Private 7021 William Stevens

Killed in Action on Saturday, 13th March 1915, age 33.
Commemorated on Panel 17 and 18 of Le Touret Memorial, Pas De Calais, France.

1st Bn., Worcestershire Regiment. 24th Brigade of 8th Division.

Son of S. Thomas Stevens and Elizabeth Stevens, of 4 House, 12 Court, Dudley Port, Tipton; husband of Sophia Stevens, of 2 House, 11 Court, Dudley Port, Tipton, Staffs.
Born: Dudley Port, Enlisted: Worcester, Resident: Dudley Port.

First landed France & Flanders, 7th November 1914.
Medal entitlement: 1914 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal.
Soldier's Papers at National Archives did not survive.

Commemorated on the Tipton Library Memorial.
Commemorated here because he appears on a Tipton memorial.

Link to Commonwealth War Graves Site: www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1562558/

Genealogical Data

1901 Census
4 House, 12 Court, Dudley Port, Tipton, Staffs.
Samuel T Stephens (stet) (48 Coal Miner, born Tipton), his wife Elizabeth (48, born Tipton), and their 7 children: William (18, Holder-up for Boiler Maker, born Tipton), Ambrose (15, Coal Pit Cager, born Tipton), Honor (13, born Tipton), Joseph (11, born Tipton), Frederick (9, born Tipton), Annie (5, born Tipton), and Tilly (2, born Tipton).

1911 Census
4 House, 11 Court, Dudley Port, Tipton, Staffs.
William Stevens (28, Labourer, born Tipton), his wife Sophia (28, born Tipton), and their 3 children: William A. (3, born Tipton), Annie (1, born Tipton), and Matilda (2 months, born Tipton).

Personal Data

William's surname is spelt as Stevens by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 'Soldiers Died in the Great War', his Birth registration, Medal Index Card, and 1911 Census, but as Stephens on Tipton Library Memorial and 1901 census. The weight of evidence suggests that Stevens is correct.

Action resulting in his death

The 1st Worcsters were attached to 24th Brigade in 8th Division, and landed in Le Havre on 5th/6th November 1914. They moved to the Neuve Chapelle area, where the line had stabilised after fierce fighting in October. The Germans still bombarded the lines with regularity and ferocity, and the Worcesters suffered from the cold after the extremes of Egypt. The Worcesters had 40 men killed in the area by the end of 1914, and 100 men by the commencement of the Battle of Neuve Chapelle.

The Battle of Neuve Chapelle raged from the 10th to 13th March 1915; it was intended to eliminate a German salient into the British lines, to break through their defensive lines and capture Aubers Ridge. This was originally planned to be in combination with a French attack on Vimy Ridge, but this was not carried out due to their resource constraints.
The Worcesters were to have attacked at 9.30am on 10th March as the second wave of 24th Brigade, but this was not possible because of delays on their left in clearing the 'Moated Grange'. At 2.00pm they temporarily assisted the 23rd Brigade on their left and suffered a number of casualties, and then at 4.30pm advanced eastwards until they met resistance near Piétre, and entrenched for the night. The 25th Brigade on the right had successfully captured Neuve Chapelle village by 8.30am, and, had communication allowed, this may have been the key to a more general breakthrough. Twenty Worcesters men had died on the opening day.

The next day, the 11th, was a day of confusion. The artillery attempted a bombardment of the German lines in front of the Worcesters but did not have an accurate location, and during the afternoon shelled an advance party of the Worcesters with numerous casualties. There were locally organised attacks in the morning before a more general attack in the afternoon which failed due to heavy German opposition, and the failure of the battalion on the Worcester's left flank.

At daybreak on the 12th, the Germans launched an attack against the Worcesters who waited until the Germans were 70 yards away before opening a devastating volley of rapid rifle fire. This halted the attack, and the Worcesters rose from their trench and counter-attacked with bayonet. This was successful with the Worcesters taking some ruined buildings just beyond the German front line. Unfortunately no reinforcements arrived, and the buildings were intermittently bombarded by our own artillery. Despite fighting off numerous German counter-attacks, it was obvious that this isolated position was untenable, and at about 10.00am the order was given to fall back to the initial line. This was across open ground, and the Worcesters lost many officers men in this operation, including the Commanding Officer, Lt. Col Wodehouse.

What was left of the 1st Worcesters was to attack again alongside the 2nd Devons at 3.00am on the 13th, but this was cancelled. Thus ended the 1st Worcesters action at Neuve Chapelle.

The casualty numbers, not surprisingly, are not accurate by day. The records show 11 men being killed on the 12th, but 105 on the 13th March when the action was almost over. It is probably better to say that the 1st Worcesters action at Neuve Chapelle resulted in the death of at least 12 officers and 150 men.

Like all the Tipton men killed at Neuve Chapelle, William has no known grave, and is commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial.

Newspaper Cuttings

Picture World Saturday 3rd July 1915
Tipton Soldier's Heroic Death. There is a picture of him, and separate picture of wife & 5 children, but they are too poor to copy.
The death of Private William Stevens, of the Worcesters, is characteristic of the demeanour of that famous regiment. In the storming of the German trenches at Neuve Chapelle, Stevens had an arm shattered by shot. He went on fighting despite his injury until a piece of shrapnel killed him instantly. He was a Reservist, and before the war was employed at Messrs. Wainwright and Barker's Colliery, Dudley Port, Tipton. A pathetic feature is that he leaves a widow and five children, the oldest of whom is not yet six years old. Pictures show the heroic soldier and his family.