Allerton Bywater churchyard

Only a short distance from where the congregation sit rests the remains of Henry Prescott.

Henry served in the West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales’s Own), 2nd/6th Bn—service number 6026. The source, UK, Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919, shows that he was born at Shipley and enlisted in Pontefract.

According to the CWGC, Henry died ‘at home’ on February 8, 1917, at 40. Henry’s mother, Susan Rennard, was responsible for distributing any money owed to Henry.

Henry’s parents were George Prescott and Susan, nee Wood. When George died, Susan remarried widower John Rennard in Bradford in the winter of 1886. In the census of 1891, both the Rennard and Prescott families were living on Dawson Street, Shipley. Susan’s husband, John Rennard, died in Shipley in 1911; a few years later, in 1913, Susan joined her daughter and husband in Canada, who had been there since 1907. By the end of the war, Susan was living in Winnipeg.

One last look for anything relating to Henry was to search the Pension Records – I used Fold3, where I found the cause of Henry’s demise – he accidentally drowned, and his mother was refused a pension. The reason – Entitlement not admitted.

St Mary the Less burial record entry for Henry. End column, which the incumbent added, reads: Accidentally drowned Private in W Yorks

The West Riding Regiment, 2^nd/6^th War Diary

Extract – 11 September 1917
At Zero plus 3, the leading line advanced straight to the front trench. During the advance, one man was seriously injured and another slightly wounded by machine gun fire from the flank.

Two enemy were found by 2/lieut. O (?) E Brooksbank, who was leading the party, at the junction of the front line with OSTERICH AVENUE. One was inclined to show fight and was killed, and the other was taken prisoner. Two other prisoners were captured from the top of a dugout. About 50 yds West of the trench junction. There were other Germans inside, who refused to come out and the dugout was burned with P Bombs

There was a little fighting in the neighbourhood of this point, and several Germans were killed.

In the meanwhile, 2/lieut J R Allett, who was leading the party detailed for the support trench, passed through, and found no difficulty in reaching his objective. One German was observed to be making for REINCOURT, and was shot. One dugout was found and destroyed by P Bombs, its occupants, if any, refusing to come out. Another German was wounded not far from STAR CROSS ROADS, while endeavouring to escape, and was brought in. Five other Germans are believed to have been killed in this trench. At the STAR CROSS ROADS there was no sign of the enemy nor of dugouts.

The operation, as a whole, was carried out very successfully, 3 wounded and 1 wounded prisoner being taken, 2 (?) dugout being destroyed and 90 of the enemy being killed. Some documents were also captured and sent down.

Our own losses amounted to one man severely and two men slightly wounded.

The success was very largely due to the very careful reconnaissances carried out on five separate nights by 2/lieut Brooksbank and 2/lieut J R Allott, and on at least two occasions by the two sergeants and all section leaders who took part in the raid.

Names and ranks of the men involved in the events mentioned in the diary.

Extract – possibility 13 September 1917

At 4 am this morning, after a very quiet night, the enemy put down a heavy barrage of all calibres up to 8 inch on the Battalion Front Line, and on PUDSEY SUPPORT. On the right Company front, this continued unitl 5-15 am: on the left Company front it lifted about 5 am, and the enemy attack the line in considerable strength – approximately 160 men. The attack commenced between the left post of the right front Company and the right post of the left front Company. Every man in the right part was either killed or wounded. They put up a very find fight and bayoneted 1 German Officer and 2 man.

Some of the enemy forced their way through towards the old Company H Q in LONDON SUPPRT, occupied by 1 Officer, 2/lieut Hodgson * and 4 men. The enemy threw stick bombs at his stromboe horn, which apparently they mistook for a sentry. 2/lieut Hodgson met them and drove them back, and they left the line near the old No.11 Post of the left front Company, which had been entirely destroyed by consecutive bombardments two days ago. Several Germans were killed and wounded in front of Nos. 1 & 2 Posts.

My approximate casualties are 1 Officer killed Captain G C Turner, killed, 10 other ranks killed ad 30 wounded, 1 NCO and 1 man, who were not in a post, missing. All wounded were evacuated from Battalion HQ by 10 am.

Captain Turner did magnificently before receiving a direct hit by a medium trench mortar, and is reported to have himself accounted for 5 Germans.

I forward herewith 100 marks, some silver, letter and ribbons taken from the dead Officer, and shoulder straps taken from the dead man. Also some papers and nose(?) caps. I shall be glad if the latter can be returned for verification of calibre.

Lieut. Colonel, Comdng, 2/6^th West Yorkshire Regt.

Source – Free download from the National Archives

Captain G C Turner, mentioned in the above extract, was killed instantaneously by a shell at Riencourt on 13 September 1917; this information confirms the diary entry. George Corrall Turner was 32 years old when he died and rests in Favreuil British Cemetery, 2km north of Bapaume.

George, the son of John and Sabina Turner, lived in Ilkley—in 1901 at Red Gables and later at Newlands. He was educated at Ilkley Grammar School, Sedburgh, and Leeds University. He was a civil engineer and had spent three years in Canada and British Columbia. At the outbreak of war, he joined the Leeds University OTC and obtained a commission in the West Yorkshire Regiment in 1915.

George is one of 20 Fell and Rock Climbing Club members who died during WW1 and are remembered on a memorial at Great Gable. George is also remembered at Ilkley Grammar School, Sedburgh and Leeds University memorials. Sedburgh School also has a memorial to four Victoria Cross or George Cross recipients ( 1 Boer War and 3 WW2).

From the Westmorland Gazette, 27 October 1917 – His Colonel in a letter to his home at Ilkley spoke in high terms of the courage, perseverance and endurance of Capt. Turner. The writer added “His company was holding the front line, and the enemy placed an intense barrage on the battalion front. Your son did magnificent work, as he always has done, and went from post to post for nearly an hour under very severe fire. A little before 5 a.m. the enemy attacked in force, and it was very greatly due to the splendid example your son has always set and to the perfect courage and coolness shown by him last night, that his company successfully repelled the attack and inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy. He was killed instantaneously by a shell, just after leaving a post where he had been leading a hand to hand fight. Your son was mentioned the other day in divisional orders for gallantry and devotion to duty.”

Sources – De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour 1914-1919; The Commonwealth War Graves Commission; Craven’s Part in the Great War; Find a Grave; Regimental War Diary, and various newspapers.