Lieutenant William John TRAVERS RN
Drake Battalion, Royal Naval Division

Date of birth: 5th December 1893
Date of death: 4th February 1917

Killed in action aged 23
Buried at Ancre British Military Cemetery Plot VII Row C Grave 36
He was born at Portsea in Hampshire on the 5th of December 1893 the younger son of Dr Archibald Lindsay Travers and Eleanor later of “Althelston”, Shornecliffe Road in Folkestone.

He was educated at Hillcrest School, Folkestone, and at the King's School Canterbury from September 1906 to July 1907.

He was commissioned as a Temporary Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on the 5th of February 1915 and promoted to Temporary Lieutenant on the 30th of March 1916. He was posted to France on the 7th of July 1916 and joined the Drake Battalion of the Royal Naval Division on the 13th of July, serving with them until his death.

Towards the end of January 1917 plans were made for the renewal of the offensive which had halted the previous November in the Ancre area of the Somme front. An attack was planned involving the Royal Naval Division on German positions on the ridge commanding Grandcourt. The attack was to begin at 11pm on the night of the 2nd of February and involved the Hawke and Hood battalions who were detailed to capture Puisieaux Trench some three hundred yards from the British front line and the second line another one hundred yards beyond. The plan expected the operation to last some eight minutes.

Although the first line was taken there was much confusion in the dark and enemy strong points in the second line took a heavy toll of the attacking troops. By 8pm on the 3rd the Drake Battalion were committed to the attack but again confusion reigned in the dark and their attack petered out. At dawn on the 4th a final and successful attack was made which took the main enemy strong point but the last enemy position didn't fall until 5.30pm.

What had been planned to last eight minutes had lasted over fifty hours of continuous fighting during which William Travers was killed.
 

Back