CQMS William Sydney Longhurst
Company Quartermaster Sergeant William Sydney Longhurst, L/5300, 1st Battalion The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) was born in Coldharbour, Surrey on 12th November 1880, the son of William and Amelia Longhurst and brother of Horace John Longhurst. of Row Mount, Coldharbour.
William's service number suggests that he enlisted in the Regular Army in approximately 1898, and (to serve in the First World War, probably extended his service beyond the normal 7 years with the Colours and 5 years in the Reserve). He arrived in France on 19th January 1915.
In April 1916 the 1st Battalion Queen's was holding the line south of the La Basse Canal near the villiage of Cuinchy, an area known as 'the brickstacks'. The war had taken it's toll on the banks of the canal and the area was known to be exceedingly wet. The battalion war diary for the 18th April 1916 notes that the day was 'a quiet day' in which William Longhurst and Private G/4075 W West (from Dorking) were killed and two other men wounded.
CQMS William Sydney Longhurst and Pte West were laid to rest besides one another in the Bethune Town Cemetery, France. William is commemorated on the Coldharbour village war memorial.
CQMS William Sydney Longhurst
Company Quartermaster Sergeant William Sydney Longhurst, L/5300, 1st Battalion The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) was born in Coldharbour, Surrey on 12th November 1880, the son of William and Amelia Longhurst and brother of Horace John Longhurst. of Row Mount, Coldharbour.
William's service number suggests that he enlisted in the Regular Army in approximately 1898, and (to serve in the First World War, probably extended his service beyond the normal 7 years with the Colours and 5 years in the Reserve). He arrived in France on 19th January 1915.
In April 1916 the 1st Battalion Queen's was holding the line south of the La Basse Canal near the villiage of Cuinchy, an area known as 'the brickstacks'. The war had taken it's toll on the banks of the canal and the area was known to be exceedingly wet. The battalion war diary for the 18th April 1916 notes that the day was 'a quiet day' in which William Longhurst and Private G/4075 W West (from Dorking) were killed and two other men wounded.
CQMS William Sydney Longhurst and Pte West were laid to rest besides one another in the Bethune Town Cemetery, France. William is commemorated on the Coldharbour village war memorial.