Private Frederick Greenwood
37397 Machine Gun Corps 133rd (Inf) Coy
Killed in Action 25th March 1917
Born in Burnley
Lived in Billington
Commemorated on the Basra Memorial, Iraq

Double Family Tragedy

Fred Greenwood was born in Burnley on February 18th 1884 and his younger brother, Richard, was born in Colne on September 22nd 1891. Records are pretty scarce for the Greenwood family, so we sadly cannot name their father but we do know that their mother was called Annie Greenwood and that she was born in Ireland. Fred and Richard would have a sister called Mary Ellen who was born on June 30th 1889 in Colne.

The first Census Return which records Annie Greenwood and her family is the 1901 Census Return for Old Road Side, Billington, and this tells us that Annie was a Cotton Spinner, 38 years old and a widow, Fred was a Cotton Weaver and 14 years old and that Mary Ellen (11 years old) and Richard (7 years old) were both at school.

In the 1911 Census Return, we learn that Annie was still residing at Old Road Side and that both Richard and Mary Ellen were still living with her and they are listed as Cotton Weavers and single. Fred had now been married to Ruth (nee Exton) from Whalley for two years and the couple had two children called Annie and Ada. Fred and Ruth would have a third child, a son called Herbert, who was born on February 23rd 1914 and the family would also reside on Old Road Side, Billington. Richard would get married to Mary in the 2nd quarter of 1914 and they would have a child, Doris, who was born before wedlock on January 20th 1911. Richard and his family would also live on Old Road Side.

Looking at the records in UK Soldiers who died in the Great War, we find out that 37397 Private Fred Greenwood was serving with the 133rd Company Machine Gun Corps (Infantry) having initially been 3456 Private F. Greenwood with the East Lancashire Regiment and that he enlisted in Clitheroe. 30045 Private Richard Greenwood was serving with the 8th Service Battalion Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment and that he enlisted in Whalley.

The 133rd Machine Gun Company was attached to the 3rd (Lahore) Division and from January 1916, they would be based in Mesopotamia. By early March 1917, the British forces had captured Baghdad and were now attempting to advance on other Turkish strong points along the Diyala River. One of these strong points was at Mount Hamrin which was under the command of Ali Ishan, who had designed an imposing three-line trench system which overlooked two canals at the base of the mountain.

The attacking British force was under the command of Major General Henry D’Urban Keary and upon seeing the very strong Turkish defensive position, he decided to attack the Ottoman’s using the 8th Indian Brigade in a frontal assault and hopefully whilst the Turkish focus was on this attack, he would then use the 9th Indian Brigade to outflank the position on the Eastern flank. Sadly for the British, the Turkish scouts had seen British Engineers building a pontoon bridge and quickly worked out what the British were intending to do, and so they subsequently reinforced the area where the 9th Brigade were set to attack. This reinforcement was spotted by a British reconnaissance plane but the orders for the planned attack were nonetheless carried out.

Just after dawn on March 25th 1917, the Battle of Mount Hamrin would begin and it would prove to be a costly one for the British forces. The 9th Brigade did not flank far enough to the East and ended up attacking the reinforced Turkish position instead of bypassing it. As a result, the 9th Brigade was literally pinned down and was only able to retreat once the 8th Brigade began its attack in the centre. Casualties were considerable as the British suffered approximately 1200 either killed, wounded or missing and sadly, 37397 Private Fred Greenwood would be killed in action during this battle.

Fred has no known grave but he is commemorated on Panel 41 of the Basra Memorial, Iraq. In his Effects, Fred would leave £2 19 shillings to his wife, Ruth, who would also receive a War Gratuity of £10 10 shillings for the loss of her husband.

At the time of his older brother being killed in action, younger brother Richard was stationed in France with the 8th Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment coming under the orders of 76th Brigade of the 3rd Division. The 3rd Division would be involved in many phases of the Battle of Arras throughout April and May 1917 and by September 1917, the Division was now stationed in Flanders and taking part in 2 phases of the Battle of Passchendaele.

Between September 20th to 25th 1917, the 3rd Division was involved in heavy fighting during the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge and from September 26th to October 3rd 1917, the 3rd Division was involved in the Battle of Polygon Wood and it is the second action which we need to take a closer look at. Looking through the War Diary for the 8th Battalion Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment for September 1917, the information is rather sparse and all it says for the entry for September 25th is, “Ypres (South Area) – In Line preparing for the attack”.

There are many entries for September 26th and they are headlined as, “In Line”, and the first entry at 01:00am states, “All watches synchronised”. Zero Hour for the commencement of the attack was at 05:50am and by 07:10am, “B” Company had reported that they had reached and captured their red line objective and that casualties were light. By 10:45am the red line objective had now been garrisoned by the 50th Battalion Australian Infantry. Shelling was now reported as extremely heavy and a request to retire to the original jumping off position was denied and the Battalion was told to, “hold on at all costs”. A message from 2nd Lieutenant Walker was received at 4pm stating that only 15 men of “B” Company were left with him, so if you consider that at full strength, a Company of men was well over 100 strong, the casualties must have been very heavy! The shelling did quieten down between 11:20pm (26th) and 5am (27th) and the shelling was now classed as, “normal”.

The Battalion stayed in the line until it was relieved on September 29th whence the men retired to a camp at Winnezeele in Northern France. Sadly, the casualty totals are not listed in the Battalion War Diary but at some point during the fighting on September 26th 1917, 30045 Pte Richard Greenwood was killed in action. Richard has no known grave but he is commemorated on Panel 18 to 19 of the Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium. In his Effects, Richard left £6 11 shillings to his wife, Mary, who also received a War Gratuity of £6 for the loss of her husband.

This meant that Annie Greenwood, who was a widow at a very young age and who brought up three children as a lone parent, had now lost both of her sons in the space of six months from fighting in the Great War. The Great War would continue to have a constant daily reminder for the family because Mary Ellen Greenwood would marry local lad George Gorton who had served in the war with the 7th Kings Own Scottish Borderers Regiment. George was discharged from the army for being no longer fit to serve as a soldier after he had a GSW (Gun Shot Wound) to the arm which caused a compound fracture and resulted in the amputation of the middle of the Humorous.

Both Fred and Richard were entitled to the British War Medal and Victory Medal and their final resting place is known only to God.

Fred and Richard, may you both Rest in Peace

(Courtesy of Peter McQuade)