On this Centenary of Armistice Day I remember and thank all those who answered the calls of their Nations to do their duty. I have recently been researching my great grandfather's service in WW1, so my commemorative post on this day is tribute to him.
 |
| My great grandfather James in his Leicestershire Regiment uniform |
At the outbreak of war, my great grandfather William James O'Grady (he preferred James) was 32 years. He had previously served in the Territorial Army (much maligned by Kitchener) for six years with the Leicestershire Regiment and was discharged as a private soldier in 1908. There are no known records of his TA service and while the Regiment did have units deployed to South Africa for the Boer War during his service, there are no indication of family anecdotes that he may have seen service anywhere but on the Home Front.
As per Imperial policy, he was mobilised immediately on the outbreak of war in 1914 but instead of joining one of the Reserve battalions of his Regiment (which were the 4th and 5th Battalions, which deployed to France in 1915), he joined the 500 men of the regular 1st Battalion, which was rapidly brought back from Fermoy, Ireland. I can only surmise that he was seen as trained and experienced, and thus a low risk to slot into a gap in the readying unit. |
Kitchener’s Army at the Inner Avenue, from: Southampton and the Great War 1914-1919
(Southampton, 1919) |
After concentration and training they entrained to Southampton and took ship to France on 8 Sep 14 and disembarked the next day at St Nazaire. (Note: the Regiment's 2nd Battalion, which had been in India, also shipped to France in 1914, but as the British Bn of the Gharwhal Bde of the Indian 7th Division and di not operate with the 1st Battalion)
 |
| Troops embarking in Southampton for Western Front (date unk) |
While there is no known record of which Company James was attached to, 1st Battalion Leics Regt was assigned to the 16th Infantry Brigade (Brigadier General Edward "Inky Bill" Ingouville-Williams), 6th Division (Major General John Keir), a part of III Corps (Lieutenant General Sir William Pulteney) throughout 1914.
 |
One of the documents the Imperial War Office was able to provide - fire damage from the 1940 Blitz |
Fighting alongside the 1st Leicestershire Regt in 16 Brigade were the 1st Buffs (East Kent Regt), 1st King's Shropshire Light Infantry, and 2nd York and Lancaster Regiment.
The 6th Division moved directly via train to Arne, arriving on 19th September where they were part of the Franco-British defence during the battle of Aisne - the "Race to the Sea". As the Germans pushed further toward the channel ports executing the famous Schliffen Plan, the Division moved also.
16th and 18th Brigades formed the British line at Battle of Armentieres - part of the First Battle of Ypres - "Graveyard of the Old Contemptibles" - where they faced the German XIII Corps of the 6th Army.
The 23-25th October saw fierce fighting with 16 Brigade taking the brunt of the German attacks toward Armentieres, the the German 26th and 25th (Reserve) Divisions leading the attacks.
Commencing with heavy shelling, the Germans conducted a frontal attack on the British lines. The British were pushed back but later retook their trenches in hand to hand fighting, and later retired via night march to a secondary defence line to their rear.
During this action the British 6th Division suffered almost 5000 casualties, reflected here in the official account of the action
Across this action the 1st Leicestershire Battalion suffered 47 KIA, 134 WIA and 106 MIA; including James, though the exact date and circumstances of his capture are not known.
 |
| Location of 16th (16IB) and 18th Infantry Brigades (18 IB) during the German attacks |
James was later reported by the Germans as being in captivity in a PWO camp in Saxony. Being captured likely saved his life noting the very heavy casualties his battalion later suffered in 1915 at Second Ypres. Then again, he may have been lucky to go 'in the bag' as it were:
Trouble for captured Tommies started the moment they surrendered. Killing prisoners on the battlefield was commonplace, especially in 1914 when German feelings against the British were red-hot; the Germans blamed the British Expeditionary Force for spoiling their war of conquest in France. As Major Koebke, a German artillery officer wrote in his diary: “The anger at the British was enormous. Very few prisoners were taken.”
This is a picture I found on the Leics Regiment website (https://ww1tigers.com/index.html) with the caption:
"A very rare image of German soldiers and captured prisoner of war British soldiers including Leicestershire Regiment soldiers on the way to a funeral of their comrades 31/10/1914. Many thanks to Paul Loseby."
It is entirely likely, then, that my great grandfather James is in this picture noting the date of his capture less than a week prior and that these are men from his Battalion.
German and Red Cross records show that James was interred at Göttingen POW camp in South Saxony. Established in August 1914 for a population of 10,000, the population was twice that by September 1915 and included British, Belgian, French and even Russian prisoners. These German sourced pictures were all taken at Göttingen sometime in 1915.
James also appears on a list here, of soldiers of the Leices. Regt who were in captivity in Dec 1914 and thus missed out on Princess Mary's gift to the troops (compiled from a single source at The Imperial War Museum, London: B.O.2 1/256)
I remember my Grandfather telling me that the PWO camp was reportedly well run but poorly supplied. The prisoners supplemented their rations by farming and suffered badly from malnutrition, as did most of the German civilian population admittedly. He returned home after the war safely (Unfortunately his demobilisation records did not survive the archive fires during the Blitz)) and while his health was never the same, he lived until 1947 and died at the age of 65.
 |
| Medal Award card for Pvt James O'Grady No 7034, Leics. Regt |
James was awarded the 1914 Star ("Mons" Star) with combat clasp, the British War Medal and Victory Medal. Sadly the originals were lost over the years but I have had replicas made.
EDIT: Here is my father John, holding the replica medals of his Grandfather James (pic from Oct 2024)
And here wearing them, along with his own, at a Remembrance Day service in 2024
One Man’s story, like so many others, that must not be forgotten. I also had two great uncles on my grandmothers side who served with the 4th Battalion of the Leicester Regiment on the Western Front from 1916-18 and one survived the war. I look forward to learning more about them in the future.
 |
| A recent acquisition of mine - the Cap badge of the Leicestershire Regiment |
Regimental footnote
The Royal Leicestershire Regiment traces its origins to 1688 and can trace service in the 9 years wars, Wars of Spanish Succession and suppression of the Jacobite Uprising of 1715. In 1751 it was redesignated the 17th Regiment of Foot and served in North America during the French Indian War, accompanying General Wolf into Quebec, and also the American War of Independence.
From there the Regiment was deployed in more easterly directions: India from 1804-1823 (during which it received its famous Tiger emblem and nickname), the fledgling colony of New South Wales (where I now live) from 1830-1836, the First Anglo-Afghan War and the Crimean War including the Siege of Sevastopol.
In 1881 under the Childers Reforms, the regiment was renamed The Leicestershire Regiment, and comprised two regular battalions and two militia battalions. One of each served in the Boer war.
Over the course of WW1 the Regiment raised 19 battalions, loosing an aggregated 7,000 men in action over the course of the war. After the war the Regiment returned to its former size and in the interwar years participated in the Irish War of Independence 1920-22.
During WW2 the Regiment fielded 8 different battalions across different Infantry Brigades, participating in diverse theatres including BEF and Dunkirk, Tobruk, Greece, Malaya, Italy, Burma, Normandy and Arnhem. In 1946 the Regiment was awarded the prefix Royal, and the 1st battalion subsequently fought in Korea from 1951-52 including at the Battle of Maryang-San with Australian Forces.
British Army reforms throughout the Cold War were as unkind to the Royal Leicestershires as they were to many Regiments. In 1964, The Royal Leicestershire Regiment was amalgamated with Norfolk and Suffolk Regiment and the Duchess of Gloucester's Own Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire Regiment to become The Royal Anglian Regiment, incorporating the 4th (Leicestershire) Battalion. This battalion was disbanded when The Royal Anglian Regiment was further downsized in 1975.
In 1995, the Royal Anglian Regiment renamed its battalions and companies to better remember the rich history of its parent units. The 2nd Battalion’s 2nd company is now known as B (Royal Leicestershire) Company. The dress uniform buttons of the Royal Anglian Regiment shows the Tiger originally from the cap badge and insignia of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment.
Regimental Battle Honours:
- Earlier Wars
- Namur, 1695, Louisburg, Martinique, 1762, Havannah, Ghuznee, 1839, Khelat, Afghanistan 1839, Sevastopol, Ali Masjid, Afghanistan 1878–79, Defence of Ladysmith, South Africa, 1899–1902
- First World War (Ten selected honours, shown in bold type, were borne on the colours.)
- Aisne, 1914, '18, La Bassee, 1914, Armentieres, 1914, Festubert 1914, '15, Neuve Chapelle, Aubers, Hooge, 1915, Somme, 1916, '18, Bazentin, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Le Transloy, Ypres, 1917, Polygon Wood, Cambrai, 1917, '18, St Quentin, Lys, Bailleul, Kemmel, Scherpenberg, Albert, 1918, Bapaume, 1918, Hindenburg Line, Épehy, St Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Selle, Sambre, France and Flanders, 1914–18, Megiddo, Sharon, Damascus, Palestine, 1918, Tigris, 1916, Kut-el-Amara, 1917, Baghdad, Mesopotamia, 1915–18
- Second World War (Ten selected honours, shown in bold type, were borne on the colours.)
- Norway, 1940, Antwerp-Turnhout Canal, Scheldt, Zetten, North-West Europe, 1944–45, Jebel Mazar,Syria, 1941, Sidi Barrani, Tobruk, 1941, Montaigne Farm, North Africa, 1940–41, '43, Salerno, Calabritto,Gothic Line, Monte Gridolfo, Monte Colombo, Italy, 1943–45, Crete, Heraklion, Kampar, Malaya, 1941–42, Chindits, 1944
- Korean War:
