Name
William Harry Moody
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
27/07/1916
25
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
14167
Bedfordshire Regiment
1st Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
THIEPVAL MEMORIAL
Pier and Face 2C
France
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
Great Offley Village Memorial, Sandon Village Memorial, Not on the Buntingford memorials
Pre War
Born Peckham, Surrey and resided Buntingford. Enlisted at Hitchin.
William was born in 1892 to Charles and Selina in Dulwich , London. In the 1911 census they were living at Hyde Hall, Sandon near Buntingford. Both he and his father were working as labourers on a farm.
Wartime Service
He was in the 1st Bedfords which were part of the 15th Brigade of the 5th Division.
On the day of his death It was a very hot day and hazy in the morning. The Brigade advanced on the left of the 99th Brigade with the 1st Norfolks and in front and the 1st Bedfords in support against Delville Wood. The Germans held the north of the village of Longueval. Fierce fighting took place all day and in particular in the area of a German redoubt called by the British, the Machine Gun House.
Details from 'The 16th Foot: The history of the Beds and Herts. Regiment' by Major General Sir F. Maurice (1931) and ‘The Somme day by day’ by Chris McCarthy.
Thursday July 27th. Temperature 81. F. Hazy, becoming clearer in the afternoon with some rain.
XV Corps. 5th. Division. 15th. Brigade.
15th. Brigade were on the left of 99th Brigade. With 1st Norfolks in front and 1st Bedfords in support, the Norfolks advanced well forward in Delville Wood and the Bedfords carried on the advance linking up with 99th Brigade. Longueval proved harder and the enemy held on to the northern portion of the village.
The line reached by the 15th. after part of the 16th. Royal Warwicks had been absorbed into the fight, ran S.W. from the N.W. portion of Delville Wood, leaving the orchards near the junction of Duke Street and Piccadilly in the hands of the enemy.
At 9:30 am. the Germans counter- attacked and, at length, got in behind Princes Street and forced the right of the line to fall back a little and face N.E. Sniping and bombing continued throughout the day. That night 17th. Middlesex and 2nd South Staffs (6th Brigade) took over 99th Brigade front and 15th. Brigade was relieved by 95th Brigade.
William Moody was one of the 170 rank and file killed or wounded in that dreadful battle. His body was never found and so his name appears on the impressive Thiepval Memorial to the missing (pier and face 2C ).
Acknowledgments
Kate Thompson
Adrian Dunne, Carol Emery, Jean Handley
