Arthur William Austin
Arthur William Austin.
born 1897 in Hanley.
died 13th August 1916.
killed in action on the Somme in France.
Arthur William Austin was the eldest son of Fredrick Austin and Martha .
He was living at 90 Bryan Street in Hanley and was working as a Potter, when at the age of 19 he was another young man who joined up during the Derby scheme on 5th November 1915. He was serving with the North Staffordshire Regiment and had only joined the battalion in June 1916. When he was killed in action on the 13th August 1916 during an enemy bombardment.
The North Staffordshire involvement leading to Arthurs death .
The following is an extract taken from Great War Forum.
To read the full details of the North Staffordshire involvement which
this extract was taken from and
also includes Delville wood please follow the following link.
https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/232774-1st-battalion-the-north-staffordshire-regiment-on-the-somme-1916/
The 1st North Staffordshire Regiment took part in the exploitation of the successes achieved at the beginning of July south of Ovillers-la-Boiselle, first in the attacks on the strongly fortified German second line position around Guillemont; and then in the infamous and constantly changing landscape of Delville wood.
The role of the 1st North Staffordshire in the fight for Guillemont village was not especially dramatic with the use of the spade to dig trenches proving to be the main preoccupation. With the front line being so poor and with the need to reduce the space between it and Guillemont, the North Staffords were tasked with digging a new trench closer to the village north of the Montauban-Guillemont road.
The 72nd Brigade, 24th Division, of which 1st North Staffordshire Regiment was a part, took over the line on 9th August 1916. The battalion was in the support trenches with shell and funk holes near la Briqueterie, a brick works south of Montauban, the outline of which can still be discerned beside the road from Maricourt. They took over the front line from the 1st/10th Liverpool Scottish, who had just made a costly failed attack. Members of the battalion helped bring in the wounded during the night of 9th-10th August and would have witnessed the work of Captain Noel Chavasse RAMC, who won the first of his two VCs when bringing in wounded and collecting identification discs under the noses of the Germans at that time. One person who helped him was a North Staffordshire stretcher bearer, Pte. Preece , who went out on his own in daylight to bring in a man whom he had not been able to find the previous night. His action was witnessed by a Royal Artillery observation officer who wrote an account of what he had seen. As a result, Pte. Preece was awarded the DCM.
On the night of 9th August the battalion was tasked with digging a new trench 100 yards forward of the existing front line. At 8.45 p.m. the order came to postpone this task but A company was already in Teale trench ready to begin work. Fortunately, the other three companies were stopped before they moved off. Teale trench was heavily shelled and one soldier, Pte. Francis Cliffe from Hilton, Derbyshire had the unfortunate distinction of being the first 1st North Staffordshire killed on the Somme. Another four were wounded. At 11.45 the order came through to resume digging but only C company arrived before dawn. B company moved up but arrived late and D did not start out at all. By the end of the night the battalion had dug 120 yards of trench northwards from the Montauban-Guillemont road but at the cost of six men killed. Amongst these was 34 year old 5640 Pte. George Wain of 49 Church Street, Fenton. Formerly a miner, by the time of his death he was a long serving soldier who had joined the North Staffordshire Regiment in 1898. He served in the Boer War and India before leaving for France with the battalion on 10th September 1914. In total he had served over 18 years in the army.
On 12th August the battalion was relieved the 8th Royal West Kent Regiment in the front line. The enemy bombarded the front line during this relief as it coincided with an attack on the battalion's right, of which there had been no warning. Twenty four men were wounded and twelve men killed, including the 39 year old 3880 Pte. James Cartlidge , son of Levi Cartlidge. James , a former miner, came from Silverdale and had joined the 4th Extra Reserve Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment. He had served in South Africa and had been awarded the Queen's South Africa medal with Cape Colony clasp and the King's South Africa medal with the 1901 and 1902 clasps. He had left for the BEF on 24th March 1915 and joined the 1st battalion. His brother, Samuel, lived at 8 Pump Street, Higherland; his mother, Mary , lived at 9 Hick Street, Newcastle. 19192 Pte. John Nicholls came from Stone. He was a groom, aged 18 and 7 months when he enlisted under the Derby scheme on 9th November 1915. He joined the battalion in Flanders on 8th May 1916. His parents, William and Elizabeth Nicholls, lived at Garshall Green.
On the 13th August the battalion was bombarded once again. 19379 Pte. Arthur Austin from Hanley was only 20 when he was killed in action. His family, including his father Frederick , lived at 90 Bryan Street. Arthur had been a potter and was another young man who joined during the Derby scheme on 5th November 1915. He had only joined the battalion in June. Another sad loss for the battalion was Capt. A.J. Waugh RAMC of Chigwell in Essex, a good school boy cricketer, who had been with the battalion since November 1914. He was killed by a stray shell on 17th August as the battalion was coming out of the line. On the same day six men were accidentally wounded when detonating bombs.
During the short time the battalion had spent in front of Guillemont this tour it had lost 18 other ranks killed, 60 wounded and 5 missing. They had not been involved in a single attack or trench raid during this time. This gives some indication of the daily losses experienced by the British army.
To continue reading follow : https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/232774-1st-battalion-the-north-staffordshire-regiment-on-the-somme-1916/
Arthur William Austin Private 19379 North Staffordshire Regiment 1st Battalion.
Link to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Web Site.
Service Records.
