Pte 33698 George Howard Reynolds

• Age: 20
• From: Craven Arms, Salop
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 18th Btn
• K.I.A Wednesday 18th October 1916
• Commemorated at: Thiepval Memorial
  Panel Ref: P&F1D8B &8 C.

George Howard Reynolds was born  on 17th July 1896 in Craven Arms, Salop and was baptised on the 17th August 1896 at Shropshire South Circuit, Methodist Church. He was the son of George and Eliza (nee Downes) Reynolds who were married on the 11th Feb 1892 in Diddlebury. 

The 1901 Census shows the family living at Upper Westhope, Craven Arms, Salop. His father George is 32, born in St Owen, Hereford and is a under Gamekeeper. His wife Eliza is aged 32, born in Eaton-under-Heywood, Salop. They have three children, Willie aged 8 born Munslow, Nellie aged 6 born Diddlebury, and George H. aged 4, born Diddlebury. 

The 1911 Census shows the family living at Westhope, Craven Arms, Salop. His father George is 42, born in Hereford in 1869 and is a Gamekeeper. His wife Eliza is aged 42, born 1869 in Salop. They have been married for 19 years at the time of the Census. They have three children all being born in Salop. Willie aged 18, born 1883 but no longer at the address. Nellie aged 16, born 1895 no occupation and George Howard aged 14, born 1897 occupation Gardener/ Labourer.

He enlisted in Shrewsbury and was formerly Private 11125, Shropshire Light Infantry and following a transfer he was serving in the 18th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private No 33698 when he was killed in action on the 18th October 1916 aged 21 during the Battle of the Transloy Ridges which was part of the ongoing Somme Offensive.

18^th Bn Diary

18^th October 1916

Attacked German trenches commencing 3.40 am. Relieved by 19^th Manchester Regt. Took up position in support Bn trenches W. of Goose Alley.

Graham Maddocks in his book Liverpool Pals gives an overview of the events of the day:

“At 3.40 am the whistles blew, and the Battalion left its assembly trenches, in three waves, approximately fifty yards apart, and began to cross No Man’s Land. Almost immediately, the German Barrage fell on the first wave and halted its advance, so that the second wave soon caught up with it. This was not a great problem at first, and the two combined waves were able to advance together for about 300 yards, whereupon they encountered the German Grid Trench system. On the right of the advance, it was found that the wire was largely intact, apart from a few gaps, and the Germans bombed and machine gunned these gaps, which prevented any further progress. Elsewhere along the trench, however, the wire was cut and there did not seem to be any serious opposition. Nevertheless, the men hesitated to jump down into the German trenches, and instead, began to filter back across to the safety of their own lines.

By this time the third wave had caught up, as had a fourth wave, which had been detailed to mop up any opposition once the trenches had fallen, and all four waves became intermingled which added to the confusion. No less than three attempts were made to try to get the men to go forward again, but each attempt became markedly less successful than its predecessor, and eventually the attack came to a standstill. Although the British assembly trenches had received the attention of the German guns, the attackers in No Mans Land had not come under any great intensity of fire up until this point.

However, once it became obvious to the Germans that the attack was disorganised and faltering, they began to fire into the massed men from the flanks. It was probably this that finally settled the issue and convinced the Pals that they could no longer gain the enemy trenches, and all four waves, now merged into one, began to retreat to their own lines. The whole attack had been an abysmal failure, and no ground had been gained at all”.     

He was originally reported as Missing in the Evening Despatch (Warks) on Wednesday 29 November 1916: 

Missing. 

King’s Liverpools -  Reynolds, 33698, G. H. (Salop); Poole, 33265, F. (Shrewsbury); 

 George's body was not recovered or was subsequently lost as he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, France.

The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916.

On 01st August 1932 the Prince of Wales and the President of France inaugurated the Thiepval Memorial in Picardy. The inscription reads: “Here are recorded the names of officers and men of the British Armies who fell on the Somme battlefields between July 1915 and March 1918 but to whom the fortune of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death.”

Soldiers Effects and Pension to father George, address Westhope, Craven Arms. 

His father died in 1935 aged 66, and his mother died 1937, aged 68. 

George is also commemorated on the Diddlebury War Memorial. 

We currently have no further information on George Howard Reynolds, If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.