Bombardier William Henry Lawrence
9th Divisional Ammunition Column, Royal Field Artillery

1914-15 Star

The photograph shows William, in 1938, wearing his British Legion badge

1st contingent. Born in 1893. From L'Islet, St Sampson's, Guernsey. He died in 1969. The son of William Thomas Lawrence & Jersey born Rosina Hall.

Wounded by gun shot wound to his neck on 22/03/1917. He was treated initially by the 25th Field Ambulance then sent to the 42nd Casualty Clearing Station (Aubigny en Artois) before being sent to hospital in England on board the hospital ship "Brighton" in early April. He was treated at Whipps Cross Hospital in Walthamstow, London after he was wounded then spent some time in Richmond Hospital in early 1918.

His Great Granddaughter has sent her discoveries:
"I THINK I’ve worked out every battle my great grandad Lawrence fought in during WW1, based on his partially legible service record and hospitalisation records.
First he was a gunner in the Guernsey Artillery, then in the first contingent to the 9th Divisional Ammunition Column, promoted to Bombardier and shipped to France, he supplied frontline troops and artillery batteries during the battle of Loos.

Then he was posted to a Heavy Trench Mortar Battery, 2nd in command and in charge of aiming and firing a Mortar and of 15 men at the battle of the Somme for 5 months during which time he was promoted to corporal.

22 March 1917 he was shot in the neck in the battle of Vimy Ridge (first part of the battle of Arras) he was sent home to Guernsey to recover and married his sweetheart ??.

March 1918 he returned as a reinforcement to a decimated Howitzer battery after the battle of Lys. He fought until armistice, pushing the Germans back over 50 miles in 80 days…

© Adelaide May Lainé 2022