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Private Richard Stanley WHEEN (G/72708)
2nd Battalion Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) Date of birth: 12th February 1889 Date of death: 1st August 1918 Died aged 29 Buried at Cologne Southern Cemetery Plot XIII Row E Grave 31
Richard Stanley Wheen was born at Sheffield in Yorkshire on the 12th of February 1889 the second son of Charles William Wheen, an oil merchant, and Mary (nee Garland) Wheen later of Eastbourne. He was educated at Lancing College where he was in Olds House from September 1903 to April 1905. He worked as a commercial traveler for a paint and varnish manufacturer. He was married in 1911 to Anne Helena E. (nee White) and they lived at 330 Aylestone Road in Leicester. They had three daughters, one of whom was called Mary. He enlisted in Leicester as Private TR/10/73998 and was posted to the 107th Training Battalion. On the completion of his training, he was posted to the 8th Battalion Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) on the 12th of December 1917. He transferred to the 2nd Battalion of his regiment on the 1st of April 1918. On the 12th of April 1918 the 2nd Battalion Royal Fusiliers took up a line astride the Neuf Berquin road and set up strong points in front of their line. At between 9am and 10am advanced units of enemy skirmishers began pushing forward and probing this new front line, pushing it back in places. The Fusiliers fell back to the village of Bleu, arriving there at 2.30pm and rested there until the village was evacuated at 4pm. The Battalion set up a new line along the Vieux Berquin-Oultersteene Road and settled down for the night. Early on the morning of the 13th of April 1918 the Germans launched a heavy attack against the left of this new line which was held after some difficulties including the loss of an ammunition dump which caught fire. A Battalion of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and one of the Lancashire Fusiliers , which were holding the line further to the right of the Fusiliers began to retire leaving the right flank completely unprotected. The enemy then attacked the Royal Fusiliers positions from the front but were held by machine gun fire when they were some eight hundred yards from the front line where they dug in. As dusk fell it was clear that the Royal Fusilier's position was untenable and they carried out an orderly withdrawal before digging in behind the village of Vieux Berquin. Casualties during the day were eight officers killed and seven wounded with twenty three other ranks killed, one hundred and fifty six wounded and one hundred and forty five missing. Richard Wheen had been captured during the attack and he died as a prisoner at Limburg-an-der-Lahn prisoner of war camp.

Olds House