On this day in 1918, Sergeant Henry James Hartnell died.

Sergeant 557

Henry James Hartnell MM

18^th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers

Died 31st October 1918

Aged 30

Henry James Hartnell was born in Crediton in 1888, one of the three sons of John and Elizabeth. John was a travelling signalman on the railways. Both John and Elizabeth died when they were young, barely 40: John in 1894 and Elizabeth in 1898. Because of the death of his parents, Henry was living in an orphanage in Warminster in 1901, whereas his brother, Stanley George, was following in his father’s footsteps and was working as a signal lad in Exeter. We have no information on the fate of his eldest brother, William.

Henry’s military records have not survived but the 1911 census shows him at the Lancashire Fusiliers’ depot in Bury, serving as a drummer. We know little of his service, but it is unlikely that he entered the France and Flanders theatre of war much before 1916, as his Medal Roll shows no entitlement to an award for earlier service there.

Badge of the Lancashire Fusiliers

His regiment, the 18th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, also known as the 2nd South-East Lancashires, was originally formed as a Bantam Regiment, composed of healthy men between 4 ft 10ins (140cm) and 5ft 3ins (160cm) tall. They were named Bantams after the small aggressive fowl which became their emblem. Height notwithstanding, the 18ths was heavily involved in many actions in 1918, including the First Battle of Bapaume, the Battle of Ypres and the Battle of Courtrai, leading up to the Battle of Tieghem, which was an integral part of the final advance in Flanders.
 

On the 31st October, an attack was led by 104th Brigade, with the 19th Durham Light Infantry on the right, 17th Lancashire Fusiliers in the centre and 18th Lancashire Fusiliers on the left. The entry for the day in the Battalion War Diary reads: ‘The Battalion attacked for the 8th time since September 28th and gained the objectives by 11am. A heavy barrage assisted the attack and opposition was slight. About 125 prisoners and a quantity of war material was taken including ........3 message dogs’. For the 18th, the action resulted in the loss of 48 men killed, 221 wounded and 49 missing in action. Henry was one of those killed and was buried where he fell initially but his body was subsequently exhumed for reburial in Plot V.D.3 at the Vichte Military Cemetery, about 30 miles east of Ypres. This cemetery was started in October 1918, by the burial officers of the 9th and 31st Divisions, and the remainder formed after the Armistice when graves were brought in from the neighbouring battlefields. Vichte now contains 236 Commonwealth burials from WW1, 60 of them unidentified. Henry would have been one of the later additions. CWGC records show that he was exhumed and reburied on 9th September 1920, with the macabre footnote that his body was formally identified from a standard army name tag recovered at the time of exhumation.

Henry Hartnell's headstone in the Vichte Military Cemetery

At the end of October 1918, Henry was awarded the Military Medal for bravery posthumously. This is given for acts of gallantry and devotion to duty under fire or for individual or associated acts of bravery which were insufficient to merit the Distinguished Conduct Medal. It was the Other Ranks’ equivalent to the Military Cross (M.C.), which was awarded to Commissioned Officers. There is no mention of the reasons why Henry deserved this award but it was officially gazetted in the London Gazette in June 1919.

Extract from the War Diary of the Lancashire Fusiliers detailing the award of the Military Medal to Henry Hartnell

It is unlikely that Henry ever visited Stoke Climsland. His connection with the Parish is somewhat indirect and took a lot of research to establish. It can only come through his brother, Stanley George, who had become the traffic manager for the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway. Stanley was based at the station in Kelly Bray and lived locally.


Henry's brother, Stanley George Hartnell

List of the effects left by Henry Hartnell