Navi gation

Henry (Harry) Green

Private 14235, 'C' Company, 9th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters, killed in action, 7 June 1917.

Henry Green was born in Newbold, near Chesterfield, the Son of Charles William and Annie Green.

By late August 1914 the Sherwood Foresters were almost ready to play their part in the Great War. The regular battalions were not in desperate need of men. The 2nd Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters had been bought back to strength by the recall of reservists and would be in France by 10 September. The 1st Battalion was returning rapidly from India. Similarly the territorial battalions (5th, 6th, 7th and 8th) were already assembled and embarking on training.

Nevertheless the Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener, was convinced that the war would last at least three years and that the small, professional British Expeditionary Force and the enthusiastic but untested territorials would not survive its duration. Consequently he called for 100,000 volunteers to join the army for the duration of the war. He got over a million.

Harry, living in Alfreton, was one of the young men swept along in the patriotism. He voluntarily enlisted in Derby at some point between 28 August and 4 September 1914 (probably 2 September).

The Sherwood Foresters had already made plans to accommodate the volunteers. The 9th battalion was formed in Derby on 24 August to make room for the rush of early volunteers to the army. Scheduled as part of the army's six New Army divisions ('K1'), the 9th battalion would consist of the first batch of most enthusiastic volunteers. The battalion was attached to 33rd Brigade, 11th (Northern) Division, assembling for training in and around Grantham in Lincolnshire. By the Spring of 1915 the 11th (Northern) Division was ready for the war and from now until his death in June 1917, Harry would experience all it had to offer, including Gallipoli, the Somme and Ypres.

1915
The 11th (Northern) Division was ordered to go to Gallipoli. On 1 July the Division embarked from Liverpool, bound for the Mediterranean island of Mudros near the Gallipoli peninsula. After a brief stop in Alexandria (Egypt) the Division received orders to participate in the 'new front' - the landing at Suvla Bay as part of IX Corps. The Division was involved in: The landing at Suvla, Capture of Karakol Dagh, Russell's Top, Battle of Scimitar Hill, Attack on 'W' Hills, Evacuation of Suvla. [See here for more information]

1916
The Division went to Egypt before being ordered to the Western Front in July. Involved in: Battle of Flers-Courcelette, Battle of Thiepval (part of the Somme battles). [For details see the 9th battalion notes on the 'Chesterfield Sherwoods on the Somme' website of Dr. Mike Briggs]

1917
The Division spent most of the year in Flanders. Harry was killed, with five other members of the 9th Sherwoods, in the opening moments of the Battle of Messines. This was the first battle of a campaign known as the 'Flanders Offensive', which later became known officially as the Third Battle of Ypres but which is remembered widely as Passchendaele. Specifically the 9th Sherwoods, 33 Brigade, 11th (Northern) Division, were to attack Wytschaete (known today as Wijtschate - and called Whitesheets by the British soldiers of WWI). 11th (Northern) Division were part of IX Corps, Second Army. For the opening attack the 11th Division were to act as Corps Reserve and thus not be in the opening assaulting waves. However, one of its Brigades, 33rd, was to be involved and, of course, 33rd Brigade included the 9th Sherwood Foresters, as well as 6th Lincolns, 6th Border, 7th South Staffordshire and 33rd Brigade Machine Gun Company

6th June 1917: Training under Company arrangements. 10 a.m. CO holds conference with Coy commanders and dictates orders for coming operations. Remainder of day spent in issuing trench equipment and making preparations generally for active operations. 11.30 p.m. Battn moves to GHQ IIIrd line (N.14b.7.7) ref. Map 28 S.W. FRANCE 1/20,000.
[Battalion War Diary, National Archives, WO95/1813]

7 June 1917
At 2.00 a.m. 33rd Brigade came under the orders of the 16th (Irish) Division which would be in the main assault.
At 9.25 a.m., the Brigade and the 9th Sherwoods were ordered to begin making their way towards the front line trenches facing Wytschaete via the communication trench network. Specifically the 33rd Brigade was to assemble around Vandamme Farm. Unfortunately the plans were already coming unstuck. For some unexplained reason the orders sent to 33rd Brigade at 9.25 a.m. (to assemble at Vandamme Farm some 2 ½ miles away) were not delivered until 10.45 a.m. Already nearly 1 ½ hours behind schedule the Brigade moved as swiftly as possible and later received orders to move on to Rommens Farm in the forward assembly area. The battle was timed to open at 3.25 p.m. and it did so with 33rd Brigade not in their allotted positions. The Brigade reached Rommens Farm at 3.50 p.m.
The lateness of the 33rd Brigade had already been noted but, despite attempts to alter it at the last minute, the battle plan was already in operation elsewhere and unstoppable. Consequently the Brigade on 33rd's left, 57th, had to attack without the expected flanking support of the 33rd. Similarly, Australian units on 33rd's right had to go it alone. Luckily, despite problems, 57th Brigade and the Australians did well in their attacks and when 33rd finally arrived it had the relatively easy task of attacking fewer targets than it had originally been earmarked for.
At 4.30 p.m., assisted by four tanks, 33rd Brigade attacked Joye farm and Van Hove Farm. There was limited German resistance and the two farms were swiftly occupied. For the 9th Sherwoods losses were incredibly light, just six men killed, though sadly they included Harry. His platoon of about 20 men were advancing in line when a shell landed squarely in the middle of them. In one way Harry was fortunate: his body was recovered and buried in Wytschaete† . His comrades were either not recovered, not identified, or their graves subsequently lost.

The other 5 men were:

  • Name: BARKER, WILLIAM
    Rank: Private
    Regiment/Service: Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment)
    Unit Text: 9th Bn.
    Date of Death: 07/06/1917
    Additional information: Enlisted Derby
    Service No: 71022
    Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 39 and 41. Ypres (Menin gate) Memorial, Belgium.
  • Name: CURTIS, ISAAC
    Rank: Private
    Regiment/Service: Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment)
    Unit Text: "C" Coy. 9th Bn.
    Age: 34
    Date of Death: 07/06/1917
    Service No: 4913
    Additional information: Husband of Frances Curtis, of 11, Hartwell St., Pens Hill Rd., Nottingham. Born and enlisted Nottingham.
    Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 39 and 41. Ypres (Menin gate) Memorial, Belgium.
  • Name: McNEILL, ROBERT
    Rank: Private
    Regiment/Service: Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment)
    Unit Text: 9th Bn.
    Secondary Unit Text: Formerly 404175, Highland Field Company, Royal Engineers
    Age: 33
    Date of Death: 07/06/1917
    Service No: 76267
    Additional information: Son of the late Robert McNeill of Monikie, Dundee; husband of Annie McNeill, of Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. Returned from Canada in 1914 to enlist in Royal Engineers. Enlisted Dundee, lived Ilford, Essex.
    Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 39 and 41. Ypres (Menin gate) Memorial, Belgium.
  • Name: PRATT, HERBERT
    Rank: Private
    Regiment/Service: Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment)
    Unit Text: "C" Coy. 9th Bn.
    Age: 27
    Date of Death: 07/06/1917
    Service No: 71011
    Additional information: Son of Alfred and Mary Ann Pratt. Enlisted Hinckley, Leicestershire.
    Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 39 and 41. Ypres (Menin gate) Memorial, Belgium.
  • Name: WHYLER, WILLIAM A.
    Rank: Private
    Regiment/Service: Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment)
    Unit Text: 9th Bn.
    Date of Death: 07/06/1917
    Service No: 23065
    Additional information: Born and enlisted in Nottingham.
    Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 39 and 41. Ypres (Menin gate) Memorial, Belgium.

† Initially he was probably buried in Somer Farm Cemetery No.2 near Wytschaete. This cemetery, of 13 burials, and several other smaller wartime cemeteries, were concentrated into Wytschaete after the war.

Further Reading

Many thanks to Susan Shooter, Harry's Great-Niece, for the photograph and background information. Also thanks to Steve Morse and Ken Lees for information which helped to complete the picture of what happened on 7 June 1917.