#TF/1473 Private William Oscar Jannaway
1/8TH MIDDLESEX REGIMENT
BORN IN PORTSMOUTH, WILLIAM JANNAWAY was a 20-year-old labourer for the Brentford Gas Company when he signed up for his local Territorials in 1911. At the outbreak of war he had been working at Messrs Beldam’s factory, ‘where he was held in high regard by all the firm’, but on mobilisation William’s battalion of the Middlesex Regiment was sent to Gibraltar. There he remained for six months before a brief spell at home followed by redeployment to the Western Front. William’s period of service expired in 1915, but he immediately enlisted again for the duration of the war. The onset of the great Somme offensive was a complicated affair, with men to be moved, prisoners to be supervised and guard details to fulfil, and so there was a great need for military policemen. William was attached to them for just this purpose for the first two weeks of July, until returning to the 1/8th Middlesex in time for the rest of the battle.
By 11th September, at the same time that Ginchy was being furiously fought over, the southern forces of Rawlinson’s army were also trying to secure ground before the onset of the new offensive; attacking ground beyond Guillemont, including Leuze Wood. Known as ‘Lousy Wood’ by the British troops, it straddled the road from Guillemont to Combles north of Falfemont Farm, a commanding position with views to the north and east. This had to be achieved despite commanders being hampered by a lack of reinforcements because men were being held back for 15th September.
To the rear, William Jannaway and his fellow Middlesex men trained for forthcoming operations, before, on the 9th, they went up into support lines while the rest of their London division made an attack. Thus far the division had made attempts to attack towards Combles, but the enemy had counter-attacked with a high proportion of bombers and forced them back, resulting in only partial success. The following day, the 10th, William’s battalion commander went up to reconnoitre a route up to the forward trenches that he and his fellow Londoners would occupy. At 7:30pm that night the battalion began to take over the line opposite Leuze Wood.
At 4:50pm on the 11th, William’s battalion received orders for two companies to attack trenches on the Ginchy/Morval road, where there was a little salient strongly held by the enemy, in order to link up with the Guards on their left. The Guards would support them as they attempted to cut it off, wiping out the German occupants, until the rest of the battalion could hold firm and provide support. However, throughout the rest of the afternoon the enemy placed a heavy barrage on and behind Leuze Wood and the Middlesex men could not get everybody arranged for the attack, so it was postponed for a few hours.
At zero hour William and his comrades surged forward and took their objective, but the troops on the left did not conform as expected and so they were forced to give up the position they had won as the enemy began to come at them wielding bombs. At a cost of almost 200 casualties, the Middlesex men had claimed 50 yards of trench.
William Jannaway fell at the outset of the attack, mortally wounded as he was climbing over the parapet of his trench, chucking bombs as he went. Officially reported as missing until 1917, there was little doubt as to what had happened to him, according to the Middlesex’s chaplain. ‘He was one of the brave lads who fell on that terrible night … He was a good lad and a real soldier.’ William left behind a wife of less than a year, Maude. His body, if recovered, was never identified and he is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Pier & Face 12d/13b.