Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

23rd (Tyneside Scottish) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers

William Barnard NELSON was born 5th June, 1888 in PETERSBERG to William James & Elizabeth NELSON who moved to WILMINGTON.  

William was the oldest of 7 children. William was brought up in WILMINGTON but moved to England (some time after his sense of adventure led him to being convicted of Riotous Behaviour at the West Maitland Court with a mate in 1908!)

William enlisted in Bedlington, Northumberland in late 1914. He rose quickly through the ranks to become Company Sergeant Major with the Tyneside Scottish Regiment (which were absorbed into the Northumberland Fusiliers) as part of the British Expeditionary Forces.

The Tyneside Scottish were ready for their first battle, they entered the battle for the Somme on the first day of the battle, 1st July 1916. The German lines stretched from north to south across the countryside, the front line lying in front of the fortified villages of La Boisselle & Ovillers La Boisselle. La Boisselle was the objective of the Northumberland Fusilier battalions that morning, along with four other battalions of the 34th British Division.

This was the centre of the whole assault where a gap needed to be opened & held to allow British cavalry units to break through & roam all the way to Bapaume.

The attack on La Boisselle was a disaster. The British artillery had not been effective in destroying the front–line enemy positions & half an hour before the attack the heavy guns were taken off these positions & directed on strong points further back to assist the later cavalry breakthrough, should it ever occur.  

A large mine placed under a German forward trench called ‘Y Sap’ was exploded at 7.28 am but the Germans had earlier learnt about the mine’s existence & pulled their soldiers back. The distance between the British & enemy lines was in places more than 750 metres.

The first wave to attack La Boisselle consisted of the Tyneside Scottish (20th to 23rd Battalions, Northumberland Fusiliers) to the north & centre, & four other British battalions to the south of the village.  When the attack commenced at 7.30am, the Tyneside Scottish battalions were played into battle by their pipers.

By the end of the day, the Tyneside Scottish was back where they started. The brigade suffered the worst losses of any brigade on that day. The Tyneside Irish Brigade had the next worst tally of casualties. The 4th Tyneside Scottish battalion lost 629 men (19 officers & 610 other ranks), the third worst battalion loss of the day. The 1st Tyneside Scottish lost 584 men & the 3rd Tyneside Scottish lost 537 men.

All four battalion commanders were killed (the 2nd Tyneside Scottish’s commander had been killed shortly before the battle). William was killed in the fighting on 1st July 1916.

Williams brother, John James NELSON was killed in action on 10th August 1916 at POZIERES, (also on the Western Front), fighting with the 16th Battalion A.I.F.

The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of 72,195 officers & men of the United Kingdom & South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 & have no known grave.

In the winter of 1932-33, it was decided that a small mixed cemetery be made at the memorial's foot to represent the loss of both the French & Commonwealth nations. Of the 300 Commonwealth burials in the cemetery, 239 are unidentified.

The bodies were found in December 1931 & January-March 1932, some as far north as Loos & as far south as Le Quesnel, but the majority came from the Somme battlefields of July-November 1916.

As William NELSONs body was not recovered his name is one of the over 72,195 names are now etched on the Thiepval Memorial.

Williams father, received his 1914-1915 Star,  British War Medal, Victory Medal, Memorial Scroll & Plaque along with a copy of the ‘Kings Message’.  He is commemorated on the British Roll of Honour & William is also commemorated on the Honour Roll at The WILMINGTON Soldiers Memorial Hall.

LEST WE FORGET