William Gardner b. 1876

William is my paternal great-father and I posted what little I knew about him almost 12 months ago in this post .
Today on a Lancaster Facebook page people were discussing the Lancaster War Memorial as there is a very sad story of 4 bros from the Butterworth family who were all killed in action in WW1. This prompted me to look for William and this is what I found...

WILLIAM GARDNER

Awards: MM

Sergeant 152411 6th Bn., King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regt.)
who died of wounds on Thursday, 08/03/1917 . Age 41 .
Son of Mrs. Jane Gardner;
Husband of Mary Ann Gardner, of 1, Albert Square, Lancaster.

BASRA MEMORIAL, Ref:: Panel 7, Iraq

Borough of Lancaster Civic Reception H M Forces Report Form shows:

William Gardner. Resided at 1 Albert Square, Lancaster. A married man. Sergeant 152411. K.O.R.L.Regt. Military Distinctions Awarded: M.M. He served for 6 months at home, and 2 years and 4 months abroad. Killed.

William Gardner. SERGT. 15241. King's Own [Royal Lancaster Regt.] 6th Bn.
Born, and enlisted in Lancaster.
Died 08/03/17. Died of Wounds. Mesopotamia.

Source: Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919

Gardner William Sergeant Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment, awarded D C M. wounded at Baghdad, died of wounds in Mesopatamia 8 March 1917, 1917, age 40, address 1, Albert Square, Bridge Lane, Lancaster, educated at Quay school, employed at Lune Mills, he leaves a widow and seven children. His brother Private James, is serving in the same Battalion.

Source Lancaster Guardian date 24 March, 1917 page 5, photo Code ? 857, 867 .

William Gardner was born in Lancaster, one of the three sons of Mrs Jane Gardner of River Street, St. George's Quay, Lancaster. He attended St Mary's School on the Quay, and after leaving school worked at Lune Mills. He joined the 1^st(Volunteer) Battalion, The King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment about 1899 and, in 1900/1901, served in the South African war with No 1 Volunteer Service Company, attached 2^nd Battalion, King's Own. In recognition of this he received the Queen's South Africa Medal with five clasps, and his further Volunteer/Territorial Force service, up to about 1908, brought him the award of the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal.

In October 1914, William was among those who enlisted at Lancaster for the 8^th (Service) Battalion, The King's Own. After a brief spell in camp at Codford, near Warminster, Wiltshire, 8^th (S) King's Own moved to Boscombe, Hampshire, where it was made up to full strength, the men being billeted on the local people. Serious training then began as part of 76 Brigade, 25^thDivision, and, after further moves to Romsey and Aldershot, the Battalion sailed to Boulogne, France on 27 Sept 1915, and had its baptism of fire at Ploegstreet, near Armentiers.

The Battalion then moved to St Eloi, and earned its first battle-honour at 'The Bluff' on 2/3/4 March 1916, when it held the 'post of honour' at the centre of the attack, and the men went 'over the top' for the first time. They swept across the old German front line to the base of the 'Bean' salient, and re-gained British possession of the 'International Trench'. In this action William was wounded in the right shoulder, after which he was invalided to 3^rd Battalion, King's Own at Plymouth. For his bravery in the field, he received the Military Medal in the King's Birthday Honours list - (London Gazette, June 1916). 8^th (S) King's Own casualties for 2/3/4 Mar 1916 were: three officers and 120 other ranks killed or missing; nine officers and 210 other ranks wounded.

Following his recovery, William volunteered to join 6^th (S) Battn, King's Own, then fighting the Turks in Mesopotamia. On 8 March 1917, he died of wounds, most probably from the ill-fated attempt to cross the Dialah River on the night of 7/8 March. One officer and fourteen other ranks were killed, and one officer and twenty-four other ranks were wounded. The only man not wounded or dead was Private Jack White, a signaller who, with great presence of mind, fastened one end of his cable to the pontoon, took to the water and swam to the 'home bank' and succeeded in saving the lives of 2^nd Lt. Paterson and several of the other wounded men. For his gallantry in action, Jack White was awarded the Victoria Cross.

In 1914, William Gardner was a married, family man living at 1 Albert Square, off Bridge Lane, Lancaster. He died aged 41, leaving a wife, Mary Ann, and seven children. His eldest son, Private James Gardner, was serving with 6^th Battn, King's Own in Mesopotamia when his father died.

William's elder brother, T5/0454 Sergeant John Gardner, was killed in action in France & Flanders while serving with 1/5^th(T.F.) King's Own on 27 Apr 1915.

William Gardner is commemorated on the Basra war memorial in Iraq, and John and William Gardner are commemorated together on the Lancaster city war memorial.

Another link from Russell Dunkeld at the Lancaster FB Page

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_White_(VC)

Sergeant 454 King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) 1st/5th Bn.
who died on Tuesday, 27/04/1915 Age 37
Son of Jane Gardner, of 5, River St., George's Quay, Lancaster;
Husband of Alice Gardner, of 4, Ross Place, Cheapside, Lancaster.
YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL, Ref: Panel 12. , Ieper, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Borough of Lancaster Civic Reception H M Forces Report Form shows:
John Gardner. Resided at 3 Ross Yd., Cheapside. [Lancaster]. A married man. Sgt.454. 5th Bn. K.O.R.L. He served for 9 weeks abroad. Left Eng. Feb 1915. Killed.
John Gardner. SERGT . 454. King's Own [Royal Lancaster Regt.] 1/5th Bn.
Born and enlisted in Lancaster.
Died 27/04/15. Killed in Action. France & Flanders.
Source: Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919
Gardner John Sergeant 5th Battalion Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment killed in action age 37, educated at St Mary's school, employed by Lune Valley Engineering and White Cross Mills, played football for Marsh Hornets and Vale of Lune. His wife is a daughter of Mrs Bonsall of Lodge Street, and several members of her family are serving. He was the son of Mrs Gardner of River street. His brother Private William Gardner sailed for France last week

This photo of William and Mary Ann's wedding, I think the 3 Gardner bros are standing, their sister Elizabeth is on the left, Mary Ann and then her sister, Cissie Garner...this photo must have been taken in the late 1890s...

The Garden of Remembrance in Lancaster where the brothers are honoured...

"Lancaster's War Memorial stands in a small Garden of Remembrance on the east side of the Town Hall.  It was designed by Thomas Mawson and Sons and it commemorates the dead of the two world wars and other conflicts.  The ten bronze panels at the rear record the names of 1,010 Lancastrians who fell in the First World War.  The panels were dedicated on 3rd December 1924.  The plinth in front of the statue carries the names of a further 300 who fell in 1939-45."

Further information is available at this link

Lancaster Military Heritage Group

Dad's cousin Marion has just sent me these photos...Mary Ann and William with who I presume is their first born child James/Jim...

and these are their three daughters, Margaret, Elizabeth/Betty and Annie...Auntie Betty will be 101 yrs old in August...such a poignant photo, their clothing is so poor and yet they look strong and quite happy and remained close all their lives...

Thank you Marion, Annie's third and youngest daughter/child.
xox

My Great Grandfather on Dad's Side of The Family

More for my own records and for the family, after Remembrance Day and several posts on FB I found this


Sergeant William Gardner, DCM, MM, number 15241, 8th King’s Own.
Died of wounds on 8th March 1917 whilst serving in Mesopotamia. He was awarded the Military Medal in the list of King’s Birthday Honours published June 1916.
“A veteran in the King’s Own, who gained the Military Medal for bravery in the field at Ypres in 1916, is officially reported to have died of wounds in action in Mesopotamia. Sergeant William Gardner, 40, King’s Own, leaves a widow and seven children residing at 1 Albert Square, Bridge Lane, Lancaster. Having previously served in the Active Service Company of the King’s Own Volunteers in the South African War, he again volunteered for the front, and was attached to the 8th King’s Own. When the battalion did such good work near Ypres in April 1916, he was to the fore and was wounded in the same battle as Captain Hamilton. He was hit in the shoulder, and had shown such gallantry that he was awarded the MM at Plymouth early in September 1916. While on Depot duty in the south, he volunteered for Mesopotamia and went there before last Christmas. A postcard was received this week dated 2nd February 1917, saying he had just joined his regiment and was ‘in the pink’. According to a report from the Records Office at Preston, he died of wounds on 8th March 1917, and it is probable that he figured in the attack on the Turks which culminated in the capture of Baghdad.” Lancaster Guardian 27th March 1917.

 

This is my first post regarding  Great Granddad

My Paternal Great-Grandfather

was named William Gardner and he died aged 41yrs in Iraq during WW1. He was in a small boat under the cover of darkness when hit by heavy shelling on the River Tigris, he died of wounds received that night on March 8th 1916.
This passage was written by Colonel JM Cowper and published by "The King's Own" Regiment in 1957;

"6th Battalion
Established as a result of Lord Kitchener's appeal for volunteers, the 6th Battalion was one of four raised in Lancaster. They were sent to the south of England for training and the joined the 38th Infantry Brigade(13th Division) and fought in the Gallipoli Peninsula from 6th July to 21st December 1915. They then moved to Lemnos in Egypt which they left on 13th February 1916, to join the Expeditionary Force in Mesopotamia, where it fought until the Turks were finally defeated. The Battalion then proceeded to Rowalpindi in India for Frontier Service but was not required. It was demobilised and returned to England in August 1918.

The 6th Bn was involved in the following actions:

Attack on Saribair, August 1915

Actions at Hannah, Sanniyat, Abu Roman on the Tigris River

Capture of Kut-el-a-mara

Crossing of the Diyalah River

Capture of Baghdad

Pursuit of Turks 1917

Occupation of Kirkuk, Spring 1918

A total of 61 officers and 1138 other ranks were killed during these battles."

The current census has reminded me that I gleaned much of our family history from earlier UK censuses and got me thinking about my ancestry again.

William was born in Lancaster(1875) to James and Jane Gardner and was christened at St Mary's Priory Church that year. He married  Mary Ann Cole from Barrow in Furness and left behind 7 children. The family lived at 1, Albert Sq, Bridge Lane, Lancaster.As a child Wm attended the Quay School and worked at Lune Mills before the war. He also served in South Africa during the Boer War.
Granny Gardner received a postcard from her husband on February 2, 1916 saying he had just joined his regiment and "was in the pink".

Their children were as follows...

James(Jim)                       1898-1985
Frederick William(Fred)   1900-
Robert Herbert(Herb)       June 16th 1903-June 5th 1993(my Grandad)
Margaret Jane(Parker)     1905
John Thomas                   1907
Annie(Nixon)                   1910
Elizabeth(Hannigan)        August 1915-June 10 2016

I'm unsure when most of these great aunts and uncles died but they were all well into their 80's. Auntie Betty turned 100 yrs in 2015

the three sisters thanks to Marion Ogden, youngest daughter of Annie...
Margaret(b1905, Elizabeth(b1915) and Annie(b 1907)

This is the only photo we have of William and Mary Ann, it was taken on their wedding day. Great-Grandad is flanked by two of his brothers, his sister is to the left of Great-Granny. Her sister, Cicely Garner* is on the right of the photo.

A second photo has been given to me by Annie's daughter, Marion Ogden, 5 years on from this post,
Mary Ann and William with I presume James, their first-born...

William was a Sergeant and soldier number 152411, 6th Battalion, King's Own Regiment(Royal Lancaster Regiment) and is remembered in this Roll of Honour and a Memorial at Basra. On February 2nd 1916 Great grandad was awarded the Military Medal for gallantry. His youngest daughter, Elizabeth, placed the medal in her mother's hand as she lay in her coffin...it was buried with her at Scotforth Cemetery in Lancaster.

*Mary Ann's maiden name was Garner, not to be confused with Gardner.