

2/p227

9

26th March

JONES

Evelyn Llewellyn Hustler

2Lt

-

43

KIA

Palestine

Near Gaza

Jerusalem Memorial (Panels 19/22)

2/p227

10

26th March

THOMAS

Evan Llewellyn

2Lt

-

?

KIA

Palestine

Near Gaza

Jerusalem Memorial (Panels 19/22)

2/p227

Died in 1918

11

9th March

GRIFFITHS

William George

2Lt

-

21

KIA

Palestine

East of Ramallah

Jerusalem War Cemetery (F.95)

3/p108

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.   PHILIPS was originally buried in a battlefield grave on Scimitar Hill and reburied in Green Hill Cemetery in July 1920.

No

Date Died

Surname

Forenames

Rank

Decs

Age

Cause

Country

Location/Sector

Cemetery/Memorial

Notes

1

10th December 1917

MARTIN

Albert Trevor De Morteval

Major

-

45

DOW

Palestine

CCS near Jerusalem

Jerusalem War Cemetery (J.49)

3/p73  ( )

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.   MARTIN was detached from the West India Regiment and was wounded near Jerusalem on 9th December 1917.

The 5th (Flintshire) Battalion TF was formed on 1st April 1908 as a result of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907, and was based at The Drill Hall, Flint, under command of the North Wales Brigade, Welsh Division.   On 3rd August 1914 the Welsh Division's infantry Brigades were at their annual camps when all training was cancelled and the Battalions were all ordered back to their HQs, and war was declared next day.  The 5th Battalion TF mobilised on 5th August and began to concentrate at its war stations at Conway by 11th August.   On that date units and personnel of the TF were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service and on 15th August the War Office issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve (2nd Line) units.   On 31st August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line TF units where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service.  The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix.  In this way duplicate Battalions, Brigades and Divisions were created, mirroring those 1st Line TF formations being sent overseas.   (Later in the war, 3rd Line units were formed to train and supply drafts for the 1st and 2nd Line Battalions).

Units of the Welsh Division were redeployed to Northampton at the end of August 1914, where on 18th November 1914 it was warned for service in British India, but this was subsequently cancelled.  Periods of collective and individual training was interrupted by periods spent digging trenches and defence lines for the East Coast Defences.  In December 1914 the Welsh Division moved to Cambridge, then to Bedford in May 1915, where it was numbered as the 53rd (Welsh) Division, and the North Wales Brigade became the 158th (North Wales) Brigade.   By July 1915 the Battalion was stationed at Higham Ferrers in Northamptonshire.   On 2 July the 53rd (Welsh) Division was ordered to refit and re-role for service in the Mediterranean.  The first Battalions to move were the 1/5th and 1/6th Royal Welsh Fusiliers, who entrained at Irchester for Plymouth Devonport during the night of 13th July 1915.  The two Battalions embarked on the SS Caledonia and sailed on 14 July.   The transports sailed via Gibraltar, Malta, Alexandria and Lemnos, and the 1/5th Bn arrived at Mudros on 28 July 1915, where it disembarked and went into bivouacs.   It re-embarked on the SS Rowan for Imbros on 8 August 1915.   Next day the 53rd (Welsh) Division took part in the landing at Suvla Bay, an attempt to break the trench warfare deadlock in the land operations in the Gallipoli Campaign which had commenced on 25th April 1915.  The Battalion landed at 'C' Beach at 06.00 hours and camped at Lala Baba, apart from A Company, which was detailed to carry equipment up to the front line.   The 158th Brigade supported the159th (Cheshire) Brigade in an attack towards Scimitar Hill on 10th August and 1/5th Battalion, as the Brigade's leading Battalion, moved forward at 04.45 hours.  The officers had no maps and confusion reigned, but the Battalion advanced across the Salt Lake under heavy shrapnel and rifle fire, passing through the retreating Battalions of 159th Bde at 11.30 hours. The Battalion penetrated to within a few hundred yards of Scimitar Hill before getting broken up into small parties in the scrub.  They took cover and opened fire on the Turkish front line at a range of 200 yards (180 m). Lt Col Phillips, the Commanding Officer, sent back a message urging the 1/6th Battalion to come up and help complete the job, but he was killed soon afterwards.  The Battalion was later withdrawn and further attempts to take Scimitar Hill during the afternoon all failed.  The Battalion's casualties were 6 officers and 13 other ranks killed, 6 officers and 116 ORs wounded, and 39 missing, though many reported missing straggled back later.   The Commander of IX Corps, Lt-Gen Sir Frederick Stopford, had lost confidence in 53rd (Welsh) Division, and would not use it in the subsequent phases of the battle.   Over the following days the Battalion was engaged in reorganising and improving the trenches facing Scimitar Hill, taking casualties from Turkish rifle fire.  It also had 160 sick men evacuated to hospital by the end of the month, another 180 by the end of September.

In October the Battalion's strength had been reduced to 18 officers and 355 ORs and it was temporarily amalgamated with the 1/6th Battalion, under the command of Lt-Col Rome of 1/6th.  Turkish artillery became more active during November, adding to the toll of casualties from trench-holding, the trenches were flooded, and later there was a blizzard.  So many men were evacuated suffering from frostbite and exposure that only 88 ORs remained in the line.  The effective strength of 53rd (Welsh) Division was very low and it was decided to evacuate the remnants.  On 12th December the 1/5th Battalion was moved to 'C' Beach to embark on the El Kahirah to Mudros.  The Division was then shipped to Alexandria, where it landed between 20th and 23rd December 1915.

On arrival in Egypt the Division went by rail to Wardan to recuperate and refit.  In mid-February 1916 the 158th Brigade was sent to guard the water supplies at Wadi Natrun, where reinforcement drafts were absorbed and training was carried out.  In May 1916 the Brigade was moved to Zeitoun, Cairo, where it rejoined the rest of 53rd (Welsh) Division in the Suez Canal Defences.  By July the 158th Brigade was near Moascar, digging defences, but when it became clear that the Turks were crossing the Sinai Desert to attack the canal line, the brigade was sent by train and route march to Romani to reinforce the 52nd (Lowland) Division in No 3 Section of the Canal Defences, arriving there on 21st July.  The 1/5th Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers were temporarily attached to 156th (Scottish Rifles) Brigade in reserve at Romani Station. The Turks attacked on 4th August (the Battle of Romani) and 1/5th Battalion was ordered up to the front at midday.  However, the attack was virtually over by then and during the following morning 8th Battalion Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) advanced with the bayonet, with D Company 1/5th Battalion in support, and the Turks in the front line began to surrender while those behind were in full retreat.

The 158th Brigade returned to the canal on 14 August 1916 and spent the next three months at Ferdan.  By the end of the year it was back at Romani, the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) having cleared Sinai of the enemy.  On 20th January 1917 53rd (Welsh) Division began the march across the Sinai Desert, reaching Wadi el Arish at the end of the month.  It was then moved up to Rafah on 21 March.  After an approach march beginning on 24th March, the EEF attacked Gaza on 26th March, launching the First Battle of Gaza.  The 53rd (Welsh) Division in the Desert Column was ordered to cross the Wadi Ghuzze towards Gaza itself, masked by the mounted divisions sweeping round the flank.  The Division was led by 160th Brigade, followed by the 158th, 1/5th Battalion leading. The Battalion's guide got lost and there was an overnight fog, so the 158th Brigade was late crossing the wadi that morning, but by 06.30 hours it reached the edge of the Mansura ridge overlooking the plain of Gaza. At 11.30 hours the Division was hurriedly ordered to attack, even though the artillery had not yet established communications. 158th Brigade set out shortly after 11.45 hours to attack Ali Muntar, with 1/5th Battalion leading, preceded by a strong patrol. The whole advance, watched by the mounted divisions, was 'a model in precision and steadiness'.  After leaving the protection of Mansura the Battalion immediately came under shrapnel fire as it marched across open ground parallel to the Ali Muntar defences before wheeling left and moved down to a small cactus garden about 800 yards (730 m) from the crest of Ali Muntar.  Here the CO, Lt-Col Borthwick waited for the other Battalions to catch up, and firing became general, with the Battalion troubled by enemy fire coming in from Green Hill to the left as well as in front. The Brigadier reinforced the Battalion with machine guns and sent another Battalion to take Green Hill.  The whole line then advanced again.  About 40 men of 1/5th Battalion dashed through the machine gun fire and made a lodgement in the trenches east of Ali Muntar mosque, capturing Turks, Austrians and Germans, and held it fast despite enemy counter-attacks.  By 18.30hours the whole Ali Muntar position was won, and by nightfall Gaza was almost completely surrounded, with patrols from 53rd (Welsh) Division in the eastern streets linking up with the ANZAC Mounted Division.  However, the senior British commanders were unaware of the success, and had already ordered the mounted troops to withdraw to water their horses.  The 53rd (Welsh) Division was ordered to dig in on a line near Wadi Ghuzze next day; isolated at Green Hill, the 1/5th Battalion also had to fall back.  At the end of the day the whole division was withdrawn across the wadi, 158th Brigade arriving at 01.15 hours on 28th March 1917. The Battalion's casualties were 2 officers and 33 ORs killed, 9 officers and 186 ORs wounded, and 9 ORs missing.

Both sides brought up reinforcements and carried out reconnaissances while the EEF prepared for a Second Battle of Gaza.  The 53rd (Welsh) Division dug a new line well forward on sand dunes along the coast.  When the attack was made on 18 April 1917 the 158th Brigade held this new line, the other Brigades passing through and assaulting Samson Ridge with tank support.  As the attack developed, the 158th Brigade moved up in support, but the Division was still held up at Samson Ridge at the end of the day, and dug in where it stood.   Trench warfare now set in for the summer, while the EEF was reorganised under new command and intensive training was carried out behind the lines.  On 20th October 1917 the 158th Brigade moved up to the concentration area for the new offensive (the Third Battle of Gaza), taking over the front line and reconnoitering the ground over which they were to attack.  On 25th October the Brigade moved into No man's Land and established an outpost line.  On 27th October the Division advanced to take over a line of hills already occupied by the Yeomanry of the 8th Mounted Brigade, the movement being covered by 1/5th Battalion.  Later the Battalion was sent with a field artillery battery 8 miles (13 km) to occupy Hill 630 on the left.  When the Battalion was still 4 miles (6.4 km) away the Yeomanry outpost on the hill was overwhelmed by a Turkish attack.  The Turks then had perfect observation over the plain where 1/5th Battalion was moving up, followed by the rest of 158th Brigade and then 160th Brigade, and began shelling the concentration of troops.  Once the Division was re-organised for an attack, the Turks slipped away and the line of hills was easily reoccupied.  The main attack, a turning movement (the Battle of Beersheba), began on 31st October; the 53rd (Welsh) Division on the left flank was hardly engaged, though part of the 158th Brigade in 'Smith's Group' made a demonstration with 1/5th Battalion advancing to keep touch with the attacking troops to the right.  The Battalion engaged the enemy with long-range machine gun fire, and ended the day on outpost duty.

After the capture of Beersheba, the EEF thrust into the hills beyond, with 53rd (Welsh) Division marching through Beersheba to occupy a line beyond without any fighting.  On 3rd November the Division advanced into the hills in a series of columns, 1/5th Battalion escorting the artillery along a track over relatively flat ground towards Tell el Khuweilfe.  Later in the day the Battalion was diverted to assist in the attack on the heights (the Battle of Tel el Khuweilfe), which pinned the Turkish reinforcements arriving on the battlefield.  On Lt-Col Borthwick's initiative the Battalion 'jumped' the lower hills during the night.  There was a two-day lull during a sandstorm and then, after a difficult assembly close up to Tell el Khuewilfe, the158th Brigade carried out a full-scale assault on the position at 04.20hrs on 6th November, with 1/5th Battalion in reserve.  The 1/6th Battalion pushed over the heights but then got into difficulties as the Turks counterattacked, until a company of 1/5th Battalion moved up to support them.  Deadlock then set in, but next day the Desert Mounted Corps (DMC) swept round the flank of the pinned enemy.  53rd (Welsh) Division was ordered to stand fast, though 1/5th Battalion used rifle grenades to bombard and then rush a troublesome Turkish machine gun and sniper post.  But that night the enemy in front pulled out as the entire Turkish army began a headlong retreat.

From 10th November 53rd (Welsh) Division remained in the same area, so as not to overload the supply lines for the advancing parts of the EEF.  It did not move forward again until early December 1917, and even then limited supplies meant that 158th Brigade was left at Beersheba.  It was not brought forward until 21st December, by which time the Battle of Jerusalem was over.  On 22nd December 1/5th Battalion was sent forward to take over part of the outpost line under 159th Brigade; the path was so steep that the relief was not completed until the following morning.  At Christmas the rest of 158th Brigade relieved the 159th Brigade, and 1/5th Battalion became the reserve Battalion.  Late on 26th December the Turks launched a major counter-attack aiming to recapture Jerusalem, and the fighting spread to 53rd (Welsh) Division's front on 27th December, though 158th Brigade was hardly engaged, merely supporting 160th Brigade on its flank and reoccupying a captured village that was only held by Turkish outposts.  As the Turkish attacks faded away, the Division went over to the attack itself, 158th Brigade attacking the villages and high ground in its front.  The 1/7th Battalion's attack failed at first, but reinforced by two companies of 1/5th Battalion and with renewed artillery support it took its objective at midnight.  The Brigade took further ground on 2th December.   The 53rd (Welsh) Division held its line throughout the bad weather of January 1918, with 158th Brigade providing working parties to improve the roads for the EEF's next advance, aimed at Jericho. This began on 14th February 1918, supported by 53rd (Welsh) Division, and the town was captured by 22 February 1918.

In March 1918 the EEF began an advance in the Jordan Valley.  53rd (Welsh) Division's next objective was Tell 'Asur, the highest point of Judaea north of Jerusalem, and it had to tackle the most difficult terrain in the whole operation.  The Division occupied No Man's Land in the preceding days, then after a heavy bombardment on 9th March the 1/5th Battalion captured the hill at about 09.30 hours, despite morning fog.  A Turkish counter-attack regained the summit, but 1/6th Battalion came up in relief and drove them off it.  In the next four hours the Turks launched four more fierce attacks on the hill, but failed to recapture it.  During the night 1/6th Battalion moved down to take another hill a mile in front, while 1/5th Battalion held Tell 'Asur itself. The Division completed its objectives by 12th March.  The 158th Brigade was not engaged in the various raids across the Jordan carried out by the EEF during the Spring 1918.

In the summer of 1918 the 53rd (Welsh) Division was placed under command to the Indian Army HQ in Palestine: only one British Battalion was retained in each brigade, the remainder being sent as reinforcements to the BEF in the Western Front. Initially, the 1/5th and 1/6th Battalions RWF continued in 158th Brigade alongside Gurkha and Indian Battalions from June, then on 1st August 1918 the two Battalions merged to form the 5th/6th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers under the command of Lt-Col Borthwick of the 1/5th. This continued as the sole British Battalion in 158th Brigade for the remainder of the campaign in Palestine.

At the climactic Battle of Megiddo the 53rd (Welsh) Division was tasked with advancing across the Samieh Basin towards Nablus, to threaten the Turks' communication centre and block the exits to the Jordan Valley (the Battle of Nablus).  It attacked in moonlight late on the first day (18th September 1918), after a 20-minute bombardment.  The 158th Brigade was in reserve, but a company of 5th/6th Battalion was attached to the leading Indian unit of 160th Bde (the 17th Infantry (The Loyal Regiment)) and covered the left flank of the advance, occupying Keen's Knoll and Table Hill.  Next day 5th/6th Battalion relieved 4th/5th Battalion Welsh Regiment (159th Brigade) and secured the plateau in front ready for the advance to continue on 20 September, with Lt-Col Borthwick of 5th/6th Battalion commanding the whole operation until the rest of the Brigade caught up.  Because of difficulties in making a road, 158th Brigade was not ready until late on 20th September, but when it advanced at 23.00 hours it found the Turks had retired.  It continued advancing through the night with 5th/6th Battalion leading until 05.30 hours on 21st September when it found the road blocked.  The roads were very bad, and the Royal Engineers struggled to make a path for the guns, but the advance continued at 08.30 hours, with 5th/6th Battalion picquetting the hills as it went.  By the end of the next day the Turkish army was shattered, and its retreat was being harried by artillery and aircraft.

The advanced troops of the Division were now south-east of Nablus, but 53rd (Welsh) Division was ordered to stand fast and did not take part in the pursuit of the defeated Turkish Army.  For the next few days it was employed in clearing the battlefield and repairing the Nablus road.  On 26th September it moved back to Tell 'Asur, and by 12th October it had moved to Ramleh, where on 27th October it began entraining for Alexandria.  The Armistice of Mudros ended the fighting in Palestine on 31st October 1918.  On 20th December demobilisation instructions were received and the first parties left for home on 22nd December.  The Indian Battalions left in early 1919 as transport became available, and the British units were reduced to cadres.  The last men left for Port Said and shipment home on 15th June 1919.  The 5th/6th Battalion was officially disembodied on 4 August 1919.

2/5th (Flintshire) Battalion TF

The 2/5th (Flintshire) Battalion TF was formed at the Regimental Depot at Wrexham on 11th September 1914.  It was assigned to 203rd (2nd North Wales) Brigade in 68th (2nd Welsh) Division, which began to assemble at Northampton in April 1915.  It replaced the 53rd (Welsh) Division at Bedford in July 1915.  Training was made difficult by the lack of arms and equipment, and the need to supply drafts to the 1st Line unit   In July the Battalions were reorganised and the Home Service-only men were transferred to TF Provisional Battalions (47th Provisional Battalion, later 23rd Battalion RWF, in the case of the Regiment's TF Battalions).  By November the 2nd Line Battalions were so weak that their establishment was reduced to 600 men.  On 22nd November 1915 the 2/5th (Flintshire) Battalion absorbed the 2/6th (Glamorgan) Battalion Welsh Regiment.   The 68th (2nd Welsh) Division was assigned to Home Defence duties and in November 1915 it joined First Army in Central Force.  By September 1916 the Division was in General Reserve for Central Force, and in November the 2/5th Battalion was at Westleton in Suffolk.  By May 1917 the Division had transferred to Northern Army (Home Forces), and the Battalion was at Henham Park in Halesworth, Suffolk, for its summer station.  In October 1917 the Battalion was moved to Great Yarmouth where it was transferred to 204th (2nd Cheshire) Brigade.  The 2/5th (Flintshire) Battalion TF was disbanded on 16th March 1918.

3/5th (Flintshire) Battalion TF

The 3/5th (Flintshire) Battalion was formed at Flint on 23rd March 1915.  It was renamed as the 5th (Reserve) (Flintshire) Battalion TF on 8th April 1916 and on 1st September 1916, whilst at Oswestry, it was absorbed into the 4th (Reserve) (Denbighshire) Battalion TF, part of the Welsh Reserve Brigade.

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 1/5th Battalion Officer Casualties

Year

Gallipoli

Palestine

Total

1917

1918

TOTALS