Harry William CHIMES

1899-1984

Father Nm: Thomas Chimes 1865

Mother Nm:Eliza Blencowe [81] born 31 January 1865  Mixbury, Oxon.
died 11 July 1958  The Maltings, Chackmore, Bucks, : Oldest known ancestor Henry Blencowe abt 1824 Mixbury or Brackley Oxon.

Marriage Dt:1922 at Runcorn Cheshire to Catherine Beckett

K comments: Brothers James Henry and Frank Louis served with the 17th, 9th Sherwood Foresters and 103 Siege Battery RGA respectively in WW1

Spouse comments: Catherine Beckett b. 20 May 1903

Children. Thomas H 1924

BORN 5 January 1899

Mixbury

1901 CENSUS

First name(s)	Last name	Relationship	Marital status	Gender	Age	Birth year	Occupation	Birth place
Thomas	Chimes	Head	Married	Male	46	1855	Carter On A Farm	Evenley, Northamptonshire, England
Eliza	Chimes	Wife	Married	Female	36	1865	–	Mixbury, Oxfordshire, England
James Henry	Chimes	Son	Single	Male	9	1892	–	Mixbury, Oxfordshire, England
Frank Louis	Chimes	Son	Single	Male	7	1894	–	Mixbury, Oxfordshire, England
Amy Mabel	Chimes	Daughter	Single	Female	5	1896	–	Mixbury, Oxfordshire, England
Alice Elizth	Chimes	Daughter	Single	Female	3	1898	–	Mixbury, Oxfordshire, England
Harry William	Chimes	Son	Single	Male	2	1899	–	Mixbury, Oxfordshire, England

1911 CENSUS 

Not found may have been in the 2nd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers as a regular soldier.

 

Chimes Harry William, 1893, Mixbury,Private  50034,  2nd, 11th and 1/5th Bn’s Lancashire Fusiliers.

War Service

Harrys war history is hard to pin down, because he is credited with three battalions served in his medal records and no other records found to show “which battalion and when”.What the medal roll record does indicate is the sequence of his battalions ie 2nd, 11th and 1/5th LF.

“Was he wounded?” is a question we cannot answer either but it might be one reason to explain transfer from regular Army unit (2 LF) to New Army unit (11 LF) to Territorial unit (1/5 LF).

The number 50034 allocated to Harry does indicate a later start in the war, A search of men in the number series 50030-40 finds all men were with the 2nd LF and a Thomas Henry Coxon 50032 KIA was born 1899 supporting the earliest that these men joined was likely 1917.  Harry’s second battalion the 11th LF part of Kitcheners New Army which was formed as early as October 1914 but he likely moved to this unit in 1917-1918.

Given the lack of a records to prove otherwise a supposition about Harry is this; He joined 2nd Bn in 1917 and served there for part of all all of 1917 then transferred to the 11th Bn LF. Note that on the 12th of August 1918 the 11th Lancashire Fusiliers was disbanded in France and may be the time was transferred to the 1/5th Bn. LF

Another thing to note about Harry is in 1939 he is a Railway Signaller by occupation and he may well have been in a skilled role with the light rail systems of the battle front.

This may explain a transfer from 2nd Bn. to 11th Bn. LF  ie  soldier needed for his experience/skill. It might also explain the fact that while his battalions took very many casualties he apparently isn’t wounded, ie maybe behind lines in a support role.

Given this the timeline is given for 2nd Bn in 1917 and the 11th and 1/5th (after August 1918) in 1918

1917 2nd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers.

• Jan. 2 LF starts the month at Camp 124 south-west of Meaulte and on 23 Jan moved to Camp 112 north-east of Bray sur Somme and the next day to nearby Suzanne..
• Feb. 2 LF moved 20 km west to Bouchavesnes
  • 5-9 and 13-16 Feb spells In the left sector front line relieving the 10 KORLR. Casualties 9 men killed.³
  • Balance of month at Camp 112.
• Mar. Moved north 27 kms to Beauval then 29 kms through Wavans to arrive at Vaulx. War diary mention 209 reinforcements join in the month and its entirely possible this is when Harry Joined the 2 LF.
• 9-14 Apr.First Battle of the Scarpe. The XII Corps including the 2nd LF involved the attack.
  • 9 Apr.The 2nd Bn. objectives of the Brown line and the 4th German System were attained. In the afternoon ‘D” and ‘A” Coy made it to the  Green line. Heavy Casualties this day.8 killed 55 wounded and 1 missing.³
  • 10 Apr.”Snow fell heavily during the night: and during the morning of 10 April the enemy was active in sniping and shelling. In the afternoon cavalry moved up with a view to attack on the Plouvain-Gavrelle Rd and ‘Greenland Hill’ in which the battalion what’s to be in support.The project however was to be abandoned”.⁷
    Casualties 7 men killed 65 wounded.³
  • 11 Apr. “The next day, 11th, the battalion took a minor part in an attack on Roeux and the station north of it with Greenland Hill as the final objective”.⁷
    Shelling and Aircraft attack on Bn. The Bn. then went into attack ‘B’ and ‘C’ Coy supporting the KORLR in the movement the ‘D’ and ‘A’ stayed on the Green Line. but later all joined up at the front. Casualties 6 Killed, 14 wounded 4 missing.³
  • 12 Apr. Stayed in the line until relieved. Casualties 2 Killed, 6 wounded.³ Note the CWGC show 33 men killed in this period.

• 14–19 April. Battalion resting

• 20 April. Battalion move to Monteniscourt

• 21 April. Battalion move to Manin

• 22 –26 April Battalion in training

• 27 April. Battalion move to Beaufort

• 28 April. Battalion move to Lauresset

• 30 April. Battalion relieve 22 Bn NF in line now Railway Embankment.

• 3-4 May.. The Third Battle of the Scarpe.

  • 1 May. Battalion relieved 22 Northumberland in the trenches due east of Fampoux.

  • 3 May. During the early hours Bn moved into assembly position to attack. ‘B’ and ‘C’ companies in trenches cell of the Railway Embankment ‘D’ and ‘A’ companies in trenches north all of Railway Embankment. 3:45 AM zero hour; Battalion left trenches in the rear of a moving artillery barrage.

    The battalion’s first objective was the Chemical Works and Roeux Station. ‘A’ and ‘D’ companies had difficulty progressing because of the darkness and large front and the enemy closing in on it. The result was heavy losses were inflicted upon it. Meanwhile ‘B’ and ‘C’ companies had met with little opposition and succeeded in pushing on undercover of the barrage. They took the buildings immediately in front of them and the Chemical Works however they were unaware of the failure of the companies on the left. Roeux Château had been have not been captured and as daylight broke the enemy were able to fire at the companies with utter devastation not one man of the companies came back.

    The battalions losses on this day; 4 officers wounded ;1 officer wounded and missing and 9 Officer missing and 17 OR’s killed; 84 wounded and 174 missing.

• 13 May-10 Jun. Moved to Penin 23 kms west of Arras for training and rest.
• Jun. A few days in Arras and then back to duty at the Chemical Works near Roeux for a spell followed by at the end of the month time in trenches in the 4th German System (see above map ref H28) Casualties 5 men killed for the period.
• 1-15 Jul. Spells in trenches of front line and Bde Reserve at Himalaya trench (map ref H28). Casualties 10 men killed in the period .
• Aug. In Himalaya trench as reserve and then front line ay map ref I31-I25 (just west of Hamblain-les -Pres). Then on 15 Aug. moved back to Barrosa Camp just west of Arras until end of the month.
• Sept. One last spell in trenches in the Arras sector and then the battalion entrains for a rest camp before moving onto Elverdinge Belgium in the Ypres Sector.
• 7 Oct. Into the front line at Poelcappelle.
• 9 Oct. The Battle of Poelcappelle.2nd LF were part of 4th Division (red dot) attack on Poelcappelle.
  • Bn. advancing just a few hundred yards the resistance was too much and casualties very heavy.
  • Casualties estimated in War Diary 33 Killed 126 Wounded and 41 missing. The CWGC records 92 deaths for the month the vast majority on the 9-10 Oct.
• 19 Oct. The Bn. returned to France and the Arras Sector.
• Nov-Dec. Spells in the trenches around Guemappe and Monchy , however it was a relatively quiet finish to the year. Christmas spent at Arras.

Note at home the 1918 Absent Voters list for home at the Maltings, Chacmore lists as 50034 Pte Lancashire Fusiliers.

1917 11th BATTALION LANCASHIRE FUSILIERS.

The 11 LF were part of the74th Brigade, 25th Division.If Harry was transferred in 1917 from the 2nd Battalion his war experienced from April 1917 would be;

• After the battle of Ancre Heights in October 1916 the 11LF moved to spend the winter and spring in Ploegrsteert near Armentieres.
• 7-10 Jun. The Battle of Messines.

  

  • 5 Jun. The 11 LF moved to bivouacs at Breemeerschen near Neuve Eglise where they were equipped for battle.
  • 6 Jun. The Bn. moved to assembly point at Souvenir Farm just east of Wulverghem
  • 7 Jun. The Bn. ‘A’ and ‘B’ Coys followed the Cheshire Regiment and the preceding artillery barrage and soon took their first objective Occur trench, capturing 2 mch guns and 41 POW’s. Then the ‘C’ and ‘D’ Coys passed through the ‘A’ and ‘B’ Coys and went forward to capture the final October Support trench where the germans manning this position had fled.
  • Casualties very high with 40 men killed on the 7 Jun and 8 more killed in the next three days.of consolidation at  October trench.
• 31 Jul. The Battle of Pilckem. The battle was the opening attack of the main part of the Third Battle of Ypres . The 11 LF was in Brigade reserve for this battle but did take casualties of 16 men killed on this day.But it was soon to move into action.
• 5-12 Aug. Westhoek Ridge. The attack at Pilckem had stalled and this passage describes the next step of the battle of Ypres. “The Germans still occupied high ground on the Westhoek Ridge which gave them observation to the east and south east. The Cheshires and the other three battalions of 74th Brigade would attack the Ridge. Other Brigades would attack nearby positions. By 3.25am, the troops were all in their assembly trenches. The attack would be on a 2000 yard front, with the Cheshires on the right, next to the 2nd Royal Irish Rifles, the 9th North Lancashires and, on the left, the 11th Lancashire Fusiliers”.⁸
  • 10 -12 Aug. Bn. The attack started at dawn but by 3:45pm the war diary reports intense bombardment, “under air attack guided by enemy balloon observation”. Also a German counter attack attempted in three waves , Bn. repelled these attacks but with heavy casualties.
  • Total Casualties for 5-12 Aug. Killed 58 (CWGC reports actual 77) Wounded 217 and Missing 13.
• 6-8 Sept.

  

  Not much detail of the action,  but 21 men killed between these dates in what was not apparently a major action otherwise covered in LF History. As men buried in Ypres Cemeteries ie Tyne Cot and the fact that the 25th Division didn.t withdraw fro the area until 9 September 1917 when they went to Bethune.

• Oct.The 25th Division took over the Givenchy sector on 4 October and held it for seven weeks. The Divisional history notes the establishment of a Reinforcement Camp at Ferme du Roi. No operations of any significance took place at this time.
• 1 December 1917, the 25th Division moved by train to Achiet le Grand and moved to relieve 3rd Division south of Bullecourt. It remained in this position, carrying out much work in digging a continuous front trench system, until relieved on 13 February 1918.

1918 11TH BATTALION LANCASHIRE FUSILIERS.

• 12 Mar. Marched from Achiet Le Grand to Fremicourt where it was employed digging trenches and burying cable.
• Mar 21-24. The Battle of St Quentin (a phase of the First Battles of the Somme 1918). As the German spring offensive began on 21 March 1918 it was reported that the enemy had broken through at Beuametz -lez-Cambrai, four miles east of Fremicourt.. The 11 LF was ordered hastily along with its 74th Bde to support the 51st (Highland ) Division. The Bn. immediately moved into defensive positions south of the Bapaume-Cambrai Road and just north of Lebucqueries.
  • 23 Mar. The attack was fought off fiercely but eventually on this day a withdrawal was made to Bihucourt as the Bn had by now lost half its men. From here they further retreated to Biefvillers-les-Bapaume to rest the night.
  • 24-26 Mar. Sapignies. The Germans begun to attack what was left of the Bn. again and a retreat to Achiet-le-Petit was made..Then further moves backwards to west of Bucquoy, then Hannecamps, Fonquevillers .

    

  • The Bn suffered 60 men killed in this period and in the heaviest fighting 16 men and 32 men killed on the 22 and 23 March.
  • 28th Mar. At rest at St Leger-les-Domart.
  • 30-31 Mar. The 25th Division entrained and moved to Caestre.
  • 3 Apr. Torquet. The 11 LF and the whole 25th Division was once again holding the front line near Ploegsteert when the enemy struck again.
  • 9-12 Apr.The Battle of Messines, 1918 (a phase of the Battles of the Lys).  The enemy attack broke through the British Ploegsteert and advanced along the Ypres road, endangering the garrison holding Ploegsteert Wood.”The 74th Brigade which included the 11th of Lancashire Fusiliers was placed at the disposal of the 34th Division in plugging the gaps.
    The army’s line of defence that ran in front of Dranoutre and Kemmel, was held by a hastily organised composite force of units and men of the Division.⁸
  • 13-16 Apr. The Battle of Bailleul (a phase of the Battles of the Lys)
    By the morning of 13 April, 74th Brigade was established on the high ground east of Bailleul. Coming under bombardment from 9.30am onwards and attacked by infantry two hours later, the Brigade fought a staunch defence…. Fighting continued throughout the 14th, and next day the high ground and the town of Bailleul itself fell to the Germans. The Division was by now thoroughly shattered: broken up, exhausted by continuous fighting for five days, and fragmented by heavy losses. A sad composite formation (The losses of the 11 LF and the Brigade so great that the survivors of the 11 LF the 9th Royal North Lancashire Regiment on The 74th Trench Mortar Battery were formed into a composite battalion ) of what was left of 7th and 75th Brigades withdrew through Boeschepe on 16 April but were ordered up to the area south of Mont Noir in support of 34th Division.⁸
  • 17-18 Apr.The First Battle of Kemmel (a phase of the Battles of the Lys)By 17/18 April 25th Div. had been withdrawn to Abeele.⁸

  • The 11LF casualties were 4 officers and 17 other ranks killed, 19 officers and 280 other ranks wounded and 3 officers and 184 other ranks missing. These numbers modified by CWGC.

    Date	Killed
    09/04/18	12
    10/04/18	25
    11/04/18	4
    12/04/18	9
    14/04/1918	7
    15/04/1918	9

  • 20-21 Apr. 74th Brigade came out to Proven on 20/21 April.and  the 11 LF took heavy casualties 70 men listed as killed this day but strangely no details mentioned in LF history or 25th Div. History.

Note: The fact that by April the 11 LF was decimated leads me to speculate that in the spring of 1918 or even early in his time with the 11LF Harry may have been wounded. This would be one possible reason for his say being invalided out of the battle field and returned to the fighting with the 1/5th LF for the last period of the war. I have not included the history of the 1/5th LF in detail but their Division was the 42nd (East Lancashire), and their 1918 history reads

The Battle of Bapaume 24-25 Mar.
The First Battle of Arras 9-14 Apr.
The Battle of the Ancre 13-18 Nov.
These battles are phases of the First Battles of the Somme 1918

The Battle of Albert 21-23 Aug.
The Second Battle of Bapaume 21Aug -3 Sept.
These battles are phases of the Second Battles of the Somme 1918

The Battle of the Canal du Nord 27 Sept. – 1 Oct.
The pursuit to the Selle
These battles are phases of the Battles of the Hindenburg Line

The Battle of the Selle, a phase of the Final Advance in Picardy 7 025 Oct.

The forward units of the Division were at Hautmont and across the River Sambre when the Arnistice brought fighting to an end at 11am on 11 November 1918. Not selected to join the Army of Occupation, the Division was visited by King George V on 1 December 1918. Units moved to the Charleroi area between 14 and 19 December and demobilisation began. By midnight 15/16 March the units were down to their last cadres. (from Long Long Trail website)

1919

By 1919 Harry is now with the Army Service Corps and this fact is missing from his war medal records so outside that period. The 1919 absent voters list records;

• 1919 Absent Voters list for Malting, Chacmore; 395785 ASC

SOURCES

1. Absent Voters Lists 1918-1919
2. http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/
3. Commomwelth war Graves Commission database
4. 2nd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers war diary
5. 11th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers war diary
6. 1/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers war diary
7. History of the Lancashure Fusiliers – Major-General JC Latter
8. http://www.stockport1914-1918.co.uk/
9. History of the 25th Division

MEDALS

AFTER THE WAR

1939 CENSUS

56 Bentinck Street , Runcorn U.D., Cheshire

FIRST NAME(S)	LAST NAME(S)	DOB	SEX	OCCUPATION	MARITAL STATUS	SCHEDULE	SCHEDULE SUB NUMBER
	Harry W	Chimes	05 Jan 1899	Male	LMS Railway Signal Man	Married	68	1
	Catherine	Chimes	20 May 1903	Female	Unpaid Domestic Duties	Married	68	2
	Thomas H	Chimes	21 Oct 1924	Male	Telephone Boy (Mscc)	Single	68	3

Death 1984 Age 85 Years

13 May 1984 Runcorn Cheshire

GALLERY