9127 George Henry Walrond in Naours

17th Battalion Manchester Regiment

The initial starting point for this identification was two database transcription only:

The first transcription identified the inscription as G. H. Walrond (9127) 17th Manchester Regiment who is present on page 70-71 of the Manchester City Battalions Book of Honour B Company, Platoon 7.    

The second transcription provides the regimental number 9127, which confirms the initial identification.

Photographs supplied after the initial identification provide further confirmation.

There are two separate inscriptions made by G H Walrond that provide slightly different information. The handwriting is very similar in both inscriptions and almost certainly it is the same soldier:  

Manchester City Battalions, Book of Honour

War Diary, Manchester Regiment, 17th Battalion

Inspection of the War Diary of the 17th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment confirms that this battalion was in Naours in 1916, from the 6th to 7th January.  

Military and Civil Records link

There is little doubt that the inscriptions on the walls of the caves of Naours belong to  George Henry Walrond (9127) 17th Manchester Regiment. Walrond is not a common name, certainly in the Manchester area, and from a WW1 Manchester Regiment database of 23,000+ soldiers there is only one “Walrond”, 9127 G. H. Walrond.

Unfortunately the WW1 army records for 9127 G. H. Walrond have not survived and are most likely to have been amongst the 6.5 million (60%) destroyed in WW2 blitz. This means that there is no home address in the military records to cross-check against civil records. 

Walrond is not a common name in the Manchester area but is however more common in the Devon area. There are records of a large Walrond family (see later) in the Devon area  (see later) and surprisingly there are records of two George Henry Walrond’s of WW1 fighting age. One was born in 1882 to a John and Nancy Walrond in Exeter, Devon and one was born to a Charles and Jane Walrond in Devonport, Devon in 1887.

Census Records

We can track the movement of George with the census records. George’s place of birth is given as Devonport and Mouce [transcription, it is actually “Morice”] Town. This is in the Plymouth area and about 42 miles to the southwest of Exeter.

George was born in Plymouth but before he was 4 years old (ie before 1891 census), the Walrond family had moved to Exeter and were still living in Exeter in 1901 when George was 14 years old. So George will have recognised Exeter as his hometown. 

The Walrond’s lived at the following addresses in 1891 and 1901:

1901 Census: 1 Cambridge Street, St Thomas, Exeter

1911 Census: 1 East View Terrace, St James, Exeter

The property at 1 Cambridge Street still exists.

In 1911 George was a boarder living with 3 other boarders and a at 14 Salisbury Terrace, Teignmouth, which is a coastal town 16 miles south of Exeter. He was employed as a clothes and outfitters shop assistant.

1891, 1901 and 1911 Census returns:

First Day of the Somme Offensive – 1 July 1916

Attack on Montauban – 17 Manchesters – George Henry Walrond

The 17 Manchesters were involved in heavy fighting on the Somme during the summer of 1916, including the battle to capture the village of Montauban on 1 July 1916. 

Whilst casualties were heavy the advance and subsequent capture of the village of Montauban was one of the few relative successes of the 1 July attacks. Today a memorial commemorating the liberation of Montauban on 1 July 1916 by the Manchester and Liverpool Pals stands proudly in the village.

The 17 Manchesters suffered heavy losses. Casualties on the during the first day included 8 officers and 350 men.    

23rd April 1917, 17th Manchesters attack at Cherisy (Hindenburg Line) 

– George Henry Waldron

At 4.45am on 23 April 1917 the 30th Division, comprising the 16th, 17th, 18th Manchesters and 2nd RSF (Royal Scots Fusiliers) launched an attack on the Germans Hindenburg Line towards the village of Chérisy. The position of the attack at 12 noon on the 23 April 1917 is shown on the plan below. 

Despite heavy shelling in advance of the attack the German defences were well organised and well prepared and held a large garrison of soldiers. The German positions were on high ground and there were numerous sunken roads providing cover for abundant reserves and machine gunners. Casualties were immediate and by 6.20am requests were made by the 17th Manchesters Adjudant to bring up 2 platoons of the 16th Manchesters in support. By 8am the left company of the 17 Manchesters had been wiped out and the 2RSF on the left had also been wiped out.

Two tanks had been allocated to the assault but both failed. The tank to the right in front of the 17 Manchesters caught fire and stuck fast near the starting position. The tank to the left in front of the 2 RFS initially did well advancing 500 yards, but overheated and was returned to it’s starting position.

By the end of the fighting on 23 April 1917, the four battalions of the Manchesters (16, 17, 18, 19) had suffered casualties approaching 1,000 men for the gain of little ground.

The diary of the 17th Battalion records, 2 officers killed, 11 officers wounded, 10 OR (other Ranks) killed, 105 OR wounded, 168 OR missing. 

Military Medal awarded to G.H. Walrond for “Bravery in the Field”

George Henry Walrond was awarded the coveted Military Medal for bravery in the field. It has not been established yet when or what this was for. The notices were published in late 1917. He is not listed in the 17 Battalion winners of the Military Medal. He was transferred into the 22 Battalion at some point who served in Belgium and Italy in late 1917.

The notices appeared in the Supplement to the Edinburgh Gazette on 19 December 1917 and in the Western Gazette on 21 December 1917: 

After the War

George survived the war and in the 1939 register he was living at the Haven in Kerrier, Cornwall with Elizabeth Rowe. His occupation was given as a Manager – Clothing & Outfitting Branch (disengaged).

Family member trees on ancestory.co.uk

In 1901 census the McLinden family were residing in the Liverpool area. They were all 10 years younger than above as you would expect – Henry (8), father Patrick (40), mother Agnes (35), his brothers James (4), Bernard (2), and his sister Margaret (10). Agnes, Mary and Emily were not born. Henry had a younger son Edward (2 months) who was not present in 1911, possibly an infant mortality. A copy of the 1901 census is provided in the supporting documents.

Birth / Baptism Record

There are family member trees of George and the Waldron family on ancestory.co.uk