Pte 25745 Andrew Mortimer

• Age: 21
• From: Harbour Grace, Newfoundland
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 18th Btn
• K.I.A Monday 9th April 1917
• Commemorated at: Wancourt Brit Cem
  Panel Ref: V.G.15

Andrew was born in Harbour Grace, Conception Bay, Newfoundland, Canada, on 26^th August 1895. His parents Noah Mortimer and Mary Noel had married in Freshwater, Carbonear, Newfoundland, on 29^th November 1882. He was baptised on the 05th January 1896 according to his birth certificate. Andrew was the sixth of seven children.  Siblings Elmira, Dinah, Henry, Florence, Richard, and Lizzie. The first son named Andrew was born on 09th December 1893 but died in infancy the following year.

When Andrew was two and a half years old, in March 1898, his father died  when tragedy struck the SS “Greenland”, a sealer (seal hunting ship).  Forty-seven others from the small communities were lost on the ice.  It was the greatest shipping disaster in Newfoundland history, and had a profound effect on the whole of Newfoundland society, as well as on individual families. His father’s body was never recovered.  His widow Mary was left with seven children, the youngest of which was eight months old.

It is not known what became of Mary, but some of the children later moved to Massachusetts.  His sister Dinah married there in 1904, as did his sister Florence in 1911. Andrew possibly moved with his sisters Dinah and Florence to Chelsea (across the Mystic River from Boston), although he is not found on the 1910 census.

A passenger record for the Cunarder Franconia on the 23rd July 1912 shows Andrew leaving Liverpool for Boston. He was born 1895 and his occupation was a mechanic. He is with his elder brother Charles H. Mortimer, also a mechanic.

His married brother Charles "Harry" enlisted on 21st Sept 1915 with the Nova Scotia Highlanders in Halifax and served as Pte 222078 with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. This was most probably the impetus for Andrew to somehow make his way back to Liverpool to join up. 

Members of GWF have noted that as he was born in Newfoundland he could have considered himself British rather than Canadian as Newfoundland was a British Colony until 1949. Also some Canadians resident in the UK tried to enlist in the First Canadian Contingent when it was training on Salisbury Plain between mid-October 1914 and early February 1915. The authorities were opposed to this, and only  few special cases were allowed to join. Kitchener had always been opposed to the Contingent recruiting Canadians "for fear of our being inundated with men from the Colony, and by so-called Canadians in England. The very suggestion that higher rates of pay could be obtained in England than our regulars get would have a very disturbing influence on our recruiting."

Andrew enlisted in the 18^th Battalion of The  King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private 25745 (giving his residence as Boston, Massachusetts) and served in France with his battalion.

On 07^th April 1917, the 18^th Bn took over trenches from the 17^th Manchester Regiment near Neuville Vitasse.  On 9^th April the brigade advanced to attack the German front line trenches in the Hindenburg line.

From Graham Maddocks’ book “Liverpool Pals”: At exactly 11:38 a.m. the 18^th Battalion left its assembly trenches south of the village of Neuville Vitasse, and began to move forward, on the left flank of the brigade. Its objectives were the German front-line trenches known to the British as Lion Lane and Panther Lane. These trenches included a strongly fortified position known as ‘The Egg’.  No Man’s Land at this point was at least 2,000 yards wide and was totally open, and covered by German machine guns sited in sunken roads.  As the battle was over six hours old by this time, any element of surprise had been lost and the advancing Pals came under fairly heavy artillery and machine gun fire. Those who managed to get as far as the German front line then found that the wire was virtually intact. It was a familiar story [a reference to the Battle of the Somme]. … The remnants then began to dig in, to try to consolidate their position, and despite constant enemy fire of all calibres, they managed to hold on until 3:00 a.m. the following morning, when they were relieved by the 19^th Battalion The Manchester Regiment, who had been in support. … During the fifteen and a half hours they were in action, the 18^th Battalion lost two officers and fifty-nine other ranks killed, and eight officers and an unspecified number of men wounded.” 

Andrew was one of the many killed in action on 09^th April 1917, the opening day of the Battle of Arras (later officially termed the First Battle of the Scarpe). He was 21 years old. 

He now rests at Wancourt British Cemetery, France.

Wancourt was captured on 12 April 1917 after very heavy fighting and the advance was continued on the following days. The cemetery, called at first Cojeul Valley Cemetery, or River Road Cemetery, was opened about ten days later; it was used until October 1918, but was in German hands from March 1918 until 26 August, when the Canadian Corps recaptured Wancourt. At the Armistice, the cemetery contained 410 graves, but was very greatly increased in the following years when graves were brought in from small cemeteries and isolated positions on the battlefields south-east of Arras. Among these small cemeteries was HENIN NORTH CEMETERY, HENIN-SUR-COJEUL, about 800 metres North of the village, contained the graves of 29 British soldiers who fell on 9 April 1917, almost all of whom belonged to the 2nd Wilts or the 18th King's Liverpools. The cemetery now contains 1,936 burials and commemorations of the First World War. 829 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to 76 casualties known or believed to be buried among them, and to 20 who were buried in Signal Trench Cemetery whose graves were destroyed in later battles. The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

Andrew’s effects went to his married sisters Dinah Ash and Florence Howell, as well as his sister-in-law Minnie Mortimer at the request of brother Charles, paid through the Consul General in Boston at Andrew's request.
 
Dinah Mortimer married Robert Ash, on 08th November 1904, and lived at 98 Matthews, Chelsea, MA,  parents Noah Mortimer/Mary Noel.

Florence Mortimer married Thomas Howell on 12th May 1911, and lived at 17 Pembroke St., Chelsea, MA. parents Noah Mortimer/Mary Noel.