Home  |   The Great War  |   Second World War  |   Other Conflicts  |   Useful Links  |   Contact Us

 

2nd Lieutenant Donald Mattien WILLIAMS
12th (Service) Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment attached to the 9th (Service) Battalion Date of birth: 13th August 1896 Date of death: 9th April 1916 Killed in action aged 19 Commemorated on the Basra Memorial Panel 9
Donald Mattien Williams was born at Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire on the 13th of August 1896 the only son of Alyn Williams, President of the Royal Society of Miniature Painters, and Kathleen (nee Humble) Williams of 12 Redcliffe Road in South Kensington and of 1 Belvedere Terrace, Norfolk Square, Brighton. He was educated at Alleyn Court Preparatory School and at Lancing College where he was in Seconds House from May 1911 to July 1914. He was a member of the Officer Training Corps throughout his time at the school, rising to the rank of Lance Corporal and achieving Certificate A. He intended to go on to Cambridge University with a view to taking Holy Orders but instead he enlisted in the 28th Battalion London Regiment (Artists Rifles) as Private 2444 on the 5th of September 1914. At a medical examination, which was held on the same day, it was recorded that he was five feet eight and a half inches tall. He was posted to 16 Platoon, D Company and was based at Roehampton House, Roehampton. He applied for a commission on the 14th of October 1914 in an application which was supported by the Reverend Bolwby, Headmaster of Lancing College, but was unsuccessful. He applied once again for a commission in the 12th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment on the 5th of March 1915 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the battalion on the 20th of March 1915. He served in Egypt where he was attached to the 9th Battalion of his regiment in February 1916 where they were being reinforced by fresh drafts of troops to replace their losses at Gallipoli from where they had recently returned. He became known among his fellow officers as "Tubby". On the 16th of February 1916 they sailed from Port Said reaching Koweit Bay in the Persian Gulf on the 29th. On the 15th of March they began their journey up the River Tigris arriving at Sheikh Saad, behind the British lines on the 21st. The Turks had trapped British forces under General Townsend at Kut some twenty five miles to the west of Sheikh Saad and were laying siege to the city. The Royal Warwicks were to be part of an attack intended to relieve the encircled and increasingly desperate garrison of Kut. On the 3rd of April 1916 they moved forward to the front line in preparation for the attack. At 4.45am on the morning of the 5th of April they went into the attack on the left of the British line and by 7am they had captured five lines of weakly held Turkish trenches. The attack continued until noon when the battalion dug in and rested having sustained light casualties. At nightfall they went forward again to attack the next position of Falahiyeh. As they moved over the flat ground they came under heavy fire and suffered severe casualties but along with the 9th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment they took and consolidated the enemy position. In these attacks the 9th Warwicks had suffered casualties of 7 officers and 35 men killed with a further 7 officers and 154 men wounded. Donald Williams was slightly wounded during the attack but remained at his post. His father received the following telegram dated the 11th of April 1916: - "Regret to inform you that 2Lt D.M. Williams 12 Warwick Regt. was wounded slightly April 4/6 - Tigris Line. Details will be wired when received. Can you kindly supply present address of wife. " His uncle later wrote to the War Office to inform them that his nephew was not married. On the night of the 8th of April 1916 the battalion marched through the night to attack the two remaining lines of Turkish trenches standing between them and Kut. The first of these was at Sanna-i-yat and when the battalion attacked them they were driven back by very heavy fire losing four officers and twenty other ranks killed and a further three officers and one hundred and six men wounded. Donald Williams fell at the head of his platoon during this assault. His father received a further telegram dated the 13th of April 1916: - "Deeply regret to inform you that 2Lt D. Williams 12 Att 9th Royal Warwicks was killed in action Tigris Line 9/4/16. Presumably this refers to 2Lt D.M. Williams. Lord Kitchener expresses his sympathy." Over the next several days the relief of Kut failed despite several fierce counterattacks with heavy hand to hand fighting. General Townshend and his garrison were forced to surrender on the 29th of April and passed into captivity. In a letter to his father, to be opened in the event of his death, Donald Williams wrote the following:- "We are just going into an attack. There is a fair chance of getting knocked out, both in the attack and the subsequent fighting. I am writing you this letter, which you will not get unless I am pipped. Don't worry one bit. Remember, I don't object a bit to the idea of death. My sole worry is that it's much worse for the people left behind than it is for me." Major General Frederick Stanley Maude wrote of him:- “To us his loss will be a severe one, for he was a most capable and zealous officer.“ Major A.A. Gordon wrote:- “He was killed instantly, leading his platoon in an attack at dawn on the Turkish trenches. He was a most gallant young officer; we all miss him sadly (officers and men). I regret his loss deeply. In a fight a few days before, he had been wounded in the hand but insisted on going on, and in not going to hospital.” 2nd Lieutenant Clive L. Rogers wrote:- “He was a topping chap, absolutely one of the best, and we will miss him awfully in the battalion. He died a glorious death, calling on his platoon to charge, when he was hit ” The Reverend W.F. Bond, Headmaster at Lancing wrote:- “He was a splendid fellow and had he been able to come back for another year, he would have been a great power, both at home and school. He had numerous friends here, and was beloved and respected.”

Seconds House