Scanlan Arthur C 1893

Arthur Charles Scanlan

1893-1940

Father Nm: Francis Augulon Scanlan born abt 1862 Greenwich

Mother Nm: Christiana Driver born abt 1866 Deptford Kent

Marriage Dt: 2nd Q 1921 Greenwich

K comments:
Spouse comments: Rose Jane Blencowe [4585] born 12 March 1898 St. Olave’s, died 1959 Wellington Western Australia

Children. Arthur Francis Scanlan 1922 Greenwich,. Olive Scanlan 20 August 1924 WA, Edwin James 1927.

Born 1893

Greenwich London

1901 Census

43, Marlton Street, Greenwich,

Francis Scanlan Head Married Male 39 1862 Lighterman Greenwich, Kent, England
Christiana Scanlan Wife Married Female 35 1866 – Deptford, Kent, England
Francis Scanlan Son – Male 10 1891 – Greenwich, Kent, England
George Scanlan Son – Male 9 1892 – Greenwich, Kent, England
Arthur Scanlan Son – Male 7 1894 – Greenwich, Kent, England
Alice Scanlan Daughter – Female 6 1895 – Greenwich, Kent, England
Ada Scanlan Daughter – Female 5 1896 – Greenwich, Kent, England
1911 CENSUS

details

WW1

20th Battalion County of London Regiment

Arthur Charles Scanlan 2167, 630610, Acting Lance Corporal 1st/20th (County of London) Battalion (Blackheath and Woolwich) 141st Infantry Brigade, 47th Division

Synopsis

Arthur volunteered for the 20th Battalion London County Regiment a Territorial battalion that became the 1st/20th when 2nd line battalions were formed. Arthur as a volunteer Territorial did not have to serve overseas when he joined up but nevertheless in March 1915 he signed a waiver and went with his comrades to France. He saw many ferocious battles on the Arras and Somme front lines in 1915-1916 losing many of his comrades. He fought for 3 years or more at the front and it wasn’t to the last battle that his luck ran out and he was wounded. In 1921 he married Rose Jane Blencowe whose brother had emigrated to Perth Australia so after their first son Arthur was born in 1922 they decided to emigrate themselves. They completed the journey in 1924 settled near family and lived a happy life there having two Australian children Olive and Edwin.

1914
  • August 1914 : at Holly Hedge House, Blackheath.
1915
  • 10 March 1915 : landed at Le Havre. Note Arthurs medal card indicates this is the day he entered France.
  • 11 May 1915 : formation became 141st Brigade in 47th (2nd London) Division.
  • 1 June . Givenchy in Arras Sector, front line. 1/20 Bn casualties 2 wounded.
    Spring 1915 at Givenchy

     

  • 25 September. Battle of Loos.
    • 1/20 Bn attacked Chalk Pits, Le Crassier. Casualties high, 43 men killed
  • 13–19 October. Battle of the Hohenzollern Redoubt  This was a continuation of Loos battle front. The 47th Division returned to the same area to relieve other troops, with Battalion HQ and A Company of the 1/20th back in the Chalk Pit, which was heavily bombarded.  Casualties on the Loos front after 25 September until end of year were 28 men killed.
1916
  • 21 May. Vimy Ridge Arras Sector. The units of 47th Division were involved in frequent crater-fighting in this sector from April to July 1916, including the major German attack on 21 May. The 1/20 Bn casualties for this attack were 33 men killed
  • 1 October.The Somme Battle of the Transloy Ridges .The single most devastating day for the Battalion as 92 men were killed in this battle. “the 47th Division attacked with three battalions of the 141st Brigade and two tanks. The 1/19th London Regiment (1/19th London) got to within 50 yd (46 m) of the German line, was forced under cover by machine-gun fire and waited for the tanks. The tanks drove left along the Flers trenches firing into them and the infantry captured the trenches easily, despite the many earlier casualties. As the support waves consolidated Flers Support Trench, the leading infantry pressed on past Eaucourt L’Abbaye (Eaucourt) and met the New Zealanders at the Le Barque road. The 1/20th London attacked Eaucourt and crossed the Flers trenches after the two tanks has passed by, swept through Eaucourt and gained touch with the 1/19th London. The tanks pressed on but bogged west of Eaucourt; the 1/17th London on the left flank had already been stopped by uncut wire and German machine-gun fire. During a counter-attack by part of II Battalion, Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 17, the tanks were set on fire and abandoned.”wikipedia

    47th Division attack on Eaucourt l’Abbaye Somme October, 1916
1917

Note: A quiet first half of the year until in June they were in Belgium at Ypres.

  • June. Battle of Messinesin the weeks leading up to the battle, 141 Bde held the divisional front and carried out preparations for the attacks, including digging new trenches and establishing ration and ammunition dumps. For the attack on 7 June, it was in support, moving up to relieve 142 Bde two days later Wikipedia . Casualties for the month 11 men killed
    Troops of the 12th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment, who attacked on the first morning of the battle (7th June), 11th June 1917. © IWM (Q 2819)

     

  • 29 November-5 December. Battle of Cambrai141 Bde took over the recently captured Bourlon Wood on 29 November in time to be hit by the German counter-attack the following morning. The trenches were only half-dug and there was no wire, and the Germans treated the wood to an intense bombardment with gas shells. The defenders suffered heavy casualties, but the attacks on this sector were driven back, though the division was withdrawn to a more defensible line on the night of 4/5 December.wikipedia. Casualties 18 men killed.
1918

The Battalion was at rest at the beginning of 1918 but the German Spring Attack caught them up again in fighting.

  • March. Holding the Welsh ridge near Gonnelieu when they were bombarded with gas and shells . Casualties 26 men killed.

    1917 Front line map showing March 1918 postion of Battalion
  • 22–23 August.  Battle of Albert – The division joined the Allied counter-offensive in this battle. 141 Brigade began their advance at 04.45, and gained their objective with little resistance, but in the morning mist and battle smoke the battalions began to consolidate a little short of the intended line; the follow-up units suffered heavily.Wikipedia
  • 2nd Battle of Bapaume 31 August–3 September – 141 Bde advanced behind a creeping barrage at 05.30, gained all the ground required and continued to advance the following day. A new dawn attack on 5 September suffered a check, so it was successfully repeated under cover of a barrage and a thunderstorm at 1900, followed by a further push on 6 September. Wikipedia Casualties 32 men killed August and September.
  • After a further period of rest, the 47th Division was preparing for a move to the Italian Front when it was instead ordered to take part in the final operations on the Western Front. On 1 October 141 Bde was hurried forward to keep in touch with the retreating Germans Wikipedia  It was in this a last action of the war that Arthur’s luck finally runs out and he is wounded.
  • 18 October . Wounded. Vicinity of Armentieres.  Just two men of the Battalion killed in October one buried at Armentieres one in Germany.
    Merville and the Armentieres sector

     

  • It is assumed that Arthur wounded may have been invalided to England and served out his time after hospitalisation in England
1919
  • Discharged
Medals
Awarded the 1914-15 Star The British and Victory Medals
Arthur would have been entitled to wear at least one wound stripe on his dress uniform
Sources
    1. Alan Blencowe of Perth for his Family History and photographs of the family.
    2. Ancestry, FMP   and BFA database
    3. Wikipedia
After the War
1924 Emigrated to Australia

Rose’s older brother Tom had before the war worked in Australia and returned to fight in the war. His stories of Australia must have impressed Rose and when Tom and his wife Florence decided to take up the offer of free farming land and assisted passage in 1923 it wasn’t long after that Rose and Arthur decided to take up the same offer.

Note: The Scanlan family were part of a WA Govt group settlement scheme 4-5 families were allocated land together to clear timber and turn it into Dairy farmland. They were paid 10 shillings a day for the work and granted a 10-pound loan to buy the necessary things for settling as the photo below shows the location and dwelling were deep in treed land and shelter merely tin huts. The families were to take 30 yr mortgage for the land and repay that over that period becoming freehold owners. The family was allocated a block at Northcliffe 350kms south of Perth. but close to brother Tom and his family. The situation was very hard for families especially those from places like London where schools shops hospitals public transportation were all close by.

From the left brother Tom the two boys and wife Florence and some of the other families on the block. Bote tin hut to left. Photograph from Alan Blencowe Grandson

This from Alan Blencowe of Perth -grandson of Tom Blencowe  ” Thomas’ sister Rose Jane and husband Arthur Charles Scanlan also came out to the group settlement scheme on the “Hobson’s Bay” but a year later, leaving England on the 25th of March 1924 and joined Group 98, Location 8586 but they left on the 31st of March 1927 and Arthur, not being able to find work in Perth during the depression, was sent to the bush to make roads and settled in Donnybrook.”

  • 25 March. Departing London on the ship TSS Hobsons Bay; Arthur Charles Scanlan Rose Jane Scanlan and son Arthur F Scanlan 1922; Home address 4 Marlton St East Greenwich. bound for Freemantle
1924
  • 21 August. Birth of Olive Rose Scanlan at Northcliffe.

 

1927

This family photo taken after April shows from left Arthur F, Arthur Charles, Rose Jane, baby Edwin James, and Olive Rose

C 1935

Family photograph about 1935 from left Edwin, Rose, Arthur Arthur C and Olive

1939 Census

Arthur Charles Scanlan Occupation Road worker
Rose Jane Scanlan
Address Carey Street Donnybrook
Place Donnybrook
District Forrest
Sub-district Collie
Number 3652
State Western Australia

Death 1940

Wellington Western Australia

Gallery

There are service records in the National archives for this person they can be viewed and downloaded from their website https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

The family tree of Rose Jane Blencowe and other Blencowes including older brother Tom who with his family who Rose and Arthur followed out to Western Australia. In this tree younger sister  Esther Maria the only Blencowe Civilian casualty of WW2.


 

Record of Wounding

First Name:
A C
Surname:
Scanlan
Incident Details:
War Office Daily List No. 5699
Report Date:
18/10/1918
More Information:
Entitled to wear a “Wound Stripe” as authorised under Army Order 204 of 6th July 1916. The terms of this award being met by being named in this list.
Rank:
Private
Service Number:
630610
Casualty Listed As:
Wounded
Next Of Kin Address:
Greenwich, S.E.
Service:
British Army
Primary Unit:
London Regiment
Archive Reference:
NLS 1918_WList64