Rifleman Richard Welding

While I’m on the subject in this 60th anniversary month of D-Day, I’d like to add some information to the vastness of the web about my dad’s uncle Richard who was killed in the First World War, fighting for the freedom of a nephew he'd never see.

Richard Welding was a Rifleman, number 241411 in the 1st/5th Battalion of the South Lancashire Regiment. He died on Friday the 30th November 1917 . Age 29 .

The CAMBRAI MEMORIAL in France commemorates more than 7, 000 servicemen of the United Kingdom and South Africa who died in the Battle of Cambrai in November and December 1917 and whose graves are not known. Sir Douglas Haig described the object of the Cambrai operations as the gaining of a 'local success by a sudden attack at a point where the enemy did not expect it' and to some extent they succeeded. The proposed method of assault was new, with no preliminary artillery bombardment. Instead, tanks would be used for the first time to break through the German wire, with the infantry following under the cover of smoke barrages. The attack began early in the morning of 20 November 1917 and initial advances were remarkable. However, by 22 November, a halt was called for rest and reorganisation, allowing the Germans to reinforce. From 23 to 28 November, the fighting was concentrated almost entirely around Bourlon Wood and by 29 November, it was clear that the Germans were ready for a major counter attack. The next day, a month before his birthday, Richard was killed.

Richards name is also on the War Memorial in Huyton Village in Lancashire. One family story is that he couldn't see properly out of one eye (a common Weldon affliction that I have inherited) and was refused entry to the Army. However, he was determined and eventually was accepted at a St Helens recruitment office. He joined to serve with his friends, for his country, to fight for what was right.

Thank You.

Richard Welding (December 30th 1888 – November 30th 1917)