BORN: 1895, Magor, Monmouthshire, Wales.
UNIT: 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.
DIED: 15-18 May 1915, killed in action at Festubert, France.
BURIED: No known grave. Commemorated on Le Touret Memorial, Richebourg, France. Panel 2.
LOCAL CONNECTIONS: West End, Magor. Undy. Bishpool.
With many thanks to Mr. R. Ford, William’s relative, for his help and generosity.
Early life
William Henry FORD was born in 1895 in Magor, Monmouthshire, Wales and was baptised there in St. Mary’s Church on 03 Nov 1895. He was one of six children born in Magor to Henry FORD and his wife Alice (nee EVANS). Henry was a Hay Trusser and born in Whitchurch, Somerset, England. Alice was a local girl from Magor. They had married in 1892.
In 1901 William lived with his family at West End, Magor near the Magor Crossing. He was aged 5, his older brother Clifford Ronald was 8, and his younger siblings Edith Elizabeth and Arthur John were 5 and 3 respectively.
The same family group lived together at the time of the 1911 census, although the address was now Lower End, Magor. William’s older brother Ronald (aged 18) and his father worked together as Hay Trussers. The census also tells us that William had 2 other siblings who had died in childhood. A brother, Wyndham, died aged 3 weeks and was buried in Magor on 10 Jan 1897. There are no registered births or baptisms for Henry and Alice’s sixth child. It may be that s/he was still-born.(Still-born births were not registered until 1926).
William and his older brother Ron both played for Magor Rugby Football Club. It appears from the photo below that their father Henry was also involved in the team.
William and WW1
Enlisting Early
William enlisted on 12th Sep 1914, just weeks after war was declared. He joined the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.
His battalion were mobilised for war on 07 Oct 1914 and sailed for Zeebrugge. However, it William did not join them in Flanders until 16 March the following year.
In March 1915 the 1st Grenadiers were in the front line at Ypres. They suffered very heavy losses between 10-14 March in the Battle of Neuve-Chapelle. The commanding officer, Lt. Colonel Fisher-Rowe, 8 other officers and over 340 other ranks were killed. Two men were awarded the Victoria Cross for valour during this battle.
The battalion moved into reserve in early April and their depleted ranks were topped up. William’s records show that he entered an active theatre of War on 16 Mar 1915. So it appears that he was one of the new arrivals after Neuve-Chapelle. Along with the rest of their brigade, the Grenadier Guards were inspected by Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig on 19 Apr 1915.
William’s battalion continued to rotate in and out of the trenches throughout April and early May. Then, on 10 May they marched about 13 miles to billets in a tobacco factory at Bethune as part of preparations for a major Allied attack. On 11th they moved to billets at Hinges. Then on 15 May the battalion moved to the assembly trenches around Dead Cow Farm, north of the village of Festubert, ready for an assault on the German lines.
His death
William died at the Battle of Festubert sometime between 15-18 May 1915.
The Battle of Festubert (1915) was part of an Allied offensive in the Artois region of France. British, Canadian and Indian troops attacked the Germans between 15-27 May 1915. The two-pronged attack along a 3-mile front was the first night-time attack by the British Army in WW1.
William’s battalion were part of the southern attack towards Festubert of the pincer movement assault. 400 guns fired over 100,000 shells at the German lines for 60 hours before the infantry advanced. However, the bombardment did not take out their barbed wire and defensive positions. Despite this, the Allies, led by mostly Indian infantry, made rapid progress on the first day of the battle (15 May). On the evening of 15th May, William’s battalion moved to support trenches north of Festubert, preparing to attack the following morning in support of The Border Regiment.
Another bombardment preceded the Grenadier’s attack at 3:15 am on 16th May. The Borderers and Scots Guards were already moving forward. Unfortunately they had been ordered to advance 5 minutes before the Allied shelling ceased. The Borderers in particular lost men needlessly to friendly artillery. The Scots Guards with the aid of some lost Welshmen from the Royal Welsh Fusiliers pressed forward. However, they lost contact with other companies and moved into British shelling, which was still working to the original timetable. They were forced back to join up with William’s battalion which had moved through the Border Regiment to a support trench. The support trenches were only 30 metres from the front line and the battalion came under heavy shell fire. One shell burst in the middle of No. 8 Platoon, killing 4 men and wounding others. The Grenadiers had successes, including the capture of a captured German communication trench. Later that evening, as heavy rain fell, another company advanced along a German trench, clearing it with bombs as they moved forward.
Early the next morning the Grenadiers advanced a further 400 metres. They held their position during 17th May, remaining in the second line of attack, as other troops advanced through them. They were then joined by the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards. Unfortunately, the British advance was not uniform and some German machine guns were still in place as parts of the attack advanced past them. This exposed the Grenadiers to ‘enfilade’ attack [from the sides]. The German’s did counter attacked but did not take back their lost trenches.
On the evening of 17th May William’s battalion were relieved and they moved back from the front line to the second line where they stayed until the following day.
Then on 18th May they returned to bivouac in a field at Brigade Headquarters in the Rue du Bois until they marched back to their old billets at Hinges.
The battalion lost 4 officers and 113 other men during the attack. One of these was our William.
The battle for Festubert continued. By 27 May the Allies had captured the village and victory was won. However the assault gained less than 1 kilometre of ground at a cost 16,000 British casualties. Festubert exposed the serious deficiencies in the supply of heavy artillery to the British Army. The news that British Tommies were being killed unnecessarily broke in the press back home and this ultimately led to the fall of Asquith’s Liberal Government.
His burial
Sadly, William has no known grave and is commemorated on the memorial to the lost at Le Touret, Richebourg, France. Newspapers at home also reported the death of local men and the following are extracts from South Wales Argus in Jun 1915.
Medals and Pension
William’s father Henry was paid just £4 4s on 25 Aug 1915 and received a further £3 War Gratuity on 28 Jun 1919.
William was posthumously awarded ‘the full set’ of 3 campaign medals. The 1914-15 Star, British War medal and the Victory medal and the were nicknamed Pip, Squeak and Wilfred. These were characters in a 1920’s Daily Mirror comic strip that coincided with the issue of the 3 medals. The 1914-15 Star was only awarded to those who served in a theatre of war outside the UK between 5 August 1914 and 31 December 1915. As a recipient of this medal William automatically qualified for the British War and Victory medals.
William’s father was sent a Next of Kin Memorial Plaque (a.k.a.’Death Plaque’). He would also have received a scroll and a message from the King. These were sent out separately between 1919 and 1920 to commemorate those who made the ultimate sacrifice. The memorial plaque was made of bronze and about 11 cm in diameter. As shown below, it was inscribed with name of the commemorated soldier.
What happened to his family?
William's parents
Ron FORD
William’s older brother Ronald Clifford FORD signed up for the British Army on 11 Dec 1915, 7 months after William was killed. It is hard to imagine what his parents must have felt as he left to join the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. He served in Alexandria and then transferred to the Monmouthshire Regiment and was posted to France. Fortunately, Ron survived the war and was demobilised on 23 Oct 1918. He returned to Magor and married Gladys Elizabeth HARFORD on 04 Oct 1929 in Llanmartin, Monmouthshire. In 1939 Ron and his family lived in Magor Square. Ron died in 1958 aged 65. He is buried in Magor churchyard and his descendants still live locally.
Edith FORD
William’s sister Edith Elizabeth FORD married Cyril LAWRENCE on 06 May 1919 in Magor parish church. Cyril was a farmer’s son and lived at Ash Cottage, Undy at the time. He served as a Private in the 570th Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps. He may have been transferred from another regiment or have been medically unfit for front-line service. By 1939 they had moved to Bishpool Farm, Bishpool, Newport where they raised a family. Lawrence worked as a farmer. Edith died in 1992 aged 93.
Arthur FORD
Arthur John FORD married Hattie Irene RICKMAN on 21 May 1923 in Nash, Monmouthshire. She was aged 20 and he was 23 and a Fireman for Great Western Railway based at Servern Tunnel Junction. In 1939 Arthur, Hattie and their children lived at West End, Magor with Arthur’s (and William’s) widowed father Henry. Arthur later became an Engine Driver for GWR. According to his descendants he also joined the army during WW1 and was sent to Ireland for basic training. However, the war ended before he was sent to the front. Apparently he always told his grandchildren “when Kaiser Bill found out I was on the way, he called the whole thing off.” His descendants still live locally. Arthur later lived at The Lawns, Magor and died in 1988.
Contact me if you want more detail about the sources used or any help finding your ancestors’ stories, military or otherwise.
Acknowledgements
I am very grateful to Mr. R. Ford for providing some family details and especially the photographs of William, Magor RFC and William’s medals. Mr. Ford has given his permission to publish them here.
Links
More detailed accounts of the Battle of Festubert can be found at Chris Baker’s wonderful website or in Ponsoby’s book ‘The Grenadier Guards in the Great War 1914-1918 p.247.
Grenadier Guards website
