1568 Pte John William Swailes, 10th West Yorkshire Regiment

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Date: 1 July 1916

Connection: PoW postcard

Machine-gunned across both thighs, Private John Swailes of B Company, 10th West Yorkshire Regiment lay in front of the German wire in no-man's land all that hot 1st July 1916 until he was picked up by a German patrol the following day. 

The battalion had assaulted towards Fricourt in four waves, the first two waves getting through German positions before they were cut off, the third and fourth waves faring less well having been enfiladed by machine gun fire before they even got across no-man's land. The battalion sustained 27 officer casualties that day, with 750 other ranks either killed or wounded; one of the highest tolls suffered by any battalion on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme.

In retrospect, John Swailes might have considered himself fortunate to have been wounded and captured, although he looks none too amused in this undated photo taken at Ohrdruf in Germany.

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