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William J Lennon cap badgePrivate William J Lennon

8th (Service) Battalion Seaforth Highlanders
Service No: S/9586

William J Lennon grave

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Personal details

Family Information

Son of Hugh Lennon of 71h Whifflet St, Coatbridge. William's Pension was awarded to his father.

Born / Resided

Armagh / 71h Whifflet St, Coatbridge

Died

Killed in Action on the 19/08/1916 during the Battle of Pozieres (part of the Battles of the Somme)

Enlisted

Fort George, Inverness 1915

Employed

Tennents Foundry

Age

(No data. If you have details, please add a comment)

Buried / Remembered

Thiepval Memorial (Pier and Face 15 C), Somme, France

Cemetery / Memorial Information

The memorial commemorates more than 72,000 men of British and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave, the majority of whom died during the Somme offensive of 1916. On the high ground overlooking the Somme River in France, where some of the heaviest fighting of the First World War took place, stands the Thiepval Memorial. Towering over 45 metres in height, it dominates the landscape for miles around. It is the largest Commonwealth memorial to the missing in the world. On 1 July 1916, supported by a French attack to the south, 13 divisions of Commonwealth forces launched an offensive on a line from north of Gommecourt to Maricourt. Despite a preliminary bombardment lasting seven days, the German defences were barely touched and the attack met unexpectedly fierce resistance. Losses were catastrophic and with only minimal advances on the southern flank, the initial attack was a failure. In the following weeks, huge resources of manpower and equipment were deployed in an attempt to exploit the modest successes of the first day. However, the German Army resisted tenaciously and repeated attacks and counter attacks meant a major battle for every village, copse and farmhouse gained. At the end of September, Thiepval was finally captured. The village had been an original objective of 1 July.

Additional Information

The 8th (Service) Battalion arrived at Boulogne in July 1915 and were part of the 44th Brigade, 15th (Scottish) Division. William arrived in France on the 17/12/1915. William was Killed in Action during the Battle of Pozieres (part of the Battles of the Somme). The Battle of Pozieres, 23rd July – 3rd September 1916 : Pozieres was a small, straggling village on the main Albert-Bapaume road. It is situated on high ground that gives the occupier observation southwards along the road towards Ovillers, La Boisselle, Albert and beyond; to the east across to High Wood, Delville Wood and beyond; and westwards to Thiepval. Possession of Pozieres was key to making possible any further advances towards Bapaume, the capture of the Thiepval ridge and the breaking of resistance at High and Delville Woods. The Battle for Pozieres and nearby Mouquet Farm became an epic in its own right, with tenacious German defence keeping determined British-Australian attack at bay for several weeks. This was the first large-scale Australian battle in France and proved to be its costliest in terms of total casualties. The Battles of the Somme, 1st July – 18th November 1916 : A Franco-British offensive that was undertaken after Allied strategic conferences in late 1915, but which changed its nature due to the German attack against the French in the epic Battle of Verdun, which lasted from late February to November. Huge British losses on the first day and a series of fiercely-contested steps that became attritional in nature. For all armies on the Western Front it was becoming what the Germans would call “materialschlacht”: a war not of morale, will or even manpower, but of sheer industrial material might. 15 September 1916 saw the first-ever use of tanks in the step known as the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. The British army in France is now approaching its maximum strength in numbers but is still developing in terms of tactics, technology, command and control. William is listed as 5TH BATTALION on the Memorial. See photos for William's Medal Index Card, his Service Medal and Award Rolls x 2, his CWGC Grave Registration, his name on the Thiepval Memorial x 2, William's Pension Records x 2, his listing on the Ireland Casualties WW1, and the Seaforth Highlanders Cap Badge.

Photos
William J Lennon Medal Index CardWilliam J Lennon remembered at homeWilliam J Lennon remembered at homeWilliam J Lennon remembered at homeWilliam J Lennon remembered at homeWilliam J Lennon additional photoWilliam J Lennon additional photoWilliam J Lennon additional photoWilliam J Lennon additional photoWilliam J Lennon additional photo

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