William Edward Walley Blencowe [4038]

KIA 16^th Nov. 1914

1878-1914

Known as Billy

Father Nm: Harry (Henry) Blencowe [2479] born 1853 Devizes M Q. died 1907 Corwen: Oldest known ancestor – Thomas Blencowe 1475 Marston St Lawrence.

Mother Nm: Emily Margaret Walley [3151] 1843-1919.

Marriage Dt:1907 to Mabel Hopkins 1879-

K comments:

• WW1: Brother Sydney served with William in the South African War. Brother-in-law Thomas Hopkins served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
• WW2: Son Ronald RS and daughter Betsy Margaret (Riddett) served with the British Red Cross. Son Patrick William Francis was a Lieut. F.O. with the RAF. Nephews Eric Blencowe Wales and Denys Herbert Wales both served with the RAF as Flying Officers.

Spouse comments: Mabel M Hopkins [3532] 1879-1958.

Children:

1. Betsy Margaret 12 Sep 1908, d. Jan 1982)
2. Ronald Rowlatt Sidney Blencowe – (b. 21 Sep 1909, d. Oct 1980)
3. Patrick William Francis Blencowe –  (b. 1911, d. 28 Mar 1966)
4. Elizabeth Blencowe –  (b. 1912, d. Yes, date unknown)
5. Harry Blencowe –  (b. 1914, d. Abt 1915)

(Research): GR[B] Devizes Sept 1878 1881 Census, GR[M] Salisbury Dec 1907.

1878 Birth

7 Jun 1878, The Castle Hotel. Devizes, Wiltshire

William was born at this hotel that had been the family for 50 years, built in the 18th C as a coaching house and taken over by his grandfather Henry Blencowe then his father Harry.

1881 Census Castle Hotel 48 New Park St. Devizes, Wiltshire

1. Wm. Edw.Wally Blencowe 2
2. Harry Blencowe
3. Emily Margaret Blencowe

1891 Wales Census Oystermouth, Thistleboon, Glamorgan

William E W Blencowe Age: 12, Estimated Birth Year: abt 1879, Relation: Boarder. Billy sent to his stepmothers  birthplace Wales.

 

1896-1901

• 1896. Enlisted in 2^nd Bn. Wiltshire regiment late 1896. Sergeant. 2^nd Bn. Wiltshire Regiment Voluntary Service and South Africa Campaign.¹

Archive Items held by Wiltshire Regiment

• 31^st May 1897. 2nd Volunteer Bn., Wiltshire Regiment – A parchment Certificate for Sergeant William E.W. Blencowe. The certificate is dated 31st May, 1897.²
• 30^th May. 1898. 2nd Bn., Wiltshire Regiment – A parchment certificate from the School of Military Engineering awarded to L/Corporal W. Blencowe on the 30th May 1898. The certificate was awarded for passing a course of Instruction in Military Engineering.²
• 2^nd Bn., Wiltshire Regiment – An ‘Army Separation and Allotments’ form belonging to Sergeant W. Blencowe. This leaflet gives details of the rates of separation allowance paid to soldiers’ families, based on their rank and the number of children they had. This leaflet dates from about 1914 when these rates were increased.²
• 1902. 2^nd Bn., Wiltshire Regiment – A pencil-drawn illustration, on parchment paper, of two soldiers, standing on either side of the Wiltshire Regiment Regimental flags. One of the Soldiers is in 18th Century uniform and the other is in the late 19th Century. Underneath are the words ‘Birthday Greetings’. The drawing was done by W.E.W. Blencowe and is dated 1902.²
• 30^th Nov. 1902.2nd Bn., Wiltshire Regiment – A typed and bound copy of the memoirs of Sergeant W E Blencowe during the Boer War, starting with embarkation from Aldershot in December 1899 to 24th November 1902 and dated 30th November 1902. It is dedicated to Mabel Mary Hopkin.²

South African War Experience-The Society for Military History

“It was the African winter, and though frost is rare in the daytime, the nights were bitterly cold, the men’s water bottles being nothing but a solid mass of ice in the mornings. There was none of the pomp and glory of war, none of the stirring excitement of a pitched battle and the glorious exaltation brought by a decisive victory. The troops plodded on, through icy winds, dust and rain, snow and hail; ill-clothed, fed on the coarsest food and not too much of that; sleeping on the ground with no covering but a ragged blanket; under fire night and day from an unseen and elusive enemy and bearing all with a cheerful and dogged endurance beyond all praise…”

“They had been in the battlefield for some time, when, on the 20 August 1900 Colonel Ridley, Imperial Yeomanry was ordered to move his 300 mounted troops towards the Doornberg hills and join with a small column under Colonel Sitwell. The Boers’ General Olivier got wind of this and attacked with his entire commando…”

“The Boers opened fire which lasted until late in the afternoon when an attempt to rush the trenches was easily repulsed. The firing continued all the next day; no one could leave the trenches for food or water, except at night at considerable risk, for rifle fire was kept up all the time. The horses and oxen brought into the lines and hidden, some in a cave and others in a ravine, were killed by shell fire, their position having been given away to the Boer gunners by an escaped prisoner; also the wagons and water barrels were smashed to pieces. Meanwhile, Sir G. Lagden, with thousands of Basutos, had been watching the fight’s progress from the hills across the river and had been trying to communicate with the besieged by heliograph. But Major White had no signalling apparatus and was unable to reply until Corporal Blencowe, a Devizes man, who had acquired a slight knowledge of signalling in the Volunteers, improvised one with a bit of looking-glass. A message was then received, saying that General Bruce Hamilton was on his way with 5,000 men to relieve them. This message was also read by the Boers, who, disregarding their leaders’ urging them to storm the fort began to slip away. By Wednesday morning, the commando had disappeared. The relieving column came in at mid-day and tried to pursue the Boers but they got clean away…”

“Surely England owes a debt of gratitude to her gallant sons in the Yeomanry who, for the most part, accustomed to a life of easy plenty, cheerfully underwent not only the dangers of war but what is infinitely more trying, the hardships and exposure inevitable to this campaign animated only by a sense of patriotic duty”.³

1901 Census 8 Richmond St New Brighton, Cheshire.

Name: H W Blencowe, Age: 24 Occupation Newsagent? Employer and Boarder.

Estimated Birth Year: abt 1877

1911 Census Winterslow Road, Porton, Salisbury

1. Blencowe Betsy Margeret 2
2. Blencowe Mabel Mary 32
3. Blencowe Ronald Rowlatt Sidney 1
4. Blencowe William Edward Walley 32 Occupation; Surveyor Estate Clerk

 

WW1

Blencowe William Edward Walley, Devizes, 1878, Sergeant, 4352, 1^st Wiltshire Regiment

Army record showplace off enlistment St Mary’s Church Devizes. Occupation draughtsman (Surveyor Estate Clerk).

1914

Upon mobilisation and declaration of war, the 1^st Bn. Wiltshires deployed to France as part of the 7^th Brigade, 3^rd Division.

• 14^th Aug. The battalion landed in France. The 1^st Wilts remained with the 3rd Division until the 7^th Brigade was transferred to the 25^th Division on 18^th October 1915.⁵
• 27^th Oct. William’s medal card indicates he entered France on this day. From the Regimental diary, it’s clear William’s intended unit was suffering a terrible defeat at Neuve Chapelle with 350 killed or missing on the 27^th Oct 1914 the day he joined them. Diary entry for the 28^th Oct 1914 indicates some reinforcements arriving at Pont Logy and on 1^st Nov 1914 further reinforcements arrived, William could have been in either group.⁴
• 1^st Nov. Marched through Bailleul which was very congested with troops and traffic to Locre where we went into billets. Locre is about 1 mile inside the Belgian Frontier.⁴
• 5^th Nov. Marched to Hooge via Ypres where we relieved 20^th Bde. 1^st Bn. was put in reserve in dugouts in a wood. 1 wounded.⁴
• 8^th Nov. 2 Coys in trenches Hooge, quiet morning up to midday when heavy shelling commenced but fairly quiet in trenches. Germans attacked the right of our line. It is found that dugouts are useless against high explosive and common shells, but are good protection from shrapnel. 1 wounded.⁴

  

• 11-15^th Nov. In trenches Hooge. Shelling each day.
  • 11^th Nov. Enemy started to shell at about 6.20 a.m. and continued on and off all day. Germans were said to be massing in front of our line but nothing came of it owing to our artillery fire. C & D Coys relieved by Gordons at about midnight. Very wet night. A Coy supported 15^th Bde. 1 wounded.⁴
  • 12^th Nov. A Coy stayed with the 15^th Brigade. Enemy shelled a good deal, during the day, but did not make an infantry attack. 4 wounded.⁴
  • On the 13^th Enemy shelled steadily, our guns replying. Germans brought up a gun in dead ground to within 100 yards of our trenches. Germans attacked in the afternoon, and S. Lancs were forced back (they were on our immediate right) these trenches were re-taken at dusk. A Coy rejoined from 15^th Bde. Gordons relieved the firing line at about 12 midnight. 3 killed, 6 wounded.⁴
  • 14^th Nov. Fairly quiet morning. Slight rain. Stood by to support 9^th Bde. Considerable shelling in the afternoon, culminating in an attack on Gordons, who were on the front line, but the Germans were driven back. 7 wounded, 1 missing.⁴
  • 15^th Nov. Made machine gun trench from which to support the firing line. An attack against the firing line repulsed. Started snowing. Germans shelling at intervals. 3 Coys relieved the Gordons. We have now taken over the whole of the Section, the other 2 Regts of the Bde being greatly reduced in officers and men. The trenches were very wet. Heavy musketry at 12 and 2 a.m.⁴
• 16^th Nov. KIA Hooge. In trenches. Germans continued to sap towards our centre. Heavy shelling. 2 killed, 3 wounded. (It should be noted other ranks other than officers were in general not recorded by name in the diaries).⁴

Note. With the kind help of members of the Great War Forum the following helps to put a more specific location for Billy that fatal day.

The Bedfords and Cheshires and 1 company of Wiltshires were positioned around Herenthage Chateau (Stirling Castle) as part of the XV Brigade (von Gleichen).  On their right flank was 1 Wilts, Lancs & KOSB under McCracken.  There is a detailed account of the XV Brigade available as a free download and below the Official History map I’ve done a very rough fit of his sketch of the position at mid-November.  As the Division was reduced to 3,000 men your man would have been very close to the grounds if not actually within them.

A later Post from Brian of the forum

The War Diary of 7 Infantry Brigade (3 Div) has some information you may find of use. Attached to the WD are messages, one of which is from 1 Wilts and is dated 16/11/1914. EDIT The blue writing refers to a small wood in K 19 d. It may be a mistake for J 19 d but I will look for some other maps to see if the lettering changed.

The map and message that reads From Captain Richardson Wiltshire Regiment 16 Nov 1914
There is a lot of Sniping going on this morning-night up through the wood, our supports are in. I have had a casualty here- also a man killed in the trenches from sniping. I think there must be some snipers hiding in the wood to my front – if the guns could search him with shrapnel- it might stop it. In evening they put occasional shell in there at different points at varied intervals of time ……

If Brian is right to think the message from Captain Richardson should have read J19 d then this could be small wood a sniper fired on Billy and killed him

Sources

1. BFA Newsletter article about William in South Africa and the articles held by the Wiltshire Regiment Archives.
2. From 2nd Bn. Wiltshire Regt Archives. SBYRW : 24099, SBYRW : 24100, 24101 and SBYRW : 4309.
3. Military History Journal – Vol 2 No 1-The Society for Military History.
4. 1^st Bn. Wiltshire Regimental war diary.WO-95-1415-2
5. Wikipedia.

Medals

Awarded the Queen’s South Africa Medal 1899-1902 with Cape Colony, Transvaal, Wittebergen clasps and Kings South African medal with 1902 clasp. 1914 ‘Mons” Star with Clasp, British, Victory medals and the rosette and clasp. The rosette is to be worn on the ribbon bar when the medal is not worn. In about 1920-21, Mabel Blencowe would have received the King’s Scroll and Plaque. Almost immediately she would have received a weekly war widows pension of 17s 6d plus 15s for the four children until they reached age 16.

Memorial Menin Gate

Blencowe, William Edward Walley, Rank: Serjeant Service No: 4332, Date of Death: 16/11/1914, Age:36

Regiment/Service: Wiltshire Regiment 1st Bn., Panel Reference Panel 53., Memorial Ypres (MENIN Gate) Memorial.

Additional Information: Husband of Mabel M. Blencowe, of “Winton,” 48, Coombe Rd., Salisbury.

After Billy’s Death

An Army pension for Mabel and her 3 children was seemingly all she had in the way of income to support the family. The amount 34 shillings and 2 pence needs to be compared with this information By 1918 agricultural labourers, the lowest paid manual workers, were earning 60s. to 70s. a week. Munitions workers earned considerably more – from £6 (120s.) to as much as £10 (200s.) or £20 (400s.) per week

1921 census

48, Cornle Road, Salisbury, New Sarum, Wiltshire

Mabel Mary	Blencowe	Head	Female	1878	43	Devizes, Wiltshire, England	Home Duties	–
Betsy Margaret	Blencowe	Daughter	Female	1908	12	Porton, Wiltshire, England	–	–
Ronald Rowlatt Sydney	Blencowe	Son	Male	1909	11	Porton, Wiltshire, England	–	–
Patrick William Francis	Blencowe	Son	Male	1911	9	Porton, Wiltshire, England	–	–
Ethel Matilda	Peacock	Sister	Female	1879	41	Devizes, Wiltshire, England	Clerk	Salisbury Steam Laundry
Frank Rowlatt	Peacock	Nephew	Male	1918	3	Salisbury, Wiltshire, England	–	–

 

1939 census

99 Roman Road, Salisbury

Mabel M Blencowe 25 May 1878 Female Unpaid Domestic Duties Widowed
Betsy M Riddett (Blencowe) 12 Sep 1908 Female Teacher Of Dancing Single
Ronald R S Blencowe 21 Sep 1909 Male Insurance Agent Single

GALLERY

Note: There are 4 records that exist for this man that is not shown in the Gallery for copyright reasons.