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John Reddy cap badgePrivate John Reddy

1st Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Service No: 24484

John Reddy grave

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Click here for a frameable A4 print
Personal details

Family Information

Son of Bernard Reddy and Anne Reddy of 68a Coats St, Coatbridge. John's Pension was awarded to his mother Anne then to his father Bernard on the 26/11/1918.

Born / Resided

Magherard, Co. Donegal / 68a Coats St, Coatbridge

Died

Died of Wounds (Gas) on the 09/08/1916 at the 87th (1st West Lancashire) Field Ambulance

Enlisted

Hamilton

Employed

previously a Miner in Bonnybridge

Age

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

Buried / Remembered

Bedford House Cemetery (Enclosure No.2 IV. C. 45), West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

Cemetery / Memorial Information

In all, 5,139 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War are buried or commemorated in the enclosures of Bedford House Cemetery. 3,011 of the burials are unidentified but special memorials commemorate a number of casualties known or believed to be buried among them. Other special memorials name casualties buried in other cemeteries whose graves could not be found on concentration. Second World War burials number 69 (3 of which are unidentified). There are 2 Germans buried here.

Additional Information

The Battalion were in Trimulgherry, Secunderabad, India in August 1914. They were recalled to the UK and landed at Avonmouth on the 10/01/1915. On this day they came under command of 87th Brigade, 29th Division and moved to Rugby. In March 1915 they sailed, going via Egypt, and landed at Cape Helles, Gallipoli, on the 25/04/1915. In January 1916 the were evacuated from Gallipoli to Egypt. On the 18/03/1916 they landed at Marseilles for service in France. The Battalion were involved in the Battle of Albert, 1st – 13th July 1916 : In this opening phase, the French and British assault broke into and gradually moved beyond the first of the German defensive systems. For the British, the attack on the 1st July proved to be the worst day in the nation’s military history in terms of casualties sustained. It is the aspect of the battle that is most remembered and most written about, and for good reason – but to concentrate on the failures is to entirely miss the point of the Somme and why the battle developed into an epic period of the Great War. On the first day, British forces at the southern end of the British line made an impressive advance alongside the French Sixth Army, capturing the villages of Montauban and Mametz and breaking through the enemy’s defensive system. North of Mametz the attack was an almost unmitigated failure. The situation led to a redirection of effort, with the offensive north of the River Ancre effectively being closed down and all future focus being on the line south of Thiepval. There was a stiff fight for Trones Wood and costly, hastily planned and piecemeal attacks that eventually took La Boisselle, Contalmaison and Mametz Wood during the rest of the period up to the 13th July. This was part of 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. The 15th 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. John died of gas related wounds when at the 87th (1st West Lancashire) Field Ambulance. This was part of the Royal Army Medical Corps attached to the 29th Division. John is listed as RUDDIE and ROYAL IRISH FUSILIERS on the Memorial. John was originally buried in the Asylum British Cemetery, Ypres (see reburial forms). See photos for John's Medal Index Card, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, his listing in the Ireland Casualties WW1, his CWGC Grave Registration x 2, his Headstone Report x 2, another photo of John's grave,

Photos
John Reddy Medal Index CardJohn Reddy newspaper clippingJohn Reddy newspaper clippingJohn Reddy newspaper clippingJohn Reddy remembered at homeJohn Reddy remembered at homeJohn Reddy remembered at homeJohn Reddy remembered at homeJohn Reddy additional photoJohn Reddy additional photoJohn Reddy additional photoJohn Reddy additional photoJohn Reddy additional photoJohn Reddy additional photoJohn Reddy additional photo

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