Pte SJ Willcox

 

Sidney James Willcox was born in Portland, Dorset in 1891, the son of Albert, a cowman, and Rose Willcox. He was a baker and lived at 42 Chalk Pit Cottages with his parents, and brothers Harold and Cecil.

 

He enlisted initially in the Army Service Corps, possibly in his civilian trade, and was first posted to France in April 1915. He later joined his brother’s battalion, the 5th Royal Berkshires.

 

In the winter of 1918 the battalion was in reserve around Bethune but had to move urgently when the great German offensive began on 21 March. They came under occasional attack but were able to return to reserve duties after a week, although they had to fight off a further attack at Bouzincourt on 5 April. At 5pm on 24 May the battalion marched from Acheux to assembly positions in the front line for a raid that night on the enemy trenches at Hamel. They captured 21 prisioners and six machine guns but lost 14 dead, 73 wounded and 19 missing. The action was completed by 7.30am and the battalion returned to Acheux at 8.30.

 

Sidney Willcox was listed at the time as one of those missing but at the end of the War was confirmed as having been killed in action on the 25th of May. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Somme Pozieres memorial.

 

LCpl HG Willcox

 

Harold Godfrey Willcox was born in Gillingham, Dorset in 1893 and before the War was a gardener living also at 42 Chalk Pit Cottages.

 

He enlisted in September or October 1914 with 5th Battalion, The Royal Berkshire Regiment, which formed at Reading on 24 August 1914 as one of the first tranche of Kitchener battalions. They landed in France on 31 May 1915 and after a long period alternating between trench duty and reserve were engaged in creating diversions during the Battle of Loos starting on 25 September.  On 13 October they made their first attack at Hulluch Quarry in which they did well but lost 65 killed and 91 wounded, many of whom later died.

 

On 1 July 1916 5th battalion took part in the Battle of Albert, initially in reserve, but at 0315 on 3 July they took up the attack on Orvillers la Boiselle, advancing over ground on which lay many bodies from the 2nd Battalion who had attacked two days earlier. The battalion was one of the few to cross no man’s land and took at least two lines of enemy trenches before getting bogged-down in bombing fights. The attack failed but on 7 July the brigade of which the battalion was a part attacked again and despite heavy casualties succeeded in capturing and holding the first and second lines on the Orvillers spur. On 8 July the Battalion withdrew for a period of training until the 21st when they returned to the front line at Auchenvillers.

 

After a quiet few days with just a little shelling they were relieved on the 25th and carried out training at Varennes before moving to billets at Bouzincourt and more training until the 6th. On 7 August the Battalion left its billets at Bouzincourt and marched to take over trenches north west of Pozieres. The following day the Germans made four counter-attacks using bombs and flame-throwers and succeeded in gaining 50 yards of the 5th Battalion trench.  On 9 August the ANZACs and 7th Suffolks on the Battalion’s right took part in an attack on the German lines and the British trenches were heavily shelled as a result, with 5th Battalion suffering a total of 43 casualties.

 

The battalion retired to Arras to recover then went back to the Somme at Geudecourt, where a futile attack was mounted on 7 October. Further unsuccessful efforts were made on 12 and 19 October and that night the battalion was withdrawn. The battalion diary notes: “The weather was very bad and the mud so thick that the Bn did not reach MAMETZ wood till 6.30 am.”

 

Harold Willcox is listed as killed in action on 19 October 1916, having served continuously in France without leave since he first arrived on 31 May 1915. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval memorial.