THOSE REMEMBERED ON THE FALFIELD WAR MEMORIAL WHO DIED DURING THE 1914-18 WAR
THOSE REMEMBERED ON THE FALFIELD WAR MEMORIAL WHO DIED DURING THE 1914-18 WAR
LESLIE WATKINS
LESLIE WATKINS
Date Born
Circa 1890
Birth place:
United States of America
Date of Death:
14th June 1918
Fate:
Died of heart failure following malaria fever
Duty Location:
France and Flanders
Buried:
War Graves Communal Cemetery Lumbres
Lumbres is a small town in Northern France, about 12 kilometres south-
Historical Information: Lumbres Communal Cemetery contains five Commonwealth burials of the First World War, two of them unidentified, and one Second World War burial
Regiment:
Unit: 2nd Battalion ROYAL DUBLIN FUSILIERS
Rank:
Private
Service No:
24347
Military Information:
2nd Battalion
04.08.1914 Stationed at Gravesend as part of the 10th Brigade of the 4th Division and then moved to Harrow.
22.08.1914 Mobilised for war and landed at Boulogne and engaged in various actions on the Western Front including;
1914
The Battle of Le Cateau, The Battle of the Marne, The Battle of the Aisne, The Battle of Messines 1914.
1915
The Second Battle of Ypres.
1916
The Battle of Albert, The Battle of Le Transloy.
15.11.1916 Transferred to the 48th Brigade of the 16th Division;
1917
The Battle of Messines, The Battle of Langemark.
1918
The Battle of St Quentin, The Battle of Rosieres.
10.02.1918 Absorbed 10 officers and 200 men of the 8/9th Battalion.
14.04.1918 Amalgamated with the 2nd Battalion at Clety south of St. Omer.
19.04.1918 Reduced to cadre and surplus personnel transferred to the 1st Battalion.
01.06.1918 Attached to the 94th Brigade of the 31st Division.
06.06.1918 Reconstituted with surplus men from the 7th Battalion.
16.06.1918 Moved to defend the Lines of communication.
15.07.1918 Transferred to the 149th brigade of the 50th Division;
The Battle of the St Quentin Canal, The Battle of the Beaurevoir Line, The Battle of Cambrai 1918, The pursuit to the Selle, The Battle of the Selle, The Battle of Valenciennes.
11.11.1918 Ended the war near Dourlers north of Avesnes, France
Medals Awarded
The 1914/15 star campaign medal of the British Empire for his service in World War One.
This Star is identical to the 1914 Star in every respect except that the centre scroll bears the dates “1914-
Eligibility for the Victory Medal consisted of having been mobilised, fighting, having served in any of the theatres of operations, or at sea, between midnight 4th/5th August, 1914, and midnight, 11th/12th November, 1918. Women who served in any of the various military organisations in a theatre of operations were also eligible.
The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the 1st World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in silver and 110,000 in bronze, the latter awarded to, among others, the Chinese, Maltese and Indian Labour Corps
The 1914/15 Star, the Victory Medal and the British War Medal were sometimes irreverently referred to as Pip, Squeak and Wilfred. With Pip representing either the 1914/15 Star or the 1914 Star, only one of which could be awarded to a soldier, Squeak represented the British War Medal and Wilfred represented the Victory Medal.
MEMORIAL PLAQUE
The Next of Kin Memorial Plaque is a bronze plaque approximately 11 cms or 4½ inches diameter with the name of someone who died serving with the British and Empire forces in the First World War. This was issued to the Next of Kin of the casualty along with a scroll. They were posted out separately, typically in 1919 and 1920, and a ‘King’s message’ was enclosed with both, containing a facsimile signature of the King.
The immediate next of kin of all who died serving with the British and Empire forces in the First World War were eligible to receive the plaque and scroll. With nearly a million dead for the British Army alone, the plaques are today still commonly found; the fragile scrolls survive less often. Some of those recorded by plaques and scrolls were not eligible for service medals, for instance, those who did not serve overseas but who died in service through accident or illness.
Parents:
Son of Emanuel (1860 –
Other Information:
Leslie was born in the United States of America along with his younger brother Harry and sister Mildred. He had two further brothers Leonard and Percy who were both born in Falfield. Mildred, Leonard and Percy were baptised in St George’s Church, Falfield
The parents of Leslie Watkins are buried in St George’s churchyard along with his sister Mildred Eliza (1897 –
Credits: St George’s Church Baptism and Burial Records, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Ancestry website, forces-
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