Name: |
COATES |
Given Name: |
HAROLD BREARLEY |
Initials: |
H B |
Rank: |
Second LieutenantOther Casualties of this Rank |
Regiment: |
Yorkshire Regiment |
Unit: |
7th Bn.Other Casualties from this Unit |
Date of Death: |
1916-07-01Other Casualties on this
Date |
Age: |
20 |
Cause of Death: |
Killed in action, during attack of Fricourt. The Battalion lined up in the trenches in front of the village of Fricourt and had been told not to move until ordered to do so. But the A Coy attacked in error at 7.45 am and was practically destroyed in twenty yards by a single machine-gun (108 of its 140 men became casualties). The remaining companies attacked at 2.30 pm through the German barbed wire in which existed only four small gaps. Within three minutes, the Yorkshiremen sustained 351 casualties. A few reached the village but were soon killed or captured. The 7th Green Howards Memorial stands in the Fricourt British Cemetery (Bray Road) which is in the old No Man's Land where A Coy launched its tragic attack. |
Additional
Information: |
Son of Henry and Julia Coates, of 15, Sutherland Avenue, Johannesburg, South Africa. |
This information was last verified for accuracy: 2015-02-24
