Herbert Freeman

LEVERSTOCK GREEN WAR MEMORIAL 1914 - 1918

HERBERT FREEMAN

Herbert Freeman was a difficult person to find details on at first. The Hemel Gazette carried an article in its 16th April 1921 issue, relating to the dedicated of the Leverstock Green War memorial. This article listed in full, the first and surnames of each person recorded on the memorial. The war memorial in Leverstock Green has on it, the name of H Freeman and the Hemel gazette article gave the full name of Herbert Freeman. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission lists an H Freeman from Apsley, this man can be discarded, as he is not named Herbert, and at first I could find no connection of a Herbert to Leverstock Green.

Herbert was not on the village school memorial, or the church service for Easter 1919, this would indicate he was not a local man. Thankfully, Herbert's army service records are at the National archives at Kew. These records name his next of kin as William and Sarah Freeman, his mother and father, living in Westwick Row, Leverstock Green.

Born during 1879 in Studham, Bedfordshire and baptised 21st September 1879, the second child to Sarah and William, settling in Westwick Row about 1893, by 1901 Herbert is living in Bushey, where he's employed as a gas worker.

I could not find any information on Herbert on the 1911 census, thou he was working in Stourton, Leeds for The Leeds Sand & Gravel Company when called by the army for military service. 

The company wrote on the 16th December 1915 to the army board stating Herbert was employed as a labourer and was entirely engaged on Government work. Not wanting to lose him but lose him they did, 6 months later on 16th June, Herbert aged 37 years old and living at 20 Saxon Lane, Leeds, was called up, Posted as private 34678 in the West Yorkshire regiment.

After three months basic training, embarkation for France followed on 6th October 1916 along with a transfer to the 10th battalion Northumberland Fusiliers, followed by a move to the 12th battalion York & Lancaster Regiment 15 days later.

On 1st March 1917 at the workshops of the 109th Railway Company Royal Engineers, Herbert takes a trade test for a Platelayer, passed as FAIR he’s transferred to the Royal Engineers.

What happened next is unclear, the service records are water damaged and a number of papers are missing.  Written across his enrolment papers in large letters are the words ASSUMED DEAD and he was Killed in Action, this means at the front. None of Herbert’s effects were passed onto his family.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) list Herbert as killed on the 9th October 1917 serving in the 12th York and Lancaster’s and remembered on the Arras memorial to the missing.  A question arises, not only was he Assumed Dead, the 12th York and Lancaster’s were not at the front line when Herbert was killed, but at a training camp away from the front.

A second soldier, William Lumley also on the Arras memorial is listed by the CWGC serving with the 12th battalion and killed on the same day as Herbert, two soldiers died from the same battalion on the same day, but no mention is recorded in the war diary.

A look at the service records of William Lumley which are far more detailed, revealed like Herbert, he originally served in the 12th York and Lancaster’s, took a Platelayer test with the 113th Railway company, Royal Engineers 2 days after Herbert and served with them for nine months. The War diary for the 113th Railway company states an order from General Headquarters dated 25th September for the return of 126 men to Calais. William was one of them. Posted to the 5th York and Lancaster battalion, not the 12th, and killed on the 9th October 1917.

 The 109th Railway company, in which Herbert Freeman served, also received an order to return 60 soldiers to General headquarters during the last week of August. It is not known for certain what happened to Herbert but it is very probable he was posted to the 5th battalion York and Lancs regiment.

The 5th battalion York & Lancs war diary notes receiving 225 soldiers throughout September, while training at the coast. On 1st October the battalion begins its move to the front, to take part in the Battle of Poelcappelle during the Third Battle of Ypres, better known as Passchendaele.

6pm of the 8th the battalion prepared to leave the reserve line, moving up to the assembly positions  severely hampered by the heavy going and drenching cold rain, forming up for the attack of the 9th just west of Ravebeek Stream, near Gravenstafel.

The march up to the assembly position was very difficult due to the state of the ground. There had been very wet weather for a week, which produced mud in very great depth, in an area consisting of shell holes containing two to three feet of water.

At zero hour 5,20 am the battalion moved forward to the attack in atrocious conditions very close to a ragged and inaccurate barage, having floundered through the morass of the flooded Ravebeek waist deep in places, and losing the protection of the barrage, the attack started to stall with only small parties managing to get forward.

In the advance from the stream up the slope towards Meetcheele, the troops meet ferocious machine-gun fire from the undestroyed German pillboxes and shell hole defences on the forward slopes and were additionally impeded by belts of barbed wire. Having taken their objective the York and Lancs should have been bypassed by the King's own Yorkshire Light Infantry, but due to the bad condition this did not happen, forward movement halted at 9.30 a.m. about 40 yards from the German pillboxes on the crest. 

This made all movement difficult so an attack against these German positions took place at 10.00 a.m. but failed and due to the battalion’s weakness the gains were consolidated and unable of further action were relieved.

Days later an officer of the new Zealand division found:

" famished and untended on the battlefield... Those that could not be brought back were dressed in the muddy shell holes... On the morning of the 12th many of these unfortunate men were still lying upon the battlefield and not a few had died of exposure in the wet cold conditions... Even before the attack, dressing stations and Regimental Aid posts as well as the battlefield itself were crowded with the wounded of the 49th Division."

Casualties for the battalion during this attack were given as Killed 65, wounded 252, Missing 49.

Four soldiers were never found or heard of again and were recorded as Died in Action one year later, by then the Tyne Cot memorial to the missing which listed soldiers from the 5th York and Lancaster battalion who died in the attack on 9th October 1917 had stopped taking names, therefore these four soldiers had to be recorded on the Arras memorial to the missing.

The four are

James William Hadwick

Herbert Freeman

Arthur Hilton

William Lumley