No.12339, Private, Noel Walter BOREHAM
Aged 24
|
Noel Walter Boreham was born in 1892 in Brockley (1st qtr 1892 Thingoe 4a:758) son of Walter and Alice BOREHAM (née SHARPE)
1901 census...Aged 9, he was at Church Lane, Brockley with his father Walter BOREHAM [35] wood sawyer; his mother Alice [35] born Great Saxham; brother Stephen [6]; sisters Phyllis [4] and Dorothy [2]. All except his mother were born in Brockley. 1911 census...Aged 19, he was an indoor servant at The Rectory, Brockley. His parents were at Brockley Green with his sisters Dorothy and Clarice [9]; brothers Leonard [7] and Roland [2]. On the pension card his parents were at Mill Cottage, Brockley. |
|
He enlisted in Cambridge.
The war diary has 3:15 am 3rd July, the Battalion made a frontal attack on OVILLERS on a frontage of 200 yards; disposition of Bn was as follows D Coy on the right, C Coy on the left, supported by B Coy on right and A Coy on left. On the right of the Bn was the 5th Royal Berks and on the left the 37th Brigade, the 36th Brigade being in Reserve. Two Coys of the Essex Regt were in support to each Battalion, the Norfolks being in Reserve. Zero was at 3:15 pm, ten minutes before zero the leading waves advanced under cover of the bombardment and at the hour of zero the battalion assaulted in eight successive waves. The first four waves (D and C Coys) penetrated to the enemy's third line and portions of them into the village itself, but owing to the darkness, touch was lost with succeeding waves and with the 5th Royal Berks on the right, so that the leading waves were not supported closely enough, thus allowing the Germans to get in between the waves and cut off the leading one at the third line of resistance. It was at this 3rd line of resistance that the chief casualties occurred and the assault was brought to a standstill. The two companies of the Essex Regt moving up in support were too far behind and were practically annihilated by machine gun fire during their advance across the open. The casualties in the battalion were 21 Officers and 458 OR killed, wounded or missing, though some of these missing may eventually rejoin the battalion during the following night. CWGC records have 155 killed, of which 111 have no known grave.
click here to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for full cemetery/memorial details |
