PRIVATE JOSEPH ELLINSON (20 th BATTALION THE KING’S LIVERPOOL REGIMENT)

DIED OF WOUNDS AT YPRES ON 30 JUNE 1917

Research Report by Robin Russell for Mr Jeff Allen and his family.

This report describes the circumstances surrounding the death of Private Joseph Ellinson who died of wounds received in action at Ypres whilst serving with 20th Battalion The King’s Liverpool Regiment on 30 June 1917. His family were aware of his unit and the CWGC record, showing that he is remembered on a special memorial in Railway Dugouts Cemetery at Ypres. They were keen to find out more about his war service and how he died, with a view to visiting the Western Front battlefields and paying their respects at his memorial. I have used a range of historical sources, to answer some of their questions and provide more detail about Joseph Ellinson’s death, to assist them with their own research and travel plans. They have indicated that they will apply separately to the National Archives themselves for any records pertinent to Joseph Ellinson’s service.

Cap badge of the Liverpool Pals (17th ,18th ,19th & 20th Service Battalions The King’s Liverpool Regiment), based on Lord Derby’s family crest

Joseph Ellinson’s unit, 20th Battalion the King’s Liverpool Regiment, was one of four “Liverpool Pals” battalions raised under the sponsorship of Lord Derby between August - October 1914. After initial training, these four battalions were formed into the 89th Infantry Brigade, in 30th Division, on 30 April 1915 and continued their training based at Grantham.  The whole Division deployed to France in November 1915, landing at Boulogne. The Battalion’s war diary, which you will hopefully obtain from the National Archives, will show their detailed movements and actions thereafter. However, during the next nineteen months up until Joseph Ellinson’s death, the major battles/engagements they fought in were as follows: 

Battle of Albert (Somme), 1-13 Jul 1916, including the capture of Montauban on the first day, Mametz, Fricourt, Contalmaison and La Boisselle.  NB. Liverpool and Manchester Pals memorial in Montauban.

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Battle of Le Transloy (Somme), 1-18 Oct 1916, including the capture of Eaucourt l’Abbaye, Le Sars and the attacks on Butte de Warlencourt.

Battle of Arras (First Battle of the Scarpe), 9-14 Apr 1917, including the capture of Monchy le Preux and the Wancourt Ridge.

Battle of Arras (Second Battle of the Scarpe), 23-24 Apr 1917, including the capture of Guemappe and Gavrelle.

Following the Battle of Arras in Apr 17, the Battalion rested, refurbished and moved into the Ypres sector on 28 May with their division. The 30th Division was deployed in the south of the Ypres Salient to hold trenches on the northern flank of the great Messines Ridge offensive (7-14 Jun 17).  The map below (dated 1915) shows the areas the Battalion operated in, and can be easily related to a modern road map. For the month of June they alternated every few days between training/reserve, working parties and front line trench duty in the Observatory Ridge/Zillebeke sector. I can't be more precise than that but the Battalion war diary will give more detail.  I have plotted at Box 1 the likely location of English Wood, which they used as a rest area when in reserve, and Box 2 shows the Zillebeke/Observatory Ridge sector where they occupied the trenches. At [3] are the locations of today’s Sanctuary Wood Museum and the Hill 62 Memorial:

You may be aware that there are some preserved trenches at the Sanctuary Wood museum, so that is worth a visit, particularly because Joseph Ellinson’s Battalion almost certainly held trenches in that area during June 1917. The next map below gives an indication of where the front-line trenches were at that time, but they would also have

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occupied reserve trenches as far back as Zillebeke, about a mile to the west of Sanctuary Wood:

To focus now on Joseph Ellinson’s death on 30 June 1917, fortunately I have found the following extract dated 28 June 1917 from the Battalion war diary, which gives some indication of the circumstances in which he died:

28 June 17….“Battalion in divisional reserve at English Wood. Battalion rested in Reserve trenches till 10pm when in accordance with 89th Infantry Brigade Operation Order No 111 it moved forward to relief of 2nd Battalion Wiltshire Regt in left sub-sector of the Observatory Ridge sector. Route taken: infantry track running through H.193c and d., I.29.c and b., I.21.a. and north of Zillebeke Lake. Companies were deployed as follows :- D Company front line; C Company Wellington Crescent; B Company Ritz Street; A Company Zillebeke Bund; Battalion HQ Dormy House. Relief complete by 3am. Casualties 3 OR wounded. Infantry track was heavily shelled by Boche between 10 pm and midnight."

The section of trench map below shows the area through which they moved on the night of 28/29 June as far as the Battalion HQ location at Dormy House Farm just east of Zillebeke on the right. I have marked the approximate route [1] of the “Infantry track”. You can see B Company’s trench “Ritz Street” marked just to the rear of Dormy House, and A Company’s trench was in Zillebeke itself. Movement further forward (some 1000 metres to the front

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line) would have been along communication trenches, far less exposed than the Infantry track. Box 2 shows the Advanced Dressing Station at Transport Farm, which is now the location of Railway Dugouts Cemetery, where Joseph Ellinson lies buried:

  

You will note that 3 soldiers were wounded, presumably by shellfire, during the Battalion’s move along the Infantry track [1] on the night of 28/29 June. It is highly likely that Joseph Ellinson was one of them. Or he might have been wounded in the trenches during the following 24 hours.  Either way, it is certain that he was carried back to the Advanced Dressing Station at Transport Farm [2] and died there the next day, being buried immediately in the adjacent cemetery.  The cemetery records indicate that a number of graves were lost when the area was heavily shelled later that summer, and Joseph’s was probably one of those. Nonetheless, it is certain that his remains still lie there, and hence he is commemorated by a special memorial (“known to be buried in this cemetery”).

Soon after Joseph Ellinson's death, his Battalion took part in their next major attack, the Battle of Pilkem (the opening stage of the Third Battle of Ypres – also known as Passchendaele) between 31 Jul-2 Aug 1917, where they suffered many more casualties. In the 89th Brigade, 11 officers and 223 other ranks were killed in the first three days, and at least the same number again were lost by the end of that year’s fighting. Due to the high casualties and shortage of manpower to replace them, the 20th Battalion was disbanded on 8 Feb 1918 to provide reinforcements to the rest of the Brigade.

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As far as Joseph's personal service record is concerned, I can only point again to the National Archives.  However, I recommend you get hold of the following book which will give you much more detail on Joseph's battalion, and the 89th Brigade's activities/movements between 1915-18: “Liverpool Pals - 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th (Service) Battalions the King's (Liverpool Regiment)”

by Graham MaddocksFound in: World War One BooksSeries: PalsHardback 288 pagesISBN: 9781844156412Published: 17 January 2008

I hope all this is all of some use, and adds something to your family record of Joseph Ellinson. I am quite sure he would be pleased with the interest you have in his service and sacrifice, and that you are travelling to visit his final resting place. I wish I could join you on your pilgrimage!  Do let me know, or give me a call, if I can help any further.

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