Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Grave: | Etaples Military Cemetery | XXX.K.29A | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.116 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 12D GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Early Life :
Married Alice Williams in 1906 and had one daughter, Elizabeth Metcalfe in 1907. By 1911 they were living at the Bee Hive Inn, Shotton Colliery in Durham.Family :
Husband of Alice Beck, of School Harris, Shotton Colliery, nr. Sunderland.Education & Career :
Licenced Victualler (1914) Shotton Colliery
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 2/Coldstream Guards |
2nd Battalion August 1914 : in Windsor. Part of 4th (Guards) Brigade, 2nd Division. 20 August 1915 : transferred to 1st Guards Brigade, Guards Division |
| Action : The Battles of Ypres 1917 (Third Ypres, or Passchendaele) |
31 July - 10 November 1917. By the summer of 1917 the British Army was able for the first time to fight on its chosen ground on its terms. Having secured the southern ridges of Ypres at Messines in June, the main attack started on 31st July 1917 accompanied by what seemed like incessant heavy rain, which coupled with the artillery barrages conspired to turn much of the battlefield into a bog. Initial failure prompted changes in the high command and a strategy evolved to take the ring of ridges running across the Ypres salient in a series of 'bite and hold' operations, finally culminating in the capture of the most easterly ridge on which sat the infamous village of Passchendaele. The Official History carries the footnote ?The clerk power to investigate the exact losses was not available? but estimates of British casualties range from the official figure of 244,000 to almost 400,000. Within five months the Germans pushed the British back to the starting line, which was where they had been since May 1915.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Fawcett No. 661 E.C. | Durham |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
10th June 1914 | 12th August 1914 | 24th February 1915 |
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