Jesse Reuben Mitchell Died 9th May 1915
Jesse’s father Reuben was born in Nettlebed, Oxfordshire in 1860. He was a farm labourer and by his 21st birthday had a wife, Harriot and a son William, born in 1880. Harriot was to bear another child, Emily in 1883, but tragically she was to die aged only 23. We next find Reuben ten years later, living in Heathlands Road in Wokingham; he has a wife Mary Ann and they have two more children, Henry and Florence.
Jesse (named after Reuben’s elder brother) was born in 1892 and by 1911, he was serving as a private in the Regular 2nd Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment. He was killed during an action in Fromelles, which was confused and involved heavy losses. Jesse was a corporal by this time. John Chapman provides a detailed description of the action: http://www.purley.eu/H142P/P192-CATT.pdf
Local military historian, John Chapman tell us about Jesse’s Battalion:
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“The 2nd Battalion was one of two Regular battalions and was serving at Jhansi in India when war broke out. They embarked at Bombay on the troopship SS Dongala on the 27th September 1914 and reached Liverpool on October 23rd. After a brief stop-over at Winchester where they joined 25th Brigade they set out for France and arrived at Le Havre on the 5th November with 30 officers and 978 other ranks.
Their first job was to relieve the 1st East Surreys in trenches at Fauquissart and suffered terribly from trench feet and illness caused by the abrupt change of climate. When they fraternised with German soldiers from a Bavarian unit at Christmas they were consoled by the fact that the Germans were just as cold and muddy as they were. The next three months were spent in and out of trenches until 8th Division were replaced by 7th Division and they could retire to billets at Riez Bailleul.
First real blooding came at the Battle of Neuve Chapell between the 10th and 15th March 1915 when they lost 75 men killed, 223 wounded and 17 missing. Further losses were incurred on the 10th May in a confused raid on German trenches near Bac St Maur. The summer was spent alternating between front line duty and billets”.
Name: MITCHELL, JESSE REUBEN
Rank: Private
Regiment/Service: Royal Berkshire Regiment Unit Text: 2nd Battalion.
Age: 24
Date of Death: 09/05/1915
Service No: 8851
Additional information: Son of Reuben and Mary Mitchell, of 1 London Rd, Wokingham.
Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 7 and 8. Memorial: PLOEGSTEERT MEMORIAL
The PLOEGSTEERT MEMORIAL commemorates more than 11,000 servicemen of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in this sector during the First World War and have no known grave. The memorial serves the area from the line Caestre-Dranoutre-Warneton to the north, to Haverskerque-Estaires-Fournes to the south, including the towns of Hazebrouck, Merville, Bailleul and Armentieres, the Forest of Nieppe, and Ploegsteert Wood. The original intention had been to erect the memorial in Lille. Most of those commemorated by the memorial did not die in major offensives, such as those which took place around Ypres to the north, or Loos to the south. Most were killed in the course of the day-to-day trench warfare which characterised this part of the line, or in small scale set engagements, usually carried out in support of the major attacks taking place elsewhere. It does not include the names of officers and men of Canadian or Indian regiments (they are found on the Memorials at Vimy and Neuve-Chapelle) and those lost at the Battle of Aubers Ridge, 9 May 1915, who were involved in the Southern Pincer (the 1st, 2nd, Meerut and 47th Divisions – they are commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial). BERKS CEMETERY EXTENSION, in which the memorial stands, was begun in June 1916 and used continuously until September 1917.
1 London Rd, Wokingham, Berkshire.