Henry Beard

Henry and his family were very much part of Probus village.  His father William was a railway labourer.  William had been born in Gerrans in 1861, but had been living in Probus since he was about 10 years old.  Henry’s mother Eliza Jane had been born in Probus, and all their children were born in the village: Mary Hannah, Henry, born in 1889, Elizabeth, Ernest and George.  The family lived in both the Ladock Road and in Chapel Terrace.  By the age of 22, Henry was working as a farm labourer.

 

It is not known when exactly Henry enlisted, but he ‘took the King’s shilling’ in Chatham, Kent, a long way from Cornwall.  He may have enlisted with a friend from Probus, Albert Chapman, who also enlisted into the Lancashire Fusiliers.  These two men died on the same day.

 

The Hindenburg Line

 

At the beginning of April 1917, Henry was with his battalion in France. They were 39 officers and 807 other ranks strong.  Since February, the Germans had been slowly withdrawing to a pre-prepared defensive system, known as the Hindenburg Line.  This had been constructed during the battles that made up the Somme Offensive, in 1916.  The Allies had been cautiously following them up, but came to a halt when they bumped into these new German defences.  The 17th Lancashire Fusiliers were here, on the front line at Fresnoy-le-Petit, on the 12th and 13th April. 

 

On the 14th, part of Henry’s battalion successfully raided a German strongpoint, killing four Germans and wounding several. The Lancashire Fusiliers were now at Gricourt, which proved far more difficult.  Gricourt , near Saint Quentin in Northern France, was strongly held.  The intention was to move around the flanks of the village, encircling it.  Two companies were directed for this task. The left hand company came under “heavy enfilade fire” and could not advance.  The right hand company managed to advance further, forcing a retreat by the Germans.  However, the enemy “left behind sniping posts.”  Patrols were then sent out, and “after some fighting, killed or captured the enemy who remained.”  Throughout this combat, “enemy artillery and enfilade Machine Gun fire was very severe.”

 

This fighting according the War Diary went on beyond midnight into the early hours of the 15th April.  The 17th Lancashire Fusiliers were relieved by their sister battalion, the 18th, in those early hours of the 15th.  Albert Chapman was serving with the 18th.  The 17th moved back in Brigade Reserve at Fresnoy-le-Petit.

 

It is recorded elsewhere that Henry “died of wounds” on the 15th April.  So it may be that he was badly wounded in the fighting of the 14th, dying the following day.  He is buried at Chapelle British Cemetery, Holnon, Aisne, France, which holds 360 war dead.