TOPIC:

4445-PRIVATE W. GRAINGER: 1ST BATTALION WORCESTERSHIRE REGIMENT



QUEENS SOUTH AFRICA MEDAL
CLASPS: CAPE COLONY/TRANSVAAL

CONDITION: NEF

Private Grainger was serving with the 1st Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment when he was wounded at Bethlehem on 16th December 1900. Privates 5331 Jeff's,G and 3798 Piggins,A were both taken prisoner and later released. 5369 Private J. Brown severely wounded.
Sadly, Grainger died of his wounds on 25th December 1900 at Bethlehem (the irony of the date and location are not lost on me!).
He is interred at Bethlehem and is commemorated on monument 2.
He is also remembered on the memorial to the 1st Battalion inside Worcester Cathedral.

His wounding was reported in the local UK press thus:

"WEST MIDLANDS AND THE WAR.
LOCAL CASUALTIES.
1st Worcester Regiment casualties at Bethlehem, December 16.---5369 Private J. Brown, severely wounded; 4445 Private W. Grainger, dangerously wounded; 5331 Private J. Jeff's, missing; 3798 Private A. Piggins, missing"

and,

"WEST MIDLANDS AND THE WAR.
WORCESTER CASUALTIES.
1ST Worcester Regiment 2946 Lance-Corporal J. Mash reported dangerously I'll with enteric at Ficksbur, March 10. 4445 Private W. Grainger died from wounds at Bethlehem, Orange River Colony, December 25th last."

I have been unable to trace Private Graingers origins in the UK. Any information would be very gratefully received.

Good Morning Moranthorse1.......

For your records and information here are the Worcester Regiment items in my collection (a couple have their own threads on the forum):

Worcestershire Regiment

099 – 4400 Lance-Corporal Neal, J. (2nd VSC, Composite Cyclist Corps & Jewel)
146 – 5204 Sergeant Davies, E.
350 – Major Hovell, Hugh de Berdt, (DSO, KSA, Pair, Life Saving)
535 – 2801 Private Hadley, G

Mike

Thank you Mike,
I've read the threads on Major Hovell and Lance Corporal Neal, both cracking medals. I will have to look up on Hadley and Davies.
I do find QSAs to officers of the Worcesters to be very scarce in the market place.
Cheers Steve

OLD POSTCARD





A nice old postcard showing a couple of Worcesters, the soldier on the right wearing his QSA and KSA .

5959 PRIVATE HARRY THORNTON: WORCESTERSHIRE REGIMENT.

Harry Thornton was born in 1878 at Salford, Lancashire, England. The Census of 1881 has the family residing at 33 Walmer Street, Salford and has Harry as a twelve month old living with his 25 year old father, Arthur, who was employed as a Clerk and his mother Catherine (24) as a housewife and mother to Harry and his 3 year old sister Emily. Also living with the family were Harry's widowed maternal grandmother Isabella Smith (50), and aunts Isabella (19) and Mary (16). Both aunts were Machinists, which is of little surprise given the industrial nature of the area.

1891 finds the Thornton family relocating to another heavily industrialised region, the Black Country. This is a region of the English west midlands that gained it's name by one of two possible explanations which are subject to much modern debate! The first theory suggests that the name derives from the thick coal seams which gave the local soil it's black, loamy colour. The other suggests that the area was permanently covered in a layer of black soot from the grime and pollution of industrial activities and from the accrid smoke belching out from factory chimneys which also permanently shrouded the local environs.
I digress! 1891 finds the family Thornton now living at Wallows Common, Kingswinford, Stourbridge, Staffordshire (Stourbridge was split between Worcestershire and Staffordshire at the time). Arthur was now working as a Steel Furnaceman, a marked contrast from his previous occupation as a pen pusher! The family were now joined by another child named Herbert born in 1882. Harry was by now an 11 year old Scholar. Grandmother and aunts were no longer living with the family.

It would appear that Harry was not so keen on joining his father in the iron trades and toiling in one of the 'dark satanic mills' of the Black Country. We find him working as a Shop Assistant on his attestation papers, which have thankfully survived enabling us to get to know this gentleman rather better.
Maybe he felt compelled to answer the patriotic call of Queen and empire by attesting to the Worcestershire Regiment with service number 5959 at Dudley, Worcestershire on 23rd July 1900.

Harry was recorded as being 5'3 3/4" height, 115lbs in weight with a chest range of 32 1/2" minimum and 34"maximum. He was of a dark complexion, hazel eyes and had dark brown hair. Church of England was his denomination. The only distinguishing mark described was a scald mark on his right breast.
Harry was passed as fit for service on 24th July 1900 at Worcester by Major Maypole, Commanding Officer 29th Regimental District.
His military history shows the following:
HOME-23/07/1900 TO 8/11/1901.
S.AFRICA-9/12/1901 TO 2/04/1903.
HOME- 2/04/1903.TO 22/1/1904
CEYLON-23/10/1906.
INDIA-20/12/1905TO 28/02/1908.
HOME-29/02/1908 TO 10/09/1914.
EXPEDITIONARY FORCE FRANCE-12/09/1914.TO 10/14/1916.
HOME-11/11/1916 TO 20/05/1918.
EAST AFRICA-21/05/1918 TO 23/05/1919.
HOME- 24/05/2919 TO 21/06/1919.
TOTAL= 18 years 384 days.

So Harry was a well traveled young man by 1919.
His next of kin were his father, mother and brother Herbert at 100 Wallows Street, Brierley Hill. His sister Emily is also listed, residing not far away, at 19 High Street, Bilston..

The first military medal awarded to Harry during his time with the colours, was the Queens South Africa with clasps:
CAPE COLONY/ORANGE FREE STATE/TRANSVAAL/ SOUTH AFRICA 1901/ SOUTH AFRICA 1902.









I purchased the medal off of e-bay and probably paid a little bit too much for it, but as we shall see the biography develops nicely!
The observant reader will notice the original ribbon showing evidence of rubbing away and also the stitching to the rear to hold the ribbon in place. One can just imagine Harry Thornton putting needle and thread to work so that he could proudly wear his QSA. Also not too common to have the five clasps including the two dated ones on a QSA to the regiment. It, of course, a few edge knocks etc. But it all adds character doesn't it!

As Harry was one of the later arrivals at the theatre of war during the Guerrilla stage of the conflict, he missed the engagements at Slingersfontein and Ladybrand amongst others, but would have been involved with blockhouse and convoy duties and possibly guarding Boer prisoners. In his first period in South Africa he was there for 1year and 144 days.
His second stint in SA was for 274 days prior to shipping out to Ceylon. I guess this was a period of garrison duty.

So, it would appear that Harry made it back out of South Africa apparently unscathed.

WORLD WAR ONE

Obviously happy with the military life, Harry remained with the Worcesters and extending his service to complete three years with the colours on 23rd September 1904. His continuing service thereafter saw some nice postings on garrison duties in Ceylon, India and back at home.
However, as history tells us following the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip of the Black Hand gang in the little Serbian town of Sarajevo, the maelstrom that was to be the First World War descended on Europe.
For Harry's part, he was mobilised on 5th August 1914, and found himself bound for France and Belgium as part of the British Expiditionary Force with the 2nd Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment.
Private Harry Thornton and the 2nd Worcesters would not have to wait long before they were pitched into a desperate struggle for the BEFs survival.
On 31st October 1914, the war was not going well for the allies. The Germans were gaining swift momentum and threatened to sweep all before them as their plan of battle was to sieze the Channel ports and so bring a swift conclusion to the war by stopping the supplies of materiel to the BEF and forcing annihilation and capitulation.
The fighting around the village of Gheluvelt was pivotal to the outcome as it was the only remaining point where the German lines could be dominated.
By noon on 31st October 1914, the Queen's, Royal Scots Fusiliers, Welsh, and King's Royal Rifles had all been overrun. The South Wales Borderers were also rolled back under the pressure of the German onslaught, Gheluvelt had been lost and the dreaded gap began to appear in the Allied line.
The beleaguered South Wales Borderers sent this desperate message to Brigade HQ ;" Can you push the King's forward astride the road-YPRES GHELUVELT-to restore the line of trenches-when this is done advise our guns put their range by 200x-at present they are firing into our own trenches. Then the line will be restored."
Of course, it was to late by now.
A desperate 'forlorn hope' indeed, a miracle, was required to save the BEF.
I will quote the Worcestershire Regiment account of the actions of the 2nd Worcesters under the command of Lt. Col. Hankey on that fateful day in 1914:

"As the leading men reached the ridge they came in view of the German guns whose high explosive shells were quickly directed on the charging soldiers. Over 100 of the battalion were killed or wounded, but the rest pushed on, increasing their speed as they came to the downward slope in sight of Gheluvelt, made the final charge through hedges and on the chateau grounds. Here they met the remnants of the South Wales Borderers who had made a heroic stand.
The meeting was unexpecte, for the Worcesters had believed that no soldiers were left. The 2nd Worcesters had gone into this action with 370 men of whom 187 were killed or wounded. Gheluvelt had been saved and the line restored. It is rare that the action of one unit can exert such a profound influence as did this now famous counter attack.
As a result of the capture of Gheluvelt against terrific odds and the consequent closing of the gap in the British lines, Ypres was held and the Channel Ports were saved."

Please indulge my description of this action as it bears great relevance to our story. I was delighted to find that 5959 Private Harry Thornton was present at the battle of Gheluvelt Chateau. Please take a look at the following pages from the Worcestershire Regiment webpages listing the men present at the action. Apologies for the quality of screenshots!





Again, Harry came through another violent event unharmed.
This good fortune was not to last. Harry was wounded in action at Festubert on 15th April 1915, suffering a gunshot wound to his right hand.
Appointed unpaid Lance Corporal on 6th March 1916.
Then a shell wound sustained in action to his left foot at Bazentin le Petit on 21st July 1916.
Appointed paid Lance Corporal on 15th August 1916.
Finally, a gunshot wound in action, this time to his left foot at Ginchy on 1st November 1916.
On 11th November 1916, Harry returned to the UK. One would assume that he would be now in a period of recuperation after enduring a tough two years two months of the war.

His final posting of the Great War was to East Africa on 21st May 1918, spending 1 year and 3 days there, joining the King's African Rifles for duty with whom he enjoyed the rank of Lance Corporal.
On his return home he was discharged after having served 18 years and 384 days with the colours.

For his service in World War One, Harry Thornton was awarded the 1914 star with clasp and rosette, War medal, Victory Medal, three wound stripes and one red and one blue Chevron.
I would very much like to know if his WW1 trio were still out there. Please let me know if you have any information.

I have yet to find any information about Harry's whereabouts after discharge. It is an ongoing project/obsession for me now!

5959 Private (sometime Lance Corporal) Harry Thornton; a Worcester, Boer War veteran, Old Contemptible, Gheluvelt charger, 3 X wounded, King's African Rifle, no mean soldier, remembered.......

An excellent write-up, Steve. Many thanks.