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Lieutenant George Walpole Winthrop DENMAN-DEAN
2nd Battalion Royal Marine Light Infantry Date of birth: 1st September 1896 Date of death: 7th November 1917 Died of wounds aged 21 Buried at St Sever Cemetery Rouen Officers Section B 7 15
George Walpole Winthrop Denman-Dean was born at Wickham in Suffolk on the 1st of September 1896 the only son of the Reverend Richard Denman-Dean and Emma Elizabeth (nee Wray-Cook) Denman-Dean of Woodbridge Rectory, Woodbridge in Suffolk. He was educated at Lancing College where he was in Olds House from September 1911 to April 1914. He was appointed as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Marines on the 22nd of August 1914 and was promoted to Lieutenant on the 27th of March 1915. HHe was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Marines on the 22nd of August 1914 and joined the Royal Marine Depot at Deal the same day. On the 11th of October 1914 he joined the Plymouth Division and was promoted to Lieutenant on the 27th of March 1915. He was posted to HMS Duncan on the 16th of July 1915 and served in Greek and Italian waters with her until the 10th of April 1917 when the ship was paid off. He returned to the Plymouth Division from where he was posted to the 2nd Royal Marine Battalion, and embarked for service in France from Folkestone on the 22nd of June 1917. He landed at Boulogne later the same day and joined his battalion in the field the following day. On the 2nd of October 1917 the 2nd Battalion Royal Marine Light Infantry marched to Houpoutre and on the 5th of October they embussed for Le Nouveau Monde near Wormhoudt in preparation for their part in the Passchendaele offensive. Here they took part in intensive training for a planned attack on the 26th until the 22nd of October. On the 23rd of October the battalion marched to positions on the Canal Bank 1,000 yards to the north of Ypres and on the 24th they marched to Irish Farm where they relieved troops of the 9th Division in the support line. The plan of attack for the 26th of October 1917 was for the 1st Battalion Royal Marine Light Infantry and the Anson Battalion to attack on a 1,500 yards front to subdue and capture the enemy strong points on the near side of the Paddebeek. These were Berks House, Bray Farm, Banff House, Varlet Farm and Source Trench on the right of the attack. The 2nd Battalion was to support and pass through the 1st Battalion once their attack had gone forward. They took over the front line on the night of the 24th/25th in appalling weather conditions with all troops being in position for the attack by 2am on the 26th. At 5.40am the artillery barrage began and the leading battalions advanced, capturing three of the enemy strong points but were subjected to enfilade fire from other positions which had not been captured by the Brigade on their flank which forced them to take cover. The 2nd Battalion then went forward led by A and C Companies leaving small parties behind to consolidate as they went. They passed through the 1st Battalion men and crossed the Paddebeek. They reported that they had taken their objectives but were having difficulty recognising where they were as the ground was so badly cut up by the combination of the artillery and the rain. By dusk they had been forced to retire back across the Paddebeek but all the strong points allocated to their Brigade had been taken. The Army Commander, General Gough sent a message:- "Please convey to all ranks engaged in to-day's operations my very great appreciation of their gallant efforts ; they have my sincere sympathy, as no troops could have had to face worse conditions of mud than they had to face owing to the sudden downfall of rain this morning. No troops could have done more than our men did to-day, and given a fair chance, I have every confidence in their complete success every time." At 5pm on the 27th the battalion was relieved by the Hawke Battalion and withdrew to Irish Farm. Shortly before the relief George Denman-Dean was wounded by a gunshot, which fractured his left tibia. He was evacuated to the rear and was admitted to No. 2 British Red Cross Hospital at Rouen on the 30th of October where he succumbed to his wounds a week later. A brother officer wrote:- "He was a fine young officer, attentive to duty and extremely popular, and we feel that the service is poorer for his loss." He is commemorated on a plaque at St Mary's Church, Woodbridge.

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