Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Grave: | Dantzig Alley British Cemetery | VIII. F. 8. Mametz | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.124 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 30A GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
Son of Walter and Evelyn Hayes Gripper, of Park House, Park Lane, Willingdon, Eastbourne.Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 1/East Surrey Regiment |
1st Battalion August 1914 : in Dublin. Part of 14th Brigade in 5th Division. Landed at Le Havre 15 August 1914. 12 January 1916 : transferred to 95th Brigade in same Division. November 1917 : moved with the Division to Italy but returned to France in April 1918. |
| Action : The Battles of the Somme 1916 |
The Battle of the Somme 1st July - 18th November 1916 is inevitably characterised by the appalling casualties (60,000) on the first day, July 1st 1916. Having failed to break through the German lines in force, and also failed to maximise opportunities where success was achieved, the battle became a series of attritional assaults on well defended defence in depth. The battle continued officially until 18th November 1916 costing almost 500,000 British casualties. German casualties were about the same, and French about 200,000. The Somme could not be counted a success in terms of ground gained or the cost, but it had a strategic impact as it marked the start of the decline of the German Army. Never again would it be as effective whilst the British Army, learning from its experience eventually grew stronger to become a war winning army. The German High Command recognised that it could never again fight another Somme, a view that advanced the decision to invoke unrestricted submarine warfare in an attempt to starve Britain of food and material, and in doing so accelerated the United States declaration of war thus guaranteeing the eventual outcome. 287 Brethren were killed on the Somme in 1916.
Detail :
War Diary 24th July 1916 Trenches Near Montauban S26 d 5/5 At 6AM trenches heavily shelled with 5.9 Howitzers. Few casualties occurred but unfortunately one of the few was Capt WVT Gripper, killed whilst endeavouring to take his Coy to a safer part of the trench. He was in commmand of No 4 Coy. Popular with both officers and men he will be greatly missed, not only on account of his personality but also because of his long experience of command of a company in the field. Capt Gripper and 2/Lt C W Clark are buried at S26 d 3/4.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Parthenon No. 1826 E.C. | Surrey |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
10th May 1910 | 15th April 1913 | 20th May 1913 |
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley