William Grieg Graham

1888 - 1916  (27 years)

• Name	William Grieg Graham
  Birth	24 Dec 1888	Seymour, Eastern Cape, South Africa   [1]
  Baptism	31 Mar 1889	Seymour District, Stockenstroom, Eastern Cape, South Africa   [1]
  	Baptism: 31 Mar 1889, Entry No. 270, Methodist Church Records, Seymour circuit : Film No. 1560877
  Gender	Male
  1820 Lineage	Yes
  Death	17 Jul 1916	Somme, France   [1]
  	DEPOT KAB SOURCE MOOC TYPE LEER VOLUME_NO 6/9/831 SYSTEM 01 REFERENCE 2076 PART 1 DESCRIPTION GRAHAM, WILLIAM GREIG. DEATH NOTICE. STARTING 19160000 ENDING 19160000
  Person ID	I115667	master
  Last Modified	25 Jul 2021

  
  

  Father	William Graham,   b. 13 Apr 1838, Fort Beaufort, Eastern Cape, South Africa d. 2 Oct 1912, Seymour, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Age 74 years)
  Mother	Hannah Pike,   b. 11 Jun 1848, Clumber, Bathurst (nr), Eastern Cape, South Africa d. Jan 1917, Seymour, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Age 68 years)
  Family ID	F39571	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

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  Birth - 24 Dec 1888 - Seymour, Eastern Cape, South Africa Death - 17 Jul 1916 - Somme, France  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  Name: GRAHAM, WILLIAM GREIG Initials: W G Nationality: South African Rank: Private Regiment/Service: South African Infantry Unit Text: 2nd Regt. Date of Death: 17/07/1916 Service No: 2678 Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Pier and Face 4 C. Memorial: THIEPVAL MEMORIAL http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=786854 Cemetery: THIEPVAL MEMORIAL Country: France Locality: Somme Visiting Information: The Panel numbers (or Pier and Face) quoted at the end of each entry relate to the panels dedicated to the Regiment served with. In some instances where a casualty is recorded as attached to another Regiment, his name may alternatively appear within their Regimental Panel (or Pier and Face). Please refer to the on-site Memorial Register Introduction to determine the alternative panel numbers (or Pier and Face) if you do not find the name within the quoted Panels (or Pier and Face). Location Information: The Thiepval Memorial will be found on the D73, next to the village of Thiepval, off the main Bapaume to Albert road (D929). Each year a major ceremony is held at the memorial on 1 July. Historical Information: On 1 July 1916, supported by a French attack to the south, thirteen divisions of Commonwealth forces launched an offensive on a line from north of Gommecourt to Maricourt. Despite a preliminary bombardment lasting seven days, the German defences were barely touched and the attack met unexpectedly fierce resistance. Losses were catastrophic and with only minimal advances on the southern flank, the initial attack was a failure. In the following weeks, huge resources of manpower and equipment were deployed in an attempt to exploit the modest successes of the first day. However, the German Army resisted tenaciously and repeated attacks and counter attacks meant a major battle for every village, copse and farmhouse gained. At the end of September, Thiepval was finally captured. The village had been an original objective of 1 July. Attacks north and east continued throughout October and into November in increasingly difficult weather conditions. The Battle of the Somme finally ended on 18 November with the onset of winter. In the spring of 1917, the German forces fell back to their newly prepared defences, the Hindenburg Line, and there were no further significant engagements in the Somme sector until the Germans mounted their major offensive in March 1918. The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916. The memorial also serves as an Anglo-French Battle Memorial in recognition of the joint nature of the 1916 offensive and a small cemetery containing equal numbers of Commonwealth and French graves lies at the foot of the memorial. The memorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, was built between 1928 and 1932 and unveiled by the Prince of Wales, in the presence of the President of France, on 1 August 1932 (originally it had been scheduled for 16 May, but due to the sudden death of French President Doumer, as a mark of respect, the ceremony was postponed until August). The dead of other Commonwealth countries, who died on the Somme and have no known graves, are commemorated on national memorials elsewhere

  
  

• Sources

  [S62] Lynn MacLeod, MacLeod, Lynn, 22 Jan 2015.