LEATHERHEAD WAR MEMORIALS - WWI
Pte Leonard G Penfold
1st Bn., The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
Town Memorial P6.R2.C1
Pte
Leonard G Penfold
1st Royal West Surrey
Regt
Zillebeke
Oct 24 1914 [CWGC 29 Oct 1914]
Taken, Not Given, Liam Sumption, L&DLHS
Zillebeke, Oct 24 1914
According to the records of the Queens, Leonard Penfold, another casualty of Ypres, was born in Leatherhead and enlisted at Kingston-upon-Thames.
He was killed in action.¹
He is listed as serving in the May issue (1915) of the Parish Magazine but was then already dead ². His Regimental number was L/10406.
The probablity is that Leonard Penfold died on 23rd October not the 24th. His unit's War Diary relates what took place ³ on the 23rd [this has been updated to be given in full]:
22nd 400x SW of LANGEMARCK
The Battn entrenched at 5.30am facing NW and S side of railway. At 3pm the 1st Bde were attacked N of the railway and their front temporarily broken, but their supports retook the trenches . At 7pm C Coy were sent off as escort to Artillery and A Coy took over C Coy's trenches. At 11.30pm A B & D Coys moved to (5) where a fresh line was entrenched facing North. Casualties 2 Killed and 2 Wounded.
23rd The Bn occupied the main trenches for the night and entrenched until dawn. C Coy relieved D during the night and those who were left of B and D Coys replaced C Coy as escort to Art[iller]y.
Capt Creek got his DSO for his work as OC D Coy on this day.
The Bn was holding trenches in Square EE9 (a) under a little shell fire which commenced about 9am. At 10.30 orders came from 2nd Bde (Gen BULFIN) to retake the "INN" (X 23 c) and close the "gap" between the Northamptons and the Camerons. Events proved there was no "gap".
At 11.15am the Bn advanced, A Coy on E of main road, D Coy (Capt Creek) on W with B Co (Capt Hunter) in support. The advance of 1500 yds was made under considerable hostile artillery fire but D & A Coys got down to the line of the Camerons about 70 yds from the "INN". Sgt MONK's platoon rushed the Inn supported by D Coy & captured about 60 Germans and released some 50 Cameron prisoners.
About Noon Major Watson organised a general advance of the line including about 2 Coys Camerons and part of LN Lancs. Capt Creek advanced on the right & then the whole line moved forward capturing about 200 Germans & a lot of wounded. Orders were then received to re-occupy the "old line of trenches" N of the main road. D Co did so but the Northamptonshire Regt on our right did not move, thus D Co's flank was rather exposed. The enemy kept up sniping all day, set some houses on fire on the main road and about 6pm made an attack on D Co's right flank. They brought up 2 machine guns and enfiladed Capt Creek's trench.
A Co was in support but could not fire as the enemy were between them and D Co. The enemy captured part of the trenches and Capt Creek brought up the remainder of his men out by advancing round the enemy's right flank in the confusion. Some of the enemy were dressed in khaki on this occasion.
The supporting line held on and checked the enemy - reinforcements were sent up by 2nd Bde but were not required.
C Coy relieved D Coy with remainder of B Co and went as escort to guns and to Bn HQ respectively.
B Coy this day were in driblets to reinforce parts of the line as required & some got captured with part of D Coy.
Casualties:-
Capt Hunter & 2 Lt Hayes wounded.
2 Lt Williams slightly wounded.
Capt Hodgson sprained ankle.
16 NCOs & men killed, 35 wounded and 89 missing.
Capt Creek received a DSO for this action."
Next day, the 24th, the Queens managed to get out of an awkward situation. The War Diary entry refers to "A quiet night" and mentions the relief "of our two Companies at 11pm, 15 men at a time within 100 yards of enemy by French."
The Battalion subsequently "reassembled on the road E of PILLCUM and marched to HOOGE." However, the War Diary specifically states that "no casualties" were sustained on the 24th and that the 25th was a Rest day. Liam notes it would thus appear that he died the day before.
Sources
1. Records of the Regimental Museum of the Queens, Clandon Park, Surrey.
2. List in Parish Magazine of St Mary & St Nicholas, Leatherhead
(Courtesy of Mr L Anstee of the parish)
3. File WO95-1289 1350, 2422, 2430: War Diary of 1st Queens Regt in
Public Records Office, Kew, Richmond.
NB: see also Pte Benjamin J Penfold 13 Sept 1918 (but actually 1915)
Further research
PENFOLD,
LEONARD
Rank: Private
Service No: L/10406
Date of Death: 29/10/1914
Regiment/Service: The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment), 1st Bn.
Panel Reference: Panel 11-13 and 14.
Memorial: YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL
The CWGC record has a different date of death to that shown on the Town Memorial and researched by Liam Sumption.
Findagrave.com has an image of his name on the Menin Gate Memorial.
Soldiers Who Died in the Great War has the same information and adds that he was born and resided in Leatherhead, Surrey and that the place of enlistment was Kingston, Surrey.
The puzzle is that (a) the Town Memorial specifies Zillebeke which is why Liam Sumption looked for that action and (b) according to CWGC Leonard Penfold's date of death is 29th October not the 23rd or 24th and (c) had he died a few days after the action he should have had a grave, but is listed on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial because he has no known grave.
De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour 1914-1924, Vol 2 p247, via Ancestry lists Leonard:
PENFOLD, LEONARD, Private, No 10406, Royal West Surrey Regt., s of Harry Penfold, of Leatherhead; served with the Expeditionary Force; reported missing 29 Oct 1914, and now assumed killed.
A check on the CWGC database for L G Penfold, death in 1914 - in case the middle initial recorded on the Town Memorial but not elsewhere, eg his Medal Card and Census records is significant - has yielded no matches. In fact he was Leonard Godfrey Penfold.
Ian Whitlock, the War Memorials Project's military historian comments:
I think it quite likely that Leonard was reported as missing believed killed at the later date of 29.10 but did actually fall on 23 or 24/10. Of course his body was not recovered so his actual date of death may well be only “Known unto God”.
Of course, there may have been a later report of when/how he died given by a survivor at a debrief but the records will probably not be extant. Yes, fighting in the vicinity of Zillebeke did go on until certainly 29.10 notably by the 1st King's Royal Rifle Corps.
One can say with certainty that he was lost during the First Battle of Ypres as the BEF to its eternal credit sacrificed itself to hold a very thin line indeed – with the Channel Ports just a few miles behind. The confusion about his date of death does illustrate the ferocity, fluidity and chaos of these early encounter battles.
I will try to look at the 1st Queens casualties on SDGW to see if that gives any further clue but it would appear that they withdrew towards Hooge before 29.10.
I think the various village names on the Ypres Salient became very well known to the British public as we were there for an awfully long time.
The War Diary of the 1st Bn, Royal West Surrey Regiment for the end of October 1914 reads as follows - no casualties were sustained on the 25th-28th October:
"28th Quiet day and Battn remained in biovuac.
29th IN THE TRENCHES E OF GHELUVELT
Capt ALDWORTH joined the Battn with 95 NCOs and men (6th Reinforcement). The 22nd Bde held a line from about 1½ kilos E of GHELUVELT (E? 22 b) to KRUISEEKE (S 3 a) thence westward towards ZANDVORDE. News was received that this line had been penetrated & part of 3rd Bde was ordered to reinforce this line.
The WELCH & 24th took the N of MENIN road. About 10am the Battn arrived at GHELUVELT & proceeded to support the 2nd Bn Queen's about 1 kil SE of the Village (K 22 a) who held the line out to KRUISEEKE.
The Companies were put into trenches approximately as shewn in the sketch; there was a German trench in front of "C" Coy which A Coy were ordered to take about 3pm. An advance was made but the the Company could not take the trench in spite of assistance on its right flank by some companies of Scots Guards. These S. Guards howerver silenced a maxim, & were withdrawn at dusk.
At 11pm the 1st Bn occupied the line as shewn on the sketch with 22nd Bde still in front. This Bde received orders to contract their line and move to our right.
Lt Eastwood was killed and 2 Lt Buchan wounded this day."
So Leonard Penfold remains reported missing on 29th October, or perhaps more accurately on 29th October was reported missing and a supposition is that went missing in the actions of the 23rd.
The next few days in the 1st Queen's War Diary are covered in John Whiten's story.
http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/war_diaries/war_diaries_home_new.shtml
Leonard Penfold's life
Leonard was born on 2 July 1895 and baptised at St Mary and St Nicholas Church, Leatherhead's Parish Church, Surrey on 25 August 1895.
His father was Henry Penfold from Ashtead, who at the age of 22 was resident in Effingham where on 7th November 1874 at the parish church of St Lawrence, he married Harriet Kemp (21), also resident in Effingham but from Great Bookham where she was baptised on 23rd September 1855.
In the 1891 Census Henry and Harriet were living in Moleside, in the parish of St Martin, Dorking, where he was a Shepherd. Their children were Henry (16), Annie M (14), Emily J (12), William J (8), Frederick G (6), Albert G (4), Ernest W (3), Sidney J (11 months), Arthur S (11 months).
In the 1901 Census, on the night of 31st March, the family were living in Gravel Hill (West Side), Leatherhead: Henry Penfold, now 50, evidently widowed as there is no mention of his wife Harriett; Annie (23, born Cobham), William (18, born Cobham), Frederick (16, born Cobham), Albert (14, born Cobham), Ernest (13, born Cobham), Arthur (10, born Dorking), Sidney (10, born Dorking), Benjamin (8, born Leatherhead), Leonard (5, born Leatherhead) and Harriett (3, born Leatherhead).
The death of Leonard's mother Harriett Penfold, née Kemp, is recorded in Q2 (2a, 23), 1897, Epsom District. She would have been about 41 or 42 years old if she was baptised in 1855. On Ancestry the compiler of the Ross/Mann family tree speculates that she may have died in childbirth as the last child Harriett (after her mother?) would have been born about that time. Leonard would then have been about 2 years old.
The 1901 Census date is significant because several days later on 8th April 1901 Henry Penfold (50), Shepherd, Widower, married Mary Hillier (39) at the Parish Church Leatherhead, St Mary and St Nicholas.
In the 1911 Census Henry Penfold, described as a Shepherd and (again) Widower and was one of seven patients in the hospital household of Mary Munro, matron in charge, in Fetcham. The death of a Henry Penfold aged 77, born about 1851 is recorded in December 1928 (Epsom District, 2a 69).
Also in the 1911 Census, when Leonard was 15 and working as a Green Grocer's Assistant, with his father remarried but a patient, he was still living in Gravel Hill, Leatherhead, but it seems he had left home. He was now a boarder with the Port family
The Port household was made up of George Port (43, Born Stoke d'Abernon), Jane Port (42, born Capel), George Henry Port (19, born Leatherhead, working as a Garden Lad), Eva Catherine Port (17, born Leatherhead), Elsie Port (9, born Leatherhead) and Frank John Port (7, born Leatherhead).
So the 15 year old Leonard Penfold and the 19 year old George Henry Port would have known each other and of course Leonard's brother Benjamin Penfold.
Thankfully they were unaware that all three would named on the Town War Memorial - and on the same Panel of it - on which George's date of death is given as 11th January 1916.
Leonard and his friend Percy Friday had a juvenile scrape with the
law - for that see Percy's cousin Ernest
Friday's story.
About De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour, 1914-1924
This data collection contains biographies of over 26,000 casualties of the Great War. Casualties include men (both officers and ranks) from the British Army, Navy, and Air Force. 7,000 of the biographies include photographs.
This Roll of Honour was originally compiled into 5 volumes by the 9th Marquis of Ruvigny and Raineval who was very interested in genealogical research. The amount of information available for each entry varies according to sources used. At the very least, generally the man’s regiment, and place and date of death are provided. However, if the family of a casualty provided further background and additional details, then this information was included in the biography as well, sometimes resulting in very detailed biographies.
While the date range of the collection covers from the beginning of the war to well after its end in 1918, the majority of the entries are of casualties who died in the earlier years. [source: Ancestry]
Leonard Penfold is remembered on these memorials
Leatherhead
Town Memorial
Leatherhead RBL Roll of
Honour, Leatherhead Parish Church
Ladies War Shrine, Leatherhead
Parish Church
Church Lads Brigade Memorial
Tryptich, All Saints Leatherhead
Surrey
in the Great War
the website editor would like to add
further information on this casualty
e.g. a photo of him, of his grave and of any recollections within
his family
page created 19 Feb 14: updated 26 Feb 14: 18 Nov 20