Genealogical war memorials of Bournemouth’s fallen
Hill 60: April 19th, 1915
Introduction
Tales from the Front (31) tells the story of William Lanham, a native of Victorian Bournemouth, who fought in World War I. A former labourer, Private Lanham, a member of the First Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment, fell during the savage fighting at Hill 60.
Tales from the Front (31): needs must
Lanham’s ancestry reflects the gritty reality of Victorian rural labouring families: early deaths, poverty, multiple marriages, transient lives. A great-grandfather died around forty, leaving behind children, grandchildren, and his widow, recorded as a pauper. His mother’s father drifted around Dorset in search of agricultural work, marrying and burying more than one wife before securing steadier employment as a gamekeeper. Survival required pragmatism with little room for sentiment. That paradigm applied in Lanham’s household after migrating to Bournemouth. Once again, the model of multiple children, a married daughter, a son-in-law, and grandchildren suggested that his father’s income as a carter did not meet their needs. To supplement this income, Lanham’s mother ran a ‘baby farm’, five tiny children, raising the household count to fifteen. Earlier that year, she had received a fine for taking babies without registering them. Another generation of Lanham’s found that enterprise and desperation often went together.
Tales from the Front (31): getting away
By the time he reached Hill 60, Lanham would have passed his thirtieth birthday. Thus, he differed much in age from many of the early recruits taken by the BEF. Already at work as a grocer’s porter by the age of sixteen (1901), he changed his employment to that of builder’s labourer by a decade later. He may have done so to support a wife, as he seems to have married during that period. The 1911 census listed him as a widower, living with his parents. No other evidence of his marriage has emerged, but his wife must have died quite soon after their wedding. Thus, having embarked on a domestic journey, he may have sought diversion after its early closure. An infantryman’s duties often involved digging trenches and parapet repair. Lanham may have found his experience on building sites useful for defensive emplacements at Hill 60.
Tales from the Front (31): practically a cemetery
Hill 60, so named for its height above sea level, lay four kilometres distant from Ypres. Although not high, Hill 60 offered military advantages because it overlooked an otherwise flat terrain. In 1914, the hill had featured in severe fighting, changing hands during these encounters. Next year, the British decided to capture Hill 60. The overture to their attack consisted of exploding large mines placed beneath the Germans’ position on the hill. After the explosions (April 17th), there followed several days alternating extreme artillery fire with fierce hand-to-hand fighting. Each side experienced very heavy casualties. A contemporary likened the site to a cemetery. Excavating for the mines and for the trenches often revealed the bodies of men dead during the previous year or day. In May, fighting here involved German use of poisoned gas.
Tales from the Front (31): even on a quiet day
The mines exploded late on April 17th. During that night and the two following days, Hill 60 received a series of battalions from the British 13th Brigade. Their efforts proved successful in winning and holding the hill against many counterattacks and constant artillery barrages. Nevertheless, they experienced very high casualties. In place of decimated battalions, others took their place. During this period, the 1st Dorsets, part of 15th Brigade, took up a position on the right (i.e. west) of Hill 60. They did not ascend the hill but used rapid fire to support those heading upwards. Even so, they remained open to the enemy artillery fire. It buried one Dorset infantryman twice, once alive, once not. According to accounts, after this maelstrom, April 19th proved quiet by comparison. Nevertheless, it still claimed Lanham’s life, taken, perhaps by an artillery shell, a mortar round, or an ambitious enemy sniper.
Tales from the Front (31): aftermath
Before Lanham enlisted, his father died (1913), but his mother lived until 1940. She and some of her adult children emigrated to Canada, settling in Toronto. One of his sisters married a man in the same brigade, but she became widowed before the end of 1915. She remarried, perhaps in Toronto. Another daughter had married a gentleman’s son who had served with the US Marines in 1900. They had a son, but after she also became a widow in the 1920s, she reconnected with the family in Toronto.
If little hand-to-hand fighting had occurred on April 19th, fierce encounters occupied the next few days. The British sent more battalions to defend their position on Hill 60, as if feeding a meat grinder. Acts of bravery attracted notice. Men won Victoria Crosses, alive and dead. The 1st Dorsets remained in position, suffering many casualties, their relief cancelled on two occasions.
Takeaway
Tales from the Front (31) has explored the background, life, and military career of William Lanham (1885-1915). A native of Victorian Bournemouth, a recent widower, he joined the 1st Dorsets and went to France. On April 19th, an otherwise quiet day, he perished beside Hill 60, perhaps a victim of an artillery barrage or an alert sniper.
‘Tales from the Front’
A collection of personal stories honouring the natives of Victorian Bournemouth who gave their lives on the battlefield and the regiments with which they served. Blending social and military history with genealogical insight, it explores their roots, families, occupations, and the ultimate sacrifices they made for their country.
The posts weave genealogical data together with eyewitness accounts found in war diaries, contemporary press coverage, and official military histories. The series offers a powerful and intimate portrait of Bournemouth’s wartime heroes offset with live accounts of battlefield action.
Serving as a companion and continuation of Victorian Bournemouth, Tales from the Front forms part of News from the Past: History for the Rest of Us.
References
For references and engagement, please get in touch. Main primary sources: here and here (subscriptions needed). For War Diaries, go here. See also here. The featured picture shows an imagined scene—genealogical information based on available sources.
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