ARTHUR HENRY BLENCOE  [4417]

1893-1927

Father Nm: Henry Blencoe [3905] 1871 Aston-1905 Aston -Oldest Known Ancestor; Edward Blencowe, C1774, Northants.

Mother Nm: Florence Jones [5934] 1891 Aston. She died 1903 Aston

Marriage Dt:1922 to Elizabeth Pickering, at Aston, Warwickshire

Volume Number: 6d Page Number: 990.

K comments:

Spouse comments: Elizabeth Pickering.

Children:

1893

Registered birth: (Research): GR[B] Aston March 1893, Volume: 6d Page 335.

1901 CENSUS – ASTON

1. Blencoe Arthur H Son 8
2. Blencoe Henry Head 30
3. Blencoe Florence Wife 30
4. Blencoe Thomas F Son 2
5. Blencoe Florence E Dau 9
6. Blencoe Ethel R Dau 4

1908

Enlisted with Royal Marines but failed to pass the musical tests presumably trying out for bandsmen.

A newspaper article indicates Arthur was at St Vincent’s Home (for working boys), Moseley prior to joining the Army.

1911 CENSUS BIRMINGHAM – LIVING ALONE

Blencoe Arthur H 18

17^TH JUL. 1911

Attested with the Royal Artillery at Birmingham, occupation Birdcage Maker.²

	Royal Artillery

WW1

Blencoe Arthur Henry, 1893, Gunner, 65958, 1006528, 39^th Artillery Brigade, Royal Field Artillery

1914

Enlisted in 1911 Arthur served through to the start of the war.

• 16^th Aug. Arthur entered France with the 1^st Division. He likely served the full war period with the 1^st Division. He may, however, have missed some of the battles listed below, sick, wounded (Dec 1914 and in Nov. 1915) or on home leave possible reasons. Arthur served the entire rest of his life in the Royal Artillery dying while still in service in 1927.

Notes:

39^th Brigade Royal Field Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Field Artillery which served in the First World War. It was originally formed with 46th, 51st and 54th Batteries, and attached to the 1st Infantry Division. In August 1914, it was mobilised and sent to the Continent with the British Expeditionary Force, where it saw service with the 1^st Division throughout the war. ¹

• 19th August. Landed le Havre from Southampton. Note: landed after main Infantry on 16th August.

• 23^rd – 24^th Aug. While the 1st Div was engaged at Mons the 39th Brigade was only at Landrecies on this date.
  

• 27^th Aug. 1st Div. Engaged in the Rearguard affair of Etreux. 39th Bde at Bernoy providing Artillery cover.

  

• 12^th-15^th Sept. Battle of the Aisne. including the capture of the Aisne Heights including the Chemin des Dames. The 39th Bde at Chivy.
  

• 20^th Sept. Actions of the Aisne Heights.

• 26^th Sept. Action of Chivy.

• 16th October. Entrained from Fere-en-Tardenois to Hondeghem, Ypres sector.

• 21^th-24^th Oct. Battle of Langemarck.

• 29^th-31^st Oct. Battle of Gheluvelt. Nr Hooge firing in support of attack.

  

• 11^th Nov. Battle of Nunne Bosschen. On this day the Royal Artillery guns behind Nun Woods were outflanked and so the command had to throw every man into the defence.” Gunners, drivers, cooks, veterinarians, and anybody else they could find – thrust rifles into their hands and sent them to form a make-shift “infantry” line in front of the gun positions.”³

• 5^th Dec. Wounded. Arthur was wounded for the first time before 5^th Dec 1914 when it is reported in the Birmingham Daily Mail. In hospital at Newton Abbott suffering from a wound in the back.

• December. In Convalescence at Newton Abbot V.A. Hospital, Newton Hall, College Road, Newton Abbot.

1915

• 25th Jan 1915.The first action of Givenchy. Arthur was probably still in Convalescence in England
• 29^th Jan-1^st Feb. 6^th Feb. Affairs of Cuinchy. Arthur was probably still in Convalescence in England
• 9^th May. Battle of Aubers. Including the attack on Fromelles and the attack at Rue du Bois.
• 25^th Sept.- 13^th Oct. Battle of Loos.The largest battle of WW1 and ultimately a very heavy defeat. General Haig mistakenly thought this would be a great victory (even one to end the war) but without the planning, adequate Artillery fire and specific target maps of advancement. Haig thought the first use of the gas by the British would devastate the Germans but it did not. The British had 60,000 casualties compared to the German’s 26,000 which in itself tells of the outcome. The BEF commander Gen. Sir John French lost his command as a result of the failure of the battle and Haig inherited the role from then on.⁴

• 25^th Sept. The 39th Bde guns were located at Grenay. In the central section of the British line, 5^th and 1^st Divisions had managed, after initial setbacks and heavy resistance, to capture their first objectives, but were unable to reach the second German position.⁴
• Arthur’s 39^th Brigade featured in one of the more eccentric episodes of the battle. Lieutenant-Colonel E.B. Macnaughten (CO XXXIX Bde RFA, 1st Division). In order to reassure his batteries, Macnaughten apparently ‘had a table set with linen, cloth, napkins, and plates and put up at ‘Lone Tree’… fully exposed to shellfire… where he took his lunch just as if in his mess in billets.^,4

• 13^th-19^th Oct. Actions of the Hohenzollern Redoubt. The 39th Bde located at Vermelles, the 51st Battery was heavily shelled and direct hit killed four men in the dug-out Gnr Beckett won Victoria Cross for bravery.
  Possibly the action that Arthur was wounded in (for a second time). The Redoubt in Auchy -les-Mines was captured by the 9^th Div. only to be lost again. The subsequent counter-attack on 13^th October was a devastating defeat for the British and resulted in 3,643 casualties, mostly in the first few minutes.¹

  

• 20^thNov. Wounded. Loos Salient. For the second time gunshot wound (GSW). ²

Note: Arthur was invalided to England and did not return to the front until sometime in 1917 (RA records). When exactly he returned we cannot determine.

1917

• 14^th Mar.-5^th Apr. The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line.

• 20^th Jun.-11^th Nov. Operations on the Flanders Coast.The 39th Bde were active in these actions

• 10^th-11^th Jul. German attacks on Nieuport.

• 26^th Oct.-10^th Nov. Second Battle of Passchendaele.  The 39th Bde were on the coast in October and moved to wagon lines near Poperinghe then onto Strombeek but not really involved in the Passchedaele battle
  

1918

• 9^th-11^th Apr. Battle of Estaires. including the first defence of Givenchy.

• 12^th-15^th Apr. Battle of Hazebrouck. including the defence of the Hinges Ridge and the Nieppe Forest.

• 18^th Apr. Battle of Bethune. including the second defence of Givenchy.

• 2^nd-3^rd Sept. Battle of Drocourt-Queant.

• 18^th Sept. Battle of Epehy.

• 3^rd-5^th Oct. Battle of Beaurevoir.

• 17^th-25^th Oct. Battle of the Selle.

• 4^th Nov. Battle of the Sambre. including the passage of the Sambre-Oise canal and the capture of Le Quesnoy.

1919

• R.A. records show he was in France in this year²

SOURCES

1. Wikipedia

2. The Royal Artillery Historical Trust

3.  Nonne Bosschen battlefield review by Major Hugh M Jones

4. Loos 1915 by Nick Lloyd
5. War diaries of 39 Bde WO-95-1249-1 39th Bde 1914 wd   WO-95-1249-2 39th Bde 1915

MEDALS

Awarded the 1914 ‘Mons’ Star, British and Victory medals. Arthur doesn’t appear to have requested Clasp and Rosette. Entitled to wear two ‘Wound Stripes’ on his dress uniform.

AFTER THE WAR

1921 Census

Living with sister Ethel Rose Blencoe a brother-in-law Frederick Ashton at 25 Copley Hill, Erdington, Birmingham. Arthur is unemployed and this is probably why he rejoined the Royal Artillery.

Arthur

Blencoe

Brother-in-law

Male

1893

28

Birmingham, Warwickshire, England

General Labourer

Ombot Rubber Works, Out Of Work

After 1921-1927

Served until his death 27 Oct.1927 with the Royal Artillery.

DEATH 1927 age 34 years

 Died of T.B.

Date of Registration: Oct-Nov-Dec 1927, Age at Death: 34, Registration district: Birmingham South, Inferred County: Warwickshire, Volume: 6d, Page: 245

Gallery

A medal card and two medal card roll records exist for this man that are not shown in this gallery due to copyright reasons.