Guest Trefcon Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 THE IRON TWELVE 96 years ago today shots rang out at the Guise Chateau in France, the bodies of 11 British Soldiers and a French civilian fell into a prepared ditch and were covered with soil. The shots came from a German firing squad. Guise Chateau stood in the Department of Aisne, about 3 miles south of Etreux. In the first weeks of the Great War, the British Army were very much on the back foot, and in headlong retreat from Mons with the Germans hot on their tails. Not till they reached the Marne did the retreat stop. During the retreat hundreds of soldiers were cut off from their units and were either captured or escaped back to the British lines. One party of 11 soldiers cut off consisted of five men of the 2nd Connaught Rangers, five from 2nd Royal Munster Rifles and a man from 15th (Kings) Hussars. They did not want to surrender or be captured, they wanted to fight. As winter progressed they were helped by Vincent Chalandre, from the local village of Iron, who owned a mill in the village. He brought them in from the cold and took care of them for some time. But there was a informer in the village, a man named ‘Bachelet’, he gave the men up to the Germans and they were captured at Vincent Chalandres house on 22nd February 1915. Vincent Chalandre was shot along with the others. Two of those men were from Sheffield. 9381 Pte. George Howard, 2nd Connaught Rangers. George lived at View road, Heeley. He had two brothers who were also killed. 9472 Pte. William Thompson, 2nd Connaught Rangers. The son of Emma Thompson, of 45 Dutton road, Owlerton. NEVER FORGOTTEN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardB Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Thank you Dean. Further information Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardB Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 The Story of the Iron Twelve Part One On the Run Part Two Shelter, Betrayal and Execution Part Three The Aftermath or, complete here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardB Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 9472 Pte. William Thompson, 2nd Connaught Rangers. The son of Emma Thompson, of 45 Dutton road, Owlerton. From the links I posted earlier : Born either in 'America' (5), or Attercliffe, Sheffield (6) where he enlisted. Son of Emma Thompson of 45, Dutton Road, Owlerton. Aged 24. Joined up in 1907. The crack shot of the regiment and a fine athlete (7). Is anyone able to check the 1911 Census please for Emma Thompson/William Thompson ? Born either in America or Attercliffe ... ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Trefcon Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Thanks for posting the links Richard. The info he was born in 'America' comes from the regimental magazine of the day, 'The Ranger'. No papers survive that i can see, but i did find papers for an Albert Edward Thompson of 5 Dutton road, Owlerton, he too was a first class shot ! His father was Frank Thompson of the same address. Dont know if theres a connection there. Williams listing on SDGW states he was born, enlisted and resided in Sheffield, the info from SDGW was taken from their original service papers. Still would like to see the 1911 census though. Dean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardB Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Just for interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedley Malloch Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 There will a memorial to the Iron 12 inaugurated on Saturday 17 September at Iron, Aisne, France. There are also some linked events taking place on the same day in Guise, where the 12 were executed. All are invited. If you would like some further information, please do not hesitate to contact me at hmalloch@hotmail.com.or visit the website http://www.ironmemorial.org. We have been working on this project for five years and during that time we have been able to contact some relatives of the 12. Unfortunately I have not been able to trace any relatives of the two Sheffield men, though I know that at least one of William Thompson's family does post on the internet from time to time about the tragedy. If anyone has any knowledge of the relatives of George Howard or William Thompson, could they please pass on this information to them. Professor Hedley Malloch, Ph.D Chair, Iron Memorial Fund Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveH Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 There will a memorial to the Iron 12 inaugurated on Saturday 17 September at Iron, Aisne, France. There are also some linked events taking place on the same day in Guise, where the 12 were executed. All are invited. If you would like some further information, please do not hesitate to contact me at hmalloch@hotmail.com.or visit the website http://www.ironmemorial.org. We have been working on this project for five years and during that time we have been able to contact some relatives of the 12. Unfortunately I have not been able to trace any relatives of the two Sheffield men, though I know that at least one of William Thompson's family does post on the internet from time to time about the tragedy. If anyone has any knowledge of the relatives of George Howard or William Thompson, could they please pass on this information to them. Professor Hedley Malloch, Ph.D Chair, Iron Memorial Fund Welcome to Sheffield History Hedley Malloch and thank you for posting this useful and interesting information. It is likely that some of our members may be able to help you in the search for relatives of the 2 Sheffield men. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedley Malloch Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 A Very Happy New Year to everyone. May I bump this thread up again and give an update? There is Youtube clip on the story made by Ronan McGreevy of the Irish Times. Link below: Ronan has also written a book called 'Wherever the Firing Line Extends' which has a chapter on the story. I am working on a whole book on the incident. Of the two Sheffield soldiers, George Howard and William Thompson, I am in touch with George Howard's family and I have a deal of information about him. He was one of three brothers who served in WW1, all of whom were killed. But William Thompson remains something of a mystery. I would be very pleased to receive any information about him. The website for the story has been updated and moved to iron12.org. Best Regards Hedley Malloch Chair Iron Memorial Fund Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now