Prince of Wales’s Own (West Yorkshire) Regiment, 9th Battalion, Service no. 15731
Killed in action and died of wounds, 19th September 1918, aged 26
Story
Son of John Butterworth and Sarah Tankard, Wilfred was born in Kippax in 1891. In 1911, the family were living at Fenton Square, and Wilfred was a Pony Driver in the pit. His brother John William Butterworth also enlisted, as well as John’s son Granville, and Wilfred’s cousin Stephen Butterworth, who was killed in the War. Wilfred married Mercy Ellis in 1912, and the couple had a son Gresham, and a daughter Evelyn. John enlisted in Leeds, and his family had moved to 4 Princess Street, Bowers Allerton.
Given the date, Wilfred is likely to have been killed at the Battle of Epéhy. By early September 1918, Allied forces had effectively countered the major German spring offensive of that year and had reached the furthest forward positions of the Hindenburg Line, considered by many on both sides to be impregnable.
Reluctant to launch an offensive attack on the line itself, the British commander in chief, Sir Douglas Haig, at first overruled a planned assault by General Rawlinson of the 4th Army against the established and heavily fortified German positions. However, Haig changed his mind and authorized the attack by all three corps of Rawlinson’s army, aided by a corps of the 3rd Army fresh from its success at Havrincourt. The British-led assault went ahead on the morning of September 18, 1918, with a creeping artillery barrage from approximately 1,500 guns, as well as 300 machine guns. Although the Germans held steady on both flanks, they were soundly defeated in the centre by the Allied advance, led by two Australian divisions under General John Monash. By the end of the day, the Allies had advanced some three miles, a modest result that nonetheless encouraged Haig and his fellow commanders to proceed with further attacks to capitalize on the emerging German weaknesses. By the end of the month, pressing their advantage and pushing ahead with their so-called “Hundred Days Offensive,” the Allies had done the seemingly impossible: broken the formidable Hindenburg Line.
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