Wilfred W. Livermore MM

Wilfred William Livermore was born in Felstead on 18^th December 1897.

In 1901 the census records the family as living at Hartford End:
William Livermore - 42 - Horseman on Farm
Matilda Livermore (née Jarvis) - 40
Harry - 12
Florence - 9
Minnie - 7
Wilfred - 3
Samuel - 4 months
John - 4 months

In 1911 the census tells us that the family is still at Hartford End. Some of the older children have moved away:
William Livermore - age 53 - Horseman on Farm - born Felstead.
Matilda Livermore - 50 - born Braintree.
Wilfred William Livermore - age 13 - Poultry boy on Farm - born Felstead.
Samuel Livermore - age 10 - at school - born Felstead.
John Livermore - age 10 - at school -born Felstead.
Percy Leonard Livermore - age 6 - Grandson - born Felstead.

Wilfred enlisted at Chelmsford as Private Soldier 12200 with the 9^th Battalion, the Essex Regiment in 1914 and went with the Battalion to France arriving on 30th May 1915. Amongst the other Felstead men of the 9^th Battalion was Albert Jarvis, Wilfred’s cousin.

The 9^th Essex were involved in the Battle of Loos in October 1915.  After this period Wilfred transferred to the 35^th Company of the Machine Gun Corps, which was part of the 12^th Eastern Division with the 9^th Essex and April 1916 were involved in preparations for the Battle of the Somme.  The Division were not part of the disastrous first day of the Battle on 1^st July 1916 but joined the fray on 3^rd July.  For five days the Division attacked the fortified village of Orvillers where Wilfred’s cousin Albert was injured.  During the battle of the Somme the 12^th Division lost 11,000 men.

In October 1916 Wilfred transferred to the 112^th Company of the Machine Gun Corps in September 1916 as Lance Corporal 60989. The 112th Company were part of 37th Division which was involved in the Arras Offensive of 1917.  On the 23^rd April 1917 the 112^th Infantry Brigade of the 37^th Division supported by the Machine Gun Corps sections attacked Greenland Hill north of the fortified village of Roeux. The attack lasted until 29^th April 1917 and it was during this time that Lance Corporal Wilfred Livermore in the number 4 gun team was used as a runner carrying messages under enemy fire, an extremely dangerous task with an extremely high casualty rate. He undertook the task with such commitment that he was awarded the Military Medal. (Reported in the London Gazette of 9th July 1917 and the Essex Weekly News of 13^th July 1917.)

In the early part of 1918 the Machine Corps was re-organised and in February 1918 Wilfred was transferred to newly formed ‘D’ Company of the 40^th Battalion, and promoted to the rank of Serjeant.

When the German offensive South of Arras began on 21^st March 1918 Wilfred found himself near the village of St Leger. As the British fell back the 40^th Battalion of the Machine Gun Corps remained to cover the retreat, inflicting huge casualties.  By the time the battalion was ordered to withdraw on 26^th March the war diary recorded 9 killed, 65 wounded and 61 missing. Wilfred was amongst the missing.

The records of the International Red Cross show that Sergeant WW Livermore was captured at Gommecourt, and was detained as a prisoner of war and died, aged 20, on 24^th May 1918 in a German Field Hospital, at Beugny, a village just north of Bapaumme. He was buried in plot 194 in a German Cemetery at Beugny. After the war he re-inhumed at the Favreuil British Cemetery. (photograph of grave courtesy www.britishwargraves.co.uk)

Much of the above is drawn from an article written for ‘Emma Gee’ the magazine of the Machine Gun Corps Old Comrades Association by Chris Weekes, the Great Nephew of Wilfred Livermore.

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