275929 Private Victor Stafford Broughton - 1st/7th - Died 28/3/18

[Chris]

Hi,
I have discovered that Victor Broughton was a cousin of my grandfather, Norman Broughton who fought with the Cheshires.
I should be grateful for any information regarding his death, which was presumably during the German Spring offensive of 1918.
Any other information would be gratefully received.
Chris
PS The only info I have about my grandfather was a story that my mother told, that he contracted dysentry, and as part of his recuperation, was put in the kitchens. Not sure what 'elf n safety would have made of that!!!

[mack]

hiya chris
victor was reported missing in april 1918,he had already fought at gallipoli[18-8-15] as pte 3236
son of edward+sarah,church walk,chapel lane,wilmslow
the family formerly lived at chapel house,hawthorne rd,wilmslow

your grandfather was pte 76515 norman of the cheshire regt,son of walter+annie,altrincham rd,wilmslow[1915]
occupation,decorator[most of his family were in this occupation]
his younger brother,pte 27322 hubert,glover broughton enlisted on 6-12-15 as a general serviceman,he was posted to the KSLI on 1-3-16,on 14-4-16 he was transferred to the MGC as pte 31145,on 13-7-16 he was sent to france and joined the 75th coy,MGC.
25-1-18,admitted to the military hospital at grantham with trench foot and trench fever
discharged to the army reserve on 27-3-19

ps.he was nobbled by the germans,before he ever arrived in france,he contracted german measles and admitted to the military hospital at grantham on 2-5-16

mack

[Chris]

Hi Mack,
Thank you very much for your help, especially about my grandfather, who sadly I never met.
I will be making my annual pilgrimage to Northern France and Belgium at the end of November with Alec Bulloch's War Research Society. If you know anyone that may be interested, it is an excellent trip, details of which can be found on the internet.
I have recently donated the WW1 uniform of my late friend's father who was in the 18th Northumberland Fusiliers to the Imperial War Museum. (I also have my friends WW2 Royal Artillery battledress and Dress Tunic to donate to the RA museum at Woolwich).
His father was (according to the family) awarded the MC, and his uniform bears the ribbon, but there doesn't appear to be any record of the award. Any ideas? Captain George Scott Fortune.
Thanks again for your help.
Chris

[mack]

hiya chris
i cant find any ref to a MC either.
pte 870 george,scott fortune
enlisted 15-9-14
aged 26
northumberland fusiliers
promoted cpl 1-10-14
commissioned 22-10-14 and posted to the 18th northumberland fusiliers
occupation,engineer at sheel+sons,chirnside,berwick[served a 5yr apprenticeship]
residided 75 west st,gateshead
parents william+margaret,asher villa,chirnside,berwick
later moved to 1040 bella vista ave,oakland,california

mack

[Chris]

Hi Mack,
I managed to buy a copy of the book about the 18th NF, and Captain Fortune is mentioned in there, and there are a couple of photos. I did find a reference to him on the internet, where he was at Lochnagar on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, and because of the congestion in the trenches, walked on the parapet to take supplies to the front line. certainly worthy of an MC!
I had a similar problem with my research for a Roll of Honour for the Freemen of Chester. Commodore William Henry Kelly is the highest ranking Freeman, and although the RN medals office confirm that he was awarded the CBE, they don't know why! Kelly went down with his ship in WW2 off the west coast of Africa, having been awarded the DSO at the end of WW1.
Another of my Freemen that I haven't managed to find anything out about is 2nd Lt Thomas Arthur Siddall of the London Cyclists (d 17/4/17). I did manage to obtain a lovely photo of him from Lulu.com, and visited his grave last November. Do you have any info about him?
Regards
Chris