Favreuil British Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France. Happily, the Cheshire Military Museum has a transcript of the missing entries. Private 'Mahore' was born and enlisted in Middlewich and was killed in action somewhere in France or Belgian Flanders on 7th May 1915. The attack, according to the Battalion War Diary was '…. The result:'Â, …. Simultaneously, British, Belgian and French artillery laid down a barrage on the Hill which was captured by the Royal West Kent Regiment. Evidently, on 6 May the Battalion managed to hang on in the positions it occupied the previous day and even took over three trenches from Kings Own Scottish Borderers. After he had recovered from the wounds he suffered at Hill 60 he joined the Royal Flying Corps. The action on 7 May, almost certainly, was 'Journey’s End' for Private Peter Mahon. Officially, the action on and in front of Hill 60 in 1915 was not counted as a “battle” and therefore it does not appear on the colours of any of the regiments that were involved. On 17 April the mines were fired over a ten second period. Many more bodies were uncovered in the coming months and the smell of quick lime was to hang over the Hill for several years.Â. Includes commissioned officers of the Cheshire Regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1689 and merged into the Mercian Regiment in 2007. He was unmarried and aged 28 years. This Company lost many officers and men. This was puzzling and I resolved to find out why.Â. His name appeared (but not until well over a month later) as the last on a list of missing released from the Headquarters of the Cheshire Regiment at Chester Castle and published in the Chester Chronicle on 26 June 1915. series, Pub. I contacted the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to discover where Private 'Mahore' had been killed and where his grave was. A huge quantity of earth exploded 400 feet into the air. Until 1881, the regiment was known as the 22nd Regiment of Foot. Synchronized Communications Ltd. 2016, mentions that the local newspaper reported that “A member (unnamed) of the same battalion home on leave sometime afterwards (no precise date) stated that Mahon was killed by accident during a bayonet charge at Hill 60.” The same newspaper mistakenly reported the date of his death as 12 May – when 1st Battalion was no longer at Hill 60. iv) The 1901 Census for Middlewich reveals that Peter Mahon was an 'ordinary agricultural labourer' living at 1 Billington Court off Lewin Street. The Battalion’s commanding officer Colonel Scott had been killed as soon as the Battalion reached Larch Wood while three other officers were wounded. The record of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission shows his name correctly spelled. By the end of the fighting for Hill 60 casualties of 5th Division (including those of 1st Cheshires) amounted to more than 100 officers and 3,000 men. To complete Private Mahon’s story as best I could I referred once more to the History of the Cheshire Regiment in the Great War – and to the War Diary of 1st Battalion. They had no record of any Private 'Mahore'. We also aim to perpetuate the memory, courage and comradeship of all those who served their countries on all sides, across all theatres and fronts, on land, at sea and in the air and at home, during the Great War. The surviving pages of his Service Record indicate that he re-enlisted on 7 December 1914 and his age is recorded as 38 - which apparently contradicts the Census Record (see footnote iv). Private Mahon’s name appears on the War Memorial in Middlewich, Cheshire, but it does not appear in the semi-official list of Soldiers Died in the Great War published in the 1920s or in the Roll of Honour in the History of the Cheshire Regiment in the Great War - A. Crookenden, Evans, Chester 1939. ii) The absence of entries in 1st Battalion War Diary for 6 and 7 May is something of a mystery – there are none in the handwritten original Diary in the National Archives. The troops only had hastily issued mouth pads to protect themselves with. Anodized aluminium headdress badge to soldiers of The Cheshire Regiment, being a diamond-cut eight-point star over the centre of which a voided circlet with roped edges embossed THE CHESHIRE / REGIMENT, in the centre an acorn vertical between oak leaves. association@hotmail. 601 likes. Age 36. The temporary cross which marked his place of burial is displayed at Quarry Bank Mill, as is his uniform. We will check that your account details are correct and that your bank account will allow direct debits. Brigade if necessary - and billeted in the Ypres casemates (chambers inside the thick stone walls of the city). ' The Battalion was relieved by the South Lancashire Regiment that evening and withdrew to Ouderdom Camp 11 km to the west. Contact: cheshire. Private Mahon was killed somewhere in the Ypres salient and his final resting place is unknown. Nigel Cave also quotes Greg in “Hill 60” in the 'Battleground Europe' series, Pub. I decided to comb the names of soldiers of the Cheshire Regiment in Soldiers Died in the Great War for names which looked something like or, when pronounced, would sound something like Private Mahon’s surname. The Card has a note that his medals (1915 Star, British Medal and Victory Medal) were returned to the authorities. Â, i) Arthur Greg was a member of the well-known cotton manufacturing family, the Gregs of Quarry Bank Mill, Styal, Cheshire. Some of his experiences at Hill 60 can be accessed via quarrybankmill.wordpress.com   The History of the Cheshire Regiment in the Great War quotes Greg extensively. regt. The temporary cross which marked his place of burial is displayed at Quarry Bank Mill, as is his uniform. The Battalion was relieved by the South Lancashire Regiment that evening and withdrew to Ouderdom Camp 11 km to the west. It does not take too much of an effort to make an imaginative reconstruction of the appalling experiences of the men of 1. It does not take too much of an effort to make an imaginative reconstruction of the appalling experiences of the men of 1st Battalion as they struggled in vain to win back what became known as 'the bloody pile of earth'. The tragic events of Hill 60 were overshadowed by what was happening on a larger geographical scale elsewhere in the north and east of the Ypres salient and in the Dardanelles. MERCIAN REGIMENT, CHESHIRE , MEMORIAL Cheshire Regiment Association Memorial Garden, Sandbach Cemetery Op Herric 12 Afghanistan 2010 Corporal 25189142, Harvey Alex HOLMES, Ist Mercian Regiment, attached to 40 Commando, Royal Marines Battle Group, killed in explosion near to Patrol Base, Waterloo, in Sangin, Helmand province whilst providing protection for … DAVIES, J.H. The confusion of names was not, as can be seen, quite as I had anticipated. ), There was considerable confusion in the shattered trenches in front of Hill 60. HQ, and B Company, 4th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (1939–1967) After the 4th Battalion, amalgamated with the 7th Battalion in 1967, the drill hall became empty, [32] and so it was sold to Birkenhead County Borough Council , who converted it into a sports and leisure centre. Entries in soldiers’ Service Records are sometimes practically illegible. The action of 1915 is often overlooked - as indeed it was by most of the newspapers at the time. His name is correctly spelled. (The 1st Battalion War Diary says that the Battalion was called out at 8.00 pm but 2nd Lieutenant Greg later recalled starting off from Ypres ‘… at about eight or none in the morning ….’ and this would seem correct bearing in mind the next time mentioned in the Diary which was 10.20 am.). British positions near Hill 60 were not to change greatly until the explosion of the mine under the Hill in June 1917. The surviving pages of his Service Record indicate that he re-enlisted on 7 December 1914 and his age is recorded as 38 - which apparently contradicts the Census Record (see footnote iv). A local Middlewich historian, Philip Andrews, has discovered that Peter Mahon had previously served in 2nd Battalion, Cheshire Regiment, for two years and 311 days. We are the largest and fastest growing community of UK forces veterans on the web with over 500,000 members! 2. … (Major CGE Hughes took over command of 1, Battalion. Please select an option below to continue. The entry reads: To complete Private Mahon’s story as best I could I referred once more to the, - ie not in the front line but ready to go into action to support the other Battalions in the (15. ) Owing to the supports missing their way, the Cheshires were unable to hold them. More on the 22nd Cheshire Regiment can be found here. View Basket, Private Mahon’s name appears on the War Memorial in Middlewich, Cheshire, but it does not appear in the semi-official list of, published in the 1920s or in the Roll of Honour in the, I decided to comb the names of soldiers of the Cheshire Regiment in. 21-08-1918. Validate Bank Details seventy yards of trench recaptured, but position untenable to lack of support from the left 'so'…. The Germans occasionally managed to infiltrate the British trenches and attacked the Cheshires with rifle fire and grenades. Owing to the supports missing their way, the Cheshires were unable to hold them. 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