This is the story of two young men.
Cousins - or if you want to be precise, second cousins because the grandmother of one and the grandfather of the other were siblings.
The first was born in Lincolnshire in the year 1895. His parents named him Leslie James Denman. He was their first child.
The second was born in Nottinghamshire in the year 1898. He already had two brothers and his parents named him Will. Not William. Will.
Leslie's father was the Vicar of Gainsborough.
Will's father was an electrical engineer who specialised in the theatre. When Will was still a baby, the family moved to Staffordshire, taking up residence in the town of Stoke-on-Trent.
Both boys grew up within a loving family. Both went to school. Both had friends and fights and adventures.
Leslie had a good life at St. Edwards. Excelling in sports, he was a member of the School's Cricket XI and Rugby Football XV, in both of which he 'gained his colours'. Fond of amateur dramatics, he had taken part in various theatrical events staged by his father at Gainsborough. In 1913, aged eighteen, he left school and became an undergraduate at Christ's College, Cambridge.
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| This photograph of Christ's College, Cambridge comes from Wikimedia Commons |
In 1913 Will had presumably finished school. Unlike Leslie, his is a hidden life and we know little although I am told he wanted to become an engineer like his father and elder brother, Arthur Llewelyn.
The cousins had an ancestor who had fought at the Battle of Waterloo.
The story handed down about him was that in the aftermath of the battle, he wandered the battlefield and later declared to the family that after Waterloo there would never be another battle because humanity could not, and would not, put up with such another huge loss of life. From that point on no members of the family joined the military and the family directed its talents to the arts and to the mercantile world instead.
All this changed however in the 1914, when what was known as the 'Great War' began and the lives of the majority of young men and women throughout the world, changed forever.
At University, Leslie joined the Officers Training Corp. He was gazetted in September of 1914 and joined the Lincolnshire Regiment. His father accepted this with a heavy heart.
Leslie entered the 'Theatre of War' in February of 1915, with his battalion. Thanks to his training he was now a Lieutenant however a few months later he caught enteric fever (a form of typhoid) and invalided home.
Meanwhile, despite the fact that none of the family had lived in Wales for many years, Will's father was fearlessly proud of his aristocratic Welsh heritage. Were they not descended from the Wild Knight of Caer Howel?
Will's father had tried in vain to gain back the ancestral lands on the Welsh borders, pending large amounts of money in the process. Now was his chance for his sons to follow in the ancestors' footsteps and he directed them to join the Welsh Regiment, as his own brother Henry had done.
Will was young. In 1914 he was just sixteen years of age. He decided to join the Army Cycling Corps instead but when this was disbanded he too joined the Welsh Regiment. He was now a Private in the 16th Battalion.
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| This Photograph of Soldiers in northern France during WWI comes from Wikimedia Commons. |
Late in 1915, having completed his training, Will also entered the 'Theatre of War'.
After a few months of recuperation, Leslie returned to his regiment in October 1915 and received a promotion. He was now a Captain. His scholarly younger brother Aubrey had also joined up, becoming a Lieutenant.
Will remained a Private. His service number was 40660. He marched. He used his gun: His weapon of war.
In December of 1915 Leslie was sent to Egypt.
In Europe the enemy were using poison gas. In April of that year they had launched chlorine gas against Canadian troops in the Second Battle of Ypres. This was the first time gas has been used as weapon in this war. The result was horrible.
Leslie returned to the nightmare that was the Western Front, in February of 1916. He was stationed with his men near Mont St. Eloi in northern France.
He was killed a few weeks later.
In writing to his grieving parents, his commanding officer stated:
"He was a gallant officer, never hesitating to expose himself when necessary, and setting a fine example to both officers and men with whom he was on the best of terms. He is much regretted by all ranks and particularly by his brother officers who admired his cheery spirit, good society, and never-failing courage.
(The Times, 25 March 1916, Page 6)
Months passed and on the 19th of August 1916, Will and his battalion arrived at Ypres. Fighting was fierce on both sides.
Just outside of Boezinges lay the famous Essex Farm military hospital. It was here that in the previous year, the solider poet John McCrae had penned the words that would become the famous poem 'In Flanders Fields'. By the time Will arrived he had left and was serving at Boulogne in his capacity as a physician.
Less than one month passed and Will was dead.
Meeting his uncle Henry some time later, Arthur Llewelyn told him how Will had died. The brothers had found themselves stationed near to each other, when the order came to advance. They had run forward amidst the bursting of bombs and the sound of bullets. At one point something made Arthur turn his head and he saw his brother shot and fall. But this was war and he could not stop.
Despite his sudden tears and the ache in his heart, he must push forward. To stop might mean not only his own death but the failure of the 'push'. Later he searched the battlefield until he located Will's body and then got him back to the camp for burial. This last thing he could do for his dead brother.
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| The Cemetery at Essex Farm in war conditions. I can't remember where I found this photograph. |
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Leslie was buried at Mont St. Eloi. He was twenty years of age.
Will was buried at Essex Farm Cemetery. He was eighteen years of age.
Back in England the grieving parents received the news they dreaded.
Any feelings of 'romance' for war was well and truly dead and buried.
As dead and buried as theirs sons.
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| This Photograph of Will's grave was taken by Kirk Dale. |
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| This Photograph of Leslie's grave was taken by Kirk Dale. |
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