Wilfred Thomas Harding

Family

Wilfred Thomas Harding was born in Aveton Gifford, Devon, on 17^th November 1897. He was the sixth child of John Boyce Harding and his wife, Clara Jane Soper.

John Boyce Harding was the son of George and Maria Harding and was born in Bigbury. By 1871, when John was seven, George was farming at Higher Wizaller Farm in Aveton Gifford, a farm of 97 acres; and the family were still there in 1889, when John married Clara Jane Soper, who was from Diptford. John continued to work with his father at Higher Wizaller, and John and Clara's first four children were born there, and baptised at Aveton Gifford:

• Basil John, born on 3^rd March 1890, baptised on 25^th May 1890
• Ruby Blanche, born on 6^th April 1891, baptised on 14^th June 1891
• Kate Cordelia, born 5^th February 1893, baptised 26^th March 1893
• Louis James, born 21^st August 1894, baptised 14^th October 1894

Some time before 1901, John moved to Heath Farm, not far away, while his father George continued to farm at Higher Wizaller. On 1^st August 1902, Wilfred Thomas, who appears to have been known mostly as Thomas, was baptised at St Andrew's, Aveton Gifford, together with his elder sister Eda Ellen, born 13^th June 1896; his younger brother, William Harold, born 20^th June 1899; and the two latest arrivals, twins Louisa Maria and Albert George, born 8^th April 1902. Arthur Henry, the last of John and Clara's children to be baptised at Aveton Gifford, was born on 25^th July 1903, and baptised on 23^rd March 1906.

By the time of the 1911 Census, John and Clara, together with most of the family, had moved to Chipton Farm, Dittisham, where John was assisted in working the farm by his two eldest sons, Basil and Louis. John and Clara had left their two eldest daughters, Ruby and Kate, in Aveton Gifford, at Idston Farm. Sadly, Ruby died at Idston aged 18, in 1909, and was buried at Aveton Gifford on 15^th June of that year. Kate was recorded as a dairy assistant at the farm in the 1911 Census. According to that Census return, John and Clara had another daughter, Winifred Jane Harding, born 17^th January 1909 in Halwell.

Service

Unusually, Thomas Harding's service papers have survived, and from them we know that he volunteered to serve in the Army while the 11^th Battalion East Surrey Regiment was quartered in Dartmouth. For more on their time in the town, see the story of Joseph Clarke.

Thomas attested on 13^th January 1915, giving his age as 18 years and three months - he was in fact 17 years and two months - presumably because he was keen to join. At the outbreak of war, the minimum age for enlistment in the Army was reduced from 19 to 18, and overseas service was not generally permitted - officially - for those below 19. He described himself as a "farmer".

Thomas received his initial training with the 11^th Battalion, but on 5^th October 1915 was posted to the 9^th Battalion, the same date as his entry to France, a few weeks short of his 18^th birthday. The 9^th East Surreys were already in France, having arrived there on 1^st September. As part of the 24^th Division, they had been brought into the Battle of Loos as reserves on 26^th September, and, exhausted from a long march overnight, and with no previous fighting experience, they had suffered heavy losses (for an overview of the battle, see our general article here).

The War Diary of the 9^th Battalion refers to three drafts of reinforcements arriving on 30^th September (30 men), 7^th October (230 men) and 16^th October (50 men). Thomas therefore presumably arrived on 7^th October or, perhaps more likely, 16^th October. At this time the Battalion was at Reningelst, south of Poperinge, near Ypres, training and refitting.

Thomas' introduction to soldiering was, compared to those of his Battalion who had survived Loos, fairly gentle. Over the next few months, the principal aim was to rebuild and retrain the Battalion, though there were of course short stints in the front line. On 19^th October the Battalion went into the trenches near Ypres (the War Diary gives only a map reference, H31d48) where the situation was fairly quiet. They were there for only a few days before returning to Reningelst, where they received a visit from the King and enjoyed "Battalion Bath Day" on 28^th October.

On returning to the trenches, the principal problems encountered were not enemy fire but heavy rain and mud. After a further relief at Reningelst the Battalion went into the front line near Dickebusch. Once again this was a quiet period, followed by a return to Reningelst, after which they moved to Tournehem, not far from Calais, for an extended period of training and no doubt much needed recreation. A football competition was arranged, and the Battalion was treated to a lecture "on the causes of the War and the Spirit we should adopt against the Hun". The War Diary records that Christmas Day involved "football in the morning, church at noon, a colossal feed at 1pm, concert in the afternoon, officers mess together in the evening - Great Day!" On New Years Day plum puddings were still being eaten and the Battalion won a sniping competition.

On 8^th January 1916 the amusements came to an end with a return to the front line, this time at the Hooge crater on the Ypres-Menin road. On 11^th January, "the shelling was quite bad", with two killed and three wounded. By 16^th January they were in camp outside Poperinge (Camp A) where they remained for ten days. From 27^th -30^th January they were back at Hooge where casualties were 4 killed and 4 wounded; and again (after two days in Poperinge) for five days, during which casualties were two killed and seven wounded.

On 8^th February they returned to Poperinge, this time to Camp B, for a week, and then moved to Zillebeke, a little further south from Hooge, where they spent a couple of days "improving communications and dugouts". They then returned to the trenches at Hooge. On 21^st February, the Diary reported that "our snipers killed a german who was waving his hat" and "Enemy shouted several times from his trenches "Tommy" and "Friend"". Evidently this was assumed to be a ruse rather than an attempt at a local truce. The following day was quiet, but on 23^rd February they were shelled with whizzbangs and shrapnel, though with no casualties. On 24^th February they went back to Zillebeke, providing more working parties to improve dugouts and communications, and on 27^th February, returned to the trenches at Hooge. The enemy was also improving their trenches; working parties were seen and the new work was clearly distinguishable because of new timber and "blue soil".

On 1^st March, at 12.30am, there was an exchange of bombs (grenades) and "at daybreak it was seen that our bombs had done considerable damage". The following day there was a more substantial engagement; British artillery shelled the German line, and "the enemy retaliated vigorously on our front line trenches with trench mortars, whizzbangs, and shrapnel", causing 17 casualties (7 OR killed and 10 OR wounded) and much damage, though this was quickly repaired - "the work was done in most cases by private soldiers acting on their own initiative". They returned to Camp B at Poperinge by way of Zillebeke on 3^rd March for ten days rest, plus the usual "training, drill and erecting obstacles etc"; they then had four days at Zillebeke providing yet more working parties in trenches. This kind of activity was far from risk-free; on 18^th March one man was killed and two were wounded. They also buried a "Canadian officer" killed by a sniper during a visit to the trenches, and the following day were relieved at Zillebeke by a Canadian battalion, the 4^th Canadian Mounted Rifles. The Battalion then returned to Camp B for two days.

On 21^st March 1916, they moved to the "vicinity of Fletre", south west of Poperinge, and on 26^th March, eastwards to the "vicinity of Wulverghem", slightly south west of Ypres, where they relieved the 3^rd Battalion Canadian Infantry in the front line. The next few days were quite active with exchanges of machine gun fire, grenades and artillery. On 1^st April, four men were killed, and five were wounded; the following day, they moved into Divisional Reserve, at Dranouter, further south west of Ypres, where they remained for four days.

On the night of 8^th April, they relieved the 1^st Bn North Staffords in the front line. The War Diary records that three people were wounded on 9^th April after sniper fire and grenade fire (which was returned), one of whom was 8622 Pte T Harding.

However, according to Thomas' own service papers, the report of him being wounded in action in the field on 9^th April was incorrect. The gun shot wound he had received, causing him to be admitted to 73 Field Ambulance, had not occurred during the action on 8^th/9^th April but on the following day, apparently accidentally. Included in the file is the following statement from Thomas, followed by a further statement from an Army doctor:

Thomas was sent by the Field Ambulance to the hospital at Boeschepe, nearby, where - most probably because of the nature of the wound - he was suspected by the Medical Officer in Charge of having inflicted it himself. Doctors were instructed to be vigilant for cases where this might have occurred, and any possible case was required to be reported. On 13^th April, the 24^th Division (and presumably the Battalion) was requested to provide statements "of any witnesses who can give evidence as to the circumstances under which this wound was incurred". The above statement was attached to the request.

Had the statements indicated that the wound was self-inflicted, Thomas would have been tried by court-martial and (if found guilty) would have suffered a long term of imprisonment. But evidently he was exonerated by whatever was collected, because his service record includes a memorandum dated 20^th April which says: "It is not proposed to bring this man to trial because his wound was not self-inflicted". There was no court-martial and the wound was officially determined to be accidental. (Unfortunately, the statements are not included in the surviving service papers). On 23^rd April 1916, he was admitted to No 15 Casualty Clearing Station at Bailleul, and remained out of the line for two months, rather longer than Captain Gibbon had predicted.

Death

Thomas' papers record that he returned to duty on 27^th June 1916. The 9^th East Surreys were still in the "vicinity of Wulverghem", near Ypres, where things had hotted up. That day, the Battalion War Diary reported:

In total that day, five OR were wounded.

The next day, the Diary recorded that:

1 OR was killed and 16 OR wounded.

On 29^th June there was:

The casualties recorded in the Battaion War Diary were 1 officer and 21 OR wounded, including "8422 Pte T Harding". Thomas had been back in the front line for two days.

His papers record that on 30^th June he was admitted once again to 73 Field Ambulance, with "shoulder wound, right arm and head", and on the same day at 10.20am he was admitted to 2 Casualty Clearing Station at Bailleul with "Gunshot wound head and right arm". He died of his wounds that day and was buried in Bailleul Cemetery.

Commemoration

As one of the 579,206 casualties in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Thomas is also commemorated on the new memorial at Notre Dame de Lorette, "The Ring of Memory".

Sources

Soldier's Documents WO 363 Wilfred Thomas Harding accessed on subscription website

War Diary of 9th Battalion East Surrey Regiment 1915 August to 1919 March available for download at the National Archives, fee payable, reference WO95/2215/1

Wounding in World War One, by Julie Anderson, British Library

An analysis of 1000 wounds and injuries received in action, with special reference to the theory of self-infliction, by Col Sir Bruce Seton

Information Held on Database

Surname:	Harding
Forenames:	Wilfred Thomas
Alternative Forenames:	Thomas
Rank:	Private
Service Number:	8422
Military Unit:	9th Bn East Surrey Regiment
Date of Death:	30 Jun 1916
Age at Death:	18
Cause of Death:	Died of wounds
Action Resulting in Death:
Place of Death:	Wulverghem near Ypres, Belgium
Place of Burial:	Buried Bailleul, France
Born or Lived in Dartmouth?	No
On Dartmouth War Memorial?	Yes
On St Saviour's Memorials?	Yes
On St Petrox Memorials?	No
On Flavel Church Memorials?	No
In Longcross Cemetery?	No
In St Clement's Churchyard?	No
On a Private Memorial?	No
On Another Memorial?	Yes
Name of Other Memorial:	St George's Dittisham

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