Pte William Bishop - Silver War Badge

[Simon_Fielding]

I could do with some help tracing a Pte William Bishop of the Worcesters on the Bewdley War Memorial.

Neither of the CWGC W Bishops or the SDGW W Bishops of the Worcesters have a Bewdley link.

However, I have found a reference to a Wm Bishop in a Bewdley family saying he was kia in the Dardanelles on May 7th! Who could this be?

Might one of the SWB William Bishops hold the key?

Regards

Simon

[allanp]

Hi Simon

I have found 2 references to a 9663 Pte T Bishop - Bewdley.

Reported in the Worcester Herald as Wounded in the 3 March 1917 edition and the reported Died of Wounds in the 24 March 1917 edition. Could this be you man?

Regards Allan

[Mike Jones]

Morning Allan,
I feel it is part of my duty as a Moderator on this Forum to inform you and others that Simon does not often reply to postings. I asked for his help in Sept 2006, I never did get a reply. I did take it personally, till I noticed he did not reply to the next three people that asked for his help either. I have put him on my "Other" list .
Regards Mike

[allanp]

Hi Mike

A forum only works successfully with a 2 way exchange of information. The smallest detail that may look insignificant to the holder, can be a revelation to unlocking the details of the relative/man, you are researching. No information is insignificant! Apart from that a thank you doesn’t cost anything.

Regards Allan

[beardie]

allan,
i have tried to reply to your email on sam roper dcm etc several times

but they keep bouncin back

are you having problems with your email address?

anyway a public thankyou for the information you sent

thanks
beardie

[Simon_Fielding]

Hi Mike

I was sorting through old posts and found your reply - I was troubled by it. I have to admit that what you say is probably the case, and all I can offer are sincere apologies.

All I can say in my defence is that I was recently diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's disease which has been interfering with my concentration and work patterns for many many years, and means I don't always have the energy to keep track of postings - medication is helping, and I'm trying to pick up the threads.

If you or any other forum member thinks I've neglected to thank them or follow up a query, please PM me and I'll do my best.

Apologies again

Simon


Mike Jones wrote:
> Morning Allan,
> I feel it is part of my duty as a Moderator on this
> Forum to inform you and others that Simon does not often reply to postings.
> I asked for his help in Sept 2006, I never did get a reply. I did take it
> personally, till I noticed he did not reply to the next three people that
> asked for his help either. I have put him on my "Other" list .
> Regards Mike

[Simon_Fielding]

Private William BISHOP / WREN

4th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment 12984
Killed in action 11th May 1915

William Wren was the brother of Thomas Bishop above, a member of the Bishop family who saw extensive service in the Great War.

He was born on the 12th of June 1892 at Chelmarsh near Hampton, between Bewdley and Bridgenorth, Shropshire, and was the of Sylvia Wren nee Brewer. Sylvia Brewer had been married to Caleb Wren, but the couple seemed to have separated at sometime in the 1890s. As no father is given on his birth certificate, he is possibly the son of Sylvia Wren’s subsequent common-law husband Thomas Bishop, hence confusion over surname.

The 1891 census has the family are at 18, Providence Terrace, Highley, and include Clara, born in 1885, Benjamin born in 1889, and John Edward, born in 1891. By 1901, the family have moved to Bewdley, and live at 16 Welch Gate. His name is given as William Bishop on 1901 census, and he is listed under this name on the St. Anne's memorial. William seems to have served in the Army as William Wren, and is listed as such by the Commonwealth War Graves's Commission and the Worcestershire Regiment regimental history.

By 1911 the family are living 15 Sandy Bank in Bewdley and Wren is working as a gas fitter. Given William Wren's service in the regular army’s 4th Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment, he may well have been pre war regular soldier, with some territorial experience-the above photograph from the Kidderminster Times showing the Wren in dress uniform, may be evidence of this. Wren served alongside other Bewdley soldiers such as John Alberts (above) in the battalion's attack on the Dardanelles at Gallipoli as part of 88th Brigade of the 29th Division. William Wren would have taken part in the initial landings on the 25th April 1915 during the severe fighting on the Cap Helles peninsula to force a foothold. The battalion were heavily engaged during the period, and William Wren seems to have been a casualty of fighting called the Second battle of Krithia.

Stacke describes how the May 6th attack which opened at 11 o'clock in the morning passed through its sister battalions’ lines while under heavy Turkish rifle and artillery fire. Battalion seized control of a low ridge to their front after a 500 yard advance dug in and waited for their brigade’s left flank to catch up. Ongoing fighting all day caused over 100 casualties. After a relatively quiet night the advance resumed at 10am on the morning of the 7th.The initial attack was led by the Royal Scots who attacked a fir wood on the left flank. Z Company of the 4th Worcestershire went to their support when they withdrew from a Turkish crossfire. A further 100 yards were seized by a battalion of the Border Regiment followed by the Dublins and Munsters at nightfall.

The 8th was a powerfully hot day, and the 88th Brigade was supported by the New Zealand Brigade. Their attack seized an additional 200 yards. The fighting on 8th of May was dominated by heavy fighting throughout the front, including attacks by the French troops on the right-hand side. Orders came for a further attack at five o'clock which eventually started at 5:30 pm across the Gallipoli Peninsula, Allied troops for pushed their way forward sometimes a bayonet point. There were minor gains, but a combination of barbed wire machine guns held up further advance. The fourth suffered fewer casualties as they were following behind New Zealand troops who sustained the bulk of the losses. Come nightfall, the Battalion died in and despite heavy days fighting, managed to reports of Turkish counter-attack. They held their positions until the evening of 11 May, when they were relieved by the sixth Manchester Battalion of the 42nd division. The battalion war diary gave the losses between May 7th and May 12th as 9 killed and 38 wounded, with three missing. One of the men was William Wren.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records William Wren's date of death as the 11th May. However, a fellow Bewdley man also serving in the fourth Battalion of the Worcestershires Thomas Watkins, who was later killed while serving on the Western Front, (see below) wrote a letter home which was published in the Kidderminster shuttle describing how William Wren was killed by Turkish gunfire on 7 May:

“He was shot on May 7th death being instantaneous. I was talking to him the day before. He then said he had been in the Turk’s trenches and had had a fine time with them.’

William Wren has no known grave, and is commemorated on panel 104 to 113 of the Helles Memorial. In addition to his brother Thomas who was killed in Mesopotamia, two of his other brothers also served: Benjamin with 11th Worcestershires in the Dardanelles and Salonika, who was invalided from the Army with malaria in 1918; and John Edward who also served in the Worcestershire Regiment and the Machine Gun Corps