Joseph Wallace Blincow  [4480]

Known as Joe.

1894-1968

Father Nm: George Blincow [901] born 1871 Long Buckby -1943. BIRTH MAR 1871 • Long Buckby, Northamptonshire, England. DEATH JUL 1943 • Daventry, Northamptonshire, England

Mother Nm: Betsy Sabina Fall 1863-1959. Braunston, Northants.

Marriage Dt:1915 to Constance M Swadling , Wycombe Vol 3A Page no:2673.

K comments:

Both sons died KIA in World War 2. Joseph Sydney died at the D Day landings in Normandy while a 2nd Lieut. with the 112th Royal Field Artillery. Albert Stanley Charles died a few months later in Italy Campaign. He was at the time on attachment to 2/7th The Queen’s Royal Regiment (West Surrey).

Spouse Comments: Constance M Swadling 1892-1972.

Children: Albert Stanley Charles 1919-1944, Joseph Sidney 1924-1944.

(Research): GR[B] Shoreditch Dec 1894 GR[M] Wycombe vol 3a p 2673 Sept 1915.

1901 Census Barrack Rd Long Buckby

1. George Blincowe 30 Bootmaker
2. Betsy Blincowe 28
3. Charles Blincowe 8
4. Joseph Blincowe 6
5. Maud Blincowe 4
6. Lizzie Fall 24

1911  Census Caterham,  Surrey

Name: Joe Wallace Blincow, Age in 1911: 18

Estimated Birth Year: abt 1893, Birth Place: South Shoreditch, Middlesex, England

The Guards Depot Caterham, Caterham, Military unit: Grenadier Guards

 

WW1

Blincow Joe Wallace, 1894, Shoreditch, Regimental Sergeant Major, 15135, 360436, 1st Grenadier Guards, Grenadier Guards (Buckingham Gate, London).

Synopsis

A career soldier Joe had signed up in 1911 and joined the 1^st Grenadier Guards. The war for the 1^st Grenadier Guards was particularly high in combat action and over the war period, the battalion lost a staggering 1,273 men killed in action. Joe was twice hospitalised once in 1915 and again in 1916 and in both cases was at Queen Alexandra’s Military Hospital At Millbank, London we have no knowledge of whether these were wounds or illnesses. By 1918 Joe had succumbed to the rigours of trench life and was discharged with war-related illness. Joe served in the same Battalion as Private Arthur James Blincow. It is highly likely they knew each other, but possibly didn’t know they were third cousins both descendants from GG Grandparents Joseph Blencowe 1784-1839 and Elizabeth Dawson of Long Buckby. It seems that despite the discharge in 1918 Joe quickly took up a role in the training and development of Officer Cadets in his native Bedford and was recorded there in 1926. Joe may have served in WW2, we are still to find records but he is recognised in 1959 for his substantial Army career and has the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major at the end of his career.

1911

Joe enlisted on 23^rd Feb. 1911 in the Grenadier Guards and would have likely signed on for a 12-year term.

1914

Joe was a Lance Sergeant when the War started and then promoted to Sergeant later.

• Aug. Based at Warley Barracks, London District.
• Sept. His Battalion came under command of the 20^th Brigade, 7^th Division.
• 6^th Oct. Joe embarked with the 1^st Grenadier Guards and landed at Zeebrugge.
• 7^th Oct. Arthur landed at Zeebrugge on 7th October and just 12 days later was involved in a mighty battle for the strategic town of Ypres. ¹
• 19^th Oct. – 22^nd Nov. Joe was with the Guards as part of the 7^th Division in the 1^st Battle of Ypres, a battle in which the battalions (including his own) stopped the German advance at the strategic Belgian town of Ypres. Ypres was the last major obstacle to the German advance on key ports of Boulogne-sur-Mer and Calais. In this battle the 1^st Bn. Grenadier Guards were devastated at Kruiseecke as the German got in behind their lines. Joe was one of only 200 men and 4 Officers to survive without wounds or death in the 1^st Ypres campaign. ¹ 
• 29^th Oct.

  

  At Gheluvelt, Belgium the 1^st Battalion suffered such casualties that it had no officers left and only 80 men one of which must have been Joe. Four days later, after reinforcement, it had once more been reduced to no officers and only 120 men. The Battalion was so affected that along with the rest of the 7^th Division it was back to full strength until the spring of 1915. The 1^st Battalion suffered heavily throughout the War but early on this was one its most devastating losses in the month of October it suffered 147 deaths. ^1,3.

1915

• 11^th-14^th Mar. Neuve Chapelle. This battle was a British offensive in the Artois region of France and broke through at Neuve-Chapelle but the success could not be exploited.
• 11^th-12^th. Mar. 1^st G. Gds moved forward into old British trenches and then progressed from there but ran into murderous German machine-gun fire, they dug in and were pinned down subsequently bombarded for several days.² Casualties were heavy 57 men killed between the 10^th-14^th Mar. 29 men were killed on the 10^th in the initial attack.³
• May. In billets at Robecq.²
• Jun.
  • On the 5^th the Battalion went into billets at Hingette, and on the 8th moved to Robecq, thence to Essars, where it remained until it relieved the Border Regiment in the trenches on the 14^th June.²
  • 15^th Jun. An attack was made by the Seventh Division over some flat ground between two rises at Givenchy.² The Bn. lost 12 killed in this attack, with 4 more recorded killed the next two days.³
  • On the 19^th the Battalion was relieved by the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and went into the reserve trenches in front of Gorre, and on the 21^st into
    billets at Les Choqueaux. On the 24^th it returned to the trenches between Givenchy and La Bassee Canal, and on the 27^th was relieved by the Border Regiment, and went into billets at Le Preol.²
• Jul. The Battalion had a good rest, and remained in billets till the 17^th of July when it relieved the Yorkshire Regiment in the trenches at Quinque Rue.²
• 4^th Aug. The 1^st G. Gds. transferred to 3^rd Guards Brigade, Guards Division. The 1^st G. Gds. was along with all Guards battalions formed into a new Guards Division in France.
• 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 Germans 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.⁶

  

  

  • 27^th-30^th Sept. Loos. While this was very much an attack led by the other Guards battalions the 1st G. Gds. remained in an old German trench essentially in reserve during this period bombardment was heavy and they did lose 328 men killed in this battle.

Note generated by AI

The most significant battle of World War I for the 1st Grenadier Guards was the Battle of Loos, which took place in September 1915. The 1st Grenadier Guards played a crucial role in this battle, where they were part of the British forces that launched a major offensive against the German lines in the Loos-en-Gohelle area in France. The battle was significant as it marked the first time the British Army used poison gas on a large scale during the war. Despite facing heavy casualties, the 1st Grenadier Guards and the British forces made some initial gains but were unable to achieve a decisive breakthrough. The Battle of Loos is remembered as a challenging and costly engagement for the 1st Grenadier Guards during World War I.

• 25^th Dec. The Guards Division took part in a Christmas truce with the German Army, much frowned upon by Command this was ended as soon as it started. This took place at trenches near Laventie.

1916

• Jan-Feb. The beginning of 1916 found the 1st G. Gds. in Brigade Reserve at La Gorgue, where it had retired after a strenuous time in the trenches, and where it settled down to steady drill and instruction in bombing.²
  • On the 12^th it moved to Laventie, and from there went into the trenches at Picantin every 48 hrs. The same routine was followed until 16^th February when the whole Guards Division was sent to the coast for some sea air.²
• Mar.
  • On 5^th March the Battalion marched to Poperinghe, where it was again put under canvas. The Guards Division now went into the Ypres salient, and there it remained for several months, either in the trenches or in billets in the neighbourhood.²
  • 20^th Mar.Bn.went into the trenches at Ypres (map ref.I.12.a to I.12.C,)
    with the Canadians on the right and the Welsh Guards on the left. Two companies were placed in the front line, with one in support and one in reserve. They immediately came in for a very heavy shelling and had 6 killed and 14 wounded, mostly in the King’s Company.²
• Apr. Trenches east of Potidje.²
• May. Spells in trenches at Rifleman Farm.²
• Jun. The Battalion remained in billets at Poperinghe or Kiekenput until the 18^th, when it moved up into the trench line near Irish Farm. On the 27^th the Battalion retired into dug-outs in Canal Bank and Yperlee, where it remained until the end of the month.²
• Jul.Trenches in spells until the 27^th when it left the Ypres salient. The Bn. entrained at Poperinghe for BoUezeele, whence it marched to Watten. There it remained until the 29^th when it proceeded to Bavingchove
  went by train to Fervent. On the 30^th it marched to Halloy.²
• Aug. During August the 1st Battalion only had two days in the trenches at Beaumont-Hamel, when the King’s Company had rather an unpleasant time with the enemy’s trench mortars and had nine casualties.²
• 8-16^th Sept. The Somme. The Battle of Flers-Courcelette.The Guards Div. positioned in the front lines about Ginchy. At dawn, the Guards went over the parapet and advanced on their objectives. The battle developed into a series of firefights with little progress as the Germans fought hard to hold the line. The Guards battalions came under heavy machine-gun fire losing the majority of their Officers, never the less they rushed forward with a bayonet charge and at 7:15 am captured the first objective. The Guards were then instructed to hold their ground so that fresh troops could resume the attack on the 16^th Sept.¹

  

• 15^th-16^th Sept.The 1st G. Gds. reached the high ground west of
  Lesboeufs, but was met with heavy machine-gun fire, opened on it from the church tower and other strong points. Second Lieutenant Sim was killed, and Second Lieutenant Samuelson wounded, in addition to some casualties among other ranks. Orders were given to consolidate the position which had been reached, and the 1st G. Gds relieved by 59^th Infantry Bde. The CWGC records show 11 battalion men killed on 15/16^th.
• 25-26^th Sept. The Somme. Battle for Morval. The 1^st G. Gds. was initially in support of the attack by the 2^nd and 3^rd Bn.s. Grenadiers. After the first objective was gained the 1^st G. Gds. became the leading attack battalion. After the second objective was gained the 1^st G. Gds. struck out and attacked Leboeufs, capturing this soon after.⁴ The CWGC records 57 men killed on the two days of the attack.³
  • 26^th Sept. the Germans shelled Lesboeufs with their heavy guns, but the trenches that had been dug were good and little harm was done.No counter-attack was made by the enemy, and that night the 1^st G. Gds. was relieved by the 1st Battalion Scots Guards and returned to bivouacs at Carnoy.⁴
• Oct-Dec. The 1^st G. Gds. remained in bivouacs Carnoy after the battle of the Somme, and on 1^st Oct. proceeded in motor buses, provided by the French to Fontaine-le-Sec, where it remained till the end of the month. On the 20^th of Nov., the Battalion proceeded to Montauban, moving on the following day to Meaulte. After a fortnight at Meaulte the Battalion went into dug-outs in Bouleaux Wood on 6^th Dec., and two days later relieved the 4^th Battalion in the trenches. On the 11^th Dec. retired to Maltzhorn Camp, moving on the
  following day to Bronfay, and then back to Bouleaux Wood. This routine was followed up to the end of the month, the Battalion spending three days in the trenches about.⁴

1917

• Jan.-Feb. At the beginning of 1917 the 1^st G. Gds. was in camp at Maltzhorn, moving to Meaulte, and then on to Billon Wood Camp, later in the month it proceeded to Priez Farm, and then on to Maurepas. finally at the end of the month moved into the line about fifteen miles north of St. Quentin where it did spells through February.⁴
• Mar.On 3^rd Mar. the 1^st G. Gds. moved to Bronfay Farm, and on the following day to the trenches at Fregicourt and Haie Wood, where it was employed in improving the dug-outs.⁴
• Apr.-Jul. 1^st G. Gds. were employed working on the Railway and in training for this period. For the first fortnight in June, it remained training at Campagne and then proceeded to Zudausques. On the 18^th it moved to Herzeele, where it remained until 13^th Jul.⁴
• 27^th-31^st Jul. The Third Battle of Ypres. The Battle of Pilckem. On the 27^th the Guards Division had audaciously crossed in broad daylight the canal from Boesinghe and captured the partially occupied German trenches. For two days the Guards captured Germans who came unaware to man the trench system. Eventually, this was discovered by the Germans, but the enormous advantage of gaining the canal had been made. Now the Guards Division pressed forward and captured objective after objective, taking trench positions and the reinforced blockhouses. The total casualties for the Guards Div were 59 Officers and 1876 men while 750 Germans were taken, prisoner.² The  1^st G. Gds suffered 34 men killed in this period of fighting.³
• Aug-Oct. After the operations at Boesinghe, the 1^st G. Gds retired for a few days’ rest to Forest Area but returned to the front trenches on
  5^th Aug. It then proceeded to Putney Camp near Proven, where it
  remained for four days, and then moved on to a Reinforcement Camp at Herzeele.  At the end of the month the Bn. moved to Chapter Rugby Camp in the Bluet Farm Area. On 5^th Sept. the 1^st G. Gds.  entrained at Luneville
  Siding for Ondank, whence it marched to Cariboo Camp. On the 13^th it moved to Harrow Camp, and on the 21^st to Purbrook Camp. The first few days in Oct. were spent by the Battalion at Putney Camp, and on the 3^rd it moved to the Elverdinghe Area.⁴
• 9^th-10^th Oct. The Guards Division crossed the Broembeek and the occupied the southern edge of Houthulst Forest. Although the 1^st G. Gds. took no part in the attack, it had a very strenuous time during the preparations. All the men worked every night for the five nights previous to the attack and were employed in forming dumps for the attacking Brigades, and in helping to get the artillery into their forward positions in the Steenbeek Valley.⁴

• 20^th -30^th Nov. The Battle of Cambrai. At Cambrai, in November 1917 the Guards Division took no part in the Tank attack of the 20-21 November but as part of the IV Corps on the 23^rd it was moved forward from Bapaume to a position west of La Fontaine and was expected to break out and attack to the North. Joe’s Third Guards Brigade was however held in reserve at Flesquieres. While the Guards Division was used to attack La Fontaine on the 27^th November Joe’s 3^rd Guards Brigade seems to have still been in reserve. The battle for La Fontaine was fierce and while Joe did not have had a combat role the 3^rd Grenadiers Bn. And 2^nd Guards Brigade took the heavy load of the fighting. The fight was lost by 1 pm on the 27^th and the casualties were heavy: Two Guards Brigade had suffered a total of 38 officers and 1,043 other ranks. Uniquely the Guards Division had lost a battle.⁷ The Guards Division suffered 103 killed on this day. ³
• 1^st-3^rd  Dec. Attack on Gonnelieu.
• The 4^th Battalion Grenadiers and the 1^st Battalion Welsh Guards were ordered to undertake the attack, while the 1^st G. Gds. was to be in support,  As soon as the attack started, the 1^st G. Gds. advanced under a hail of bullets, although there was no artillery fire, and many men fell at once………Having succeeded so well with the first trench, the 1^st G. Gds. continued its advance
  until it arrived at a well-wired trench north of Gonnelieu. The three leading Companies managed to get through gaps in the wire and push on, but when they topped the ridge they were met with a terrific machine-gun fire, which
  staggered them, and caused many casualties.⁴ 1^st G. Gds. casualties were 35 men killed on the first day and 8 in the next two days.³

This may have been Joe’s last battle in WW1, it appears Joe he was suffering from Nephritis the inflammation of the Kidneys caused by infection and in WW1 commonly called Trench Nephritis. (About 2% of WW1 deaths due to this illness).

1918

The men of the Guards Brigade had always been called ”Privates” but on November 22, 1918, the King granted them the title of ”Guardsmen.…as a mark of His Majesty’s appreciation and pride of the splendid services rendered by the Brigade of Guards during the War.”

• 7^th May. Joe was honourably discharged because of Trench Nephritis and awarded the Silver War Badge.

Sources

1. Grenadier Guards War diary.
2. Grenadier Guards in ww1 Vol 1 Frederick Ponsonby.
3. Commonwealth War Graves Commission database.
4. grenadierguards02ponsFrederick Ponsonby.
5. Maps from The Grenadier Guards in the Great War 1914-1918  Frederick Ponsonby.
6. Loos 1915 by Nick Lloyd.

Medals

1914 ‘Mons” Star with clasp and rosette, the rosette to be worn on ribbon bar when the medal not worn. The British, Victory medals. On discharge he was awarded the Silver War badge.

After The War

1926 Bedford Officers Training Cadets.

WW2

Joe had two sons Albert Stanley Charles 1919-1944, Joseph Sidney 1924-1944 both tragically killed in WW2.

Joe appears to have re-joined the army and continued with his Army career after the war he may well have served in WW2.

1949

In 1949 he was awarded the British Empire Medal (Military Division) In this award Joe is designated as a Regimental Sergeant Major, Grenadier Guards a higher rank than at discharge in 1918.

Death 1968 Age 74 years

Bedford, Bedfordshire. Volume 4A, Page 88.

Gallery

A facsimile of the letter that would have accompanied Joe’s award for the British Empire Medal in 1949