S/Sjt William Rawson, RAOC, died 7/7/16

[John_Hartley]

Staff Serjeant William F Rawson, RAOC – attached 154th Brigade, RFA

Died of wounds, 7/7/16. Buried at Gezaincourt Communal Cemetery Extension.

[John_Hartley]

Additonal information:-

Son of William & Susan Elizabeth Rawson, 18 Crondall Street, Moss Side, Manchester. SDGW records that he was born in Salford and enlisted at Woolwich.

William was almost certainly an armament artificer, like my great uncle Benjamin (in my "signature"). They are bound to have known each other - both training together at Woolwich and living only a couple or so miles apart.

The artificer was the Chief Mechanic for the artillery Brigade. The need for these newly created positions was realised in autumn 1914. With no-one "on the spot" with technical knowledge, every gun in need of repair had to be returned to England. In December 1914, an urgent appeal was made for skilled mechanics to apply to be Artificers. William will have applied and travelled to Woolwich for a week long trade and skills test. He would then have been enlisted into the army and attached to the RFA Brigade very quickly.

The Brigade joined 36th Division in July 1915, in Sussex, going overseas in the October.

The 1901 Census shows William, aged 13, living in the Pendleton district of Salford

[John_Hartley]

Speculation.......

The Long Long Trail notes that after 36th Division's attack on 1 July, it was withdrawn from the front line on 5 July, although the artillery remained in place. It seems consistent with the timing that William was wounded on this day, or the 6th. He would have been evacuated to 29th or 49th Casualty Clearing Station at Gezaincourt.