A RARE & IMPORTANT
"1st DAY OF THE SOMME" GOMMERCOURT
MILITARY MEDAL & 1914-15 Trio,
with QSA & RARE EDWARD VII 2/ N.STAFFS "VOLUNTEERS" L.S.G.C. & 6/N, STAFFS T.F.E.M.


To:
Pte-Sgt-WO2 850. W.A. JOHNSON. 1/6th North Staffs Regt T.F.

[THE MEDALS]
Military Medal.
[London Gazette 11th November 1916]

MM. 850 SJT: W.A. JOHNSON. 1/6 N.STAFF: R.-T.F.
QSA 7300 Pte W.A. JOHNSON. N.STAFF: REGt
STAR. 850 Sjt. W.A. JOHNSON. N.STAFF: R.
PAIR. 850 A.W.O.CL-2 W.A. JOHNSON N-STAFF-R
T.F.E.M. 240042 SJT: W.A. JOHNSON. 6/N.STAFF:R.
VF L.S.G.C 2438. Pte W.A. JOHNSON. 2/V.B.N.STAFF:REGt

Based on the disposition of Sgt Johnson and his unit on 1st July 1916 and the date of the publication of his award, 11th November 1916, and other delineating factors it is fully confirmed that he was decorated for bravery in the field during the diversionary attack at Gommercout Wood, Somme on 1st July 1916, First Day of The Battle of The Somme.

His unit lost 167 men killed in action during the attack and many more who were seriously wounded died later.

He also previously fought in the German 'liquid fire' attack at Hooge in July 1915, and took part in the action at Hohenzollern Redoubt & in the Battle of Loos.

[BIOGRAPHY]
William Abraham Johnson was born in 1869. He originally joined the Volunteers in 1885 aged 16.During the Great War period William's address was 'Wetmore Road' Burton on Trent, Staffordshire. The address is still extant.

He landed in France with 1/6th North Staffordshire Regiment on 5th March 1915.




[A CRITICAL NEWSPAPER ARTICLE, BURTON ON TRENT Sept '1916]
William returned home on ten days leave in mid September 1916. His homecoming and long service record being described in the local Burton-on-Trent newspaper. Amazingly, being 48 at the time he is described as: "The oldest man in the division.

The article also contains a quite wonderful and most 'superbly inaccurate, telling & curious' description of the reason for the 'recent award of the Military Medal' , this was described as being for "consistent good service"......clearly the newspaper reporter had asked William himself or a relative how he won his medal and as normal with that type of question he was quite obviously denied the answer and had to think something up !!

(*Nobody ever won an M.M. for 'consistent good service' ! )

Bearing in mind that the article was published in September 1916, the description of 'recent award' also very much ties it to 1st July 1916.

The 1/6th North Staffs were commanded on the day by Lt /Col Charles Edward Boote who was also killed in action during the attack.

[46th (North Midland) Division]
The 46th Division was a Territorial Division based on the counties of Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire and had been the first complete Territorial division to land in France. The division had first seen combat near Ypres when it was engaged at in the German liquid fire attack at Hooge at the end of July 1915. Later, at the Battle of Loos it was committed to an attack on the heavily fortified Hohenzollern Redoubt in October 1915 and here the whole Division had suffered very badly. This attack was the source of continuing friction between Stuart Wortley and the First Army commander at the time, Douglas Haig.

On the 27th December the Division was ordered to Egypt and its units were despatched south to Marseilles, however, the move was cancelled and, by the 9th March 1916, the division was back in the trenches on Vimy Ridge.

On April 20th 1916 the division was fully withdrawn from the front line and was ordered south to make ready for the attack on Gommecourt.

The Division by this time was in a weakened state. Drafts to replace the casualties at the Hohenzollern Redoubt had been slow in arriving and many newly posted officers had no experience whatever of life on the Western Front. Their time at Vimy had been exhausting and casualties high.

!IMG3 The 46th Division was also swept by serious illness: typhoid, paratyphoid, trench fever and diphtheria. Sick, exhausted and low in numbers it is something of mystery as to why they were chosen for the attack on Gommecourt.

William Johnson was disembodied on 11th April 1919.

A magnificent 1st July MM group of seven. All medals are in superlative EF+ condition having seldom been worn by the clearly humble Mr Johnson. A group destined to grace the finest collection of "First Day of The Somme" awards.

£3550. Part exchanges welcome.