Help Build the Baxter VC Memorial
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I am a recently retired Nottinghamshire firefighter and ex-serviceman (Falklands veteran) cycling the battlefields of Northern France. I am researching some local history regarding the area during the Great War and came across the story of Edward Baxter VC (Victoria Cross) of the 1/8th Kings Liverpool Regiment.
[His Life: His Citation: & More information can be read by scrolling to the base of this text.]
It is a fascinating story of his bravery, in an attack on German trenches in front of the village of Blairville, to gather information prior to the Somme offensive, in 1916.
He has no grave or monument locally. (He was buried by the Germans in a village nearby but reinterred after the war by the War Graves Commission in a British cemetery nearly 40 miles away.)
I am therefore in the process of seeking to have his bravery recognised, by erecting a memorial stone in the village, close to the vicinity of his last known whereabouts during the trench attack that cost him his life 100 years ago in April 2016.
I have located the area where the action took place from his unit war diaries and trench maps, I have held a meeting with the local Maire (Mayor) and the regional President and members of Le Souvenir Français, and Mr André Coilliot a local historian. I have also managed to locate a distant relative of Baxter in the UK whom I am liaising with.
I am now seeking to raise funds for the project.
I have approached all the major service/veteran charities seeking to have my project adopted but have been unable to gain assistance. (generally due to their legal restrictions.)
All monies raised will be used only for the building/commemoration of the memorial and passed directly to Le Souvenir Francais in the Arras Region who have agreed to assist with building a memorial and conducting of the ceremony in Blairville. (more information on their role in France is explained later.)
If by chance the amount raised exceeded the cost needed, any additional donations would be used to maintain other such memorials to our brave and sometimes forgotten heroes, in France.
I am looking to raise the funds in time for the centenary anniversary in April 2016 to enable Edward Felix Baxter VC to have a fitting ceremony; unveiling his memorial with representation from France and the UK. (his family descendants, regimental and official veteran organisations being present.)
This young man made the ultimate sacrifice to secure our freedom and, even though he won our nations highest honour, remains relatively unknown. He left a wife and daughter at home in Liverpool with only memories.
He has no memorial in Liverpool even though he was a keen and successlful motor cyclist in the area before the war.(He also raced in the Isle of Man TT in 1910.)
His story is attached and I shall place more information and photos onto this fund raising request as it gains interest.
I thank you on behalf of Edward Felix Baxter VC and hope that you can offer even a small amount towards building his memorial. Every contribution enforces the message that his, and all the sacrifices made, will never be forgotten.
Please, share this with your friends, educate your children with our history, and hope that they never have to face such an horrific episode in their lifetime.
Thank you for any contributions.
David.
His Life:
Edward Felix Baxter was born in the village of Oldswinford near Stourbridge, Worcestershire, England, on 18th September 1885. He was the third of five children, to Charles and Beatrice Baxter. His father was a prosperous corn merchant. He lived his early life at ‘Thornleigh’, a sizeable detached property in the Hagley Road. This is now ‘The Crabmill’ public house.
In 1894 his family moved to Hartlebury village and lived at ‘Ivy Crest’, Inn Lane.
Felix attended Hartlebury Grammar School and from there he won a place in 1896 to enter Christ’s Hospital, the London Bluecoat boarding school.
He left Christ’s Hospital in 1901 to work in the United Counties Bank but then decided to enter the teaching profession.
About 1905 he joined Skerry’s College in Rodney Street, Liverpool, where he eventually became Head Commercial Teacher.
The next year he married Leonora Mary Cornish of Roden Avenue, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, the daughter of a customs and excise officer.
They went on to have three children but only their eldest child, Leonora Frances who was born in 1907, survived infancy.
Edward and his wife and daughter were living at 5 Blantyre Road, Liverpool in 1914.
Before the war, during his spare time, Edward was a competitive motor-cyclist and was probably the best known competition rider in or around Liverpool. He was well known in the motor-cycling world for being a daring but skilful rider and he won many prizes on the track and in hill-climbing competitions and, with his wife, was to be found at almost every motor-cyclists’ function. His choice of motor-cycle was a REX design which is now a very rare machine.
He took part in the 1910 TT race on the Isle of Man but had to retire after a crash damaged his machine too badly to continue on the infamous Ballacraine bend.
When war came he enlisted in the Lancashire (fortress) Royal Engineers on the 4th September 1914 and on the same day was promoted to Sergeant. His pre-war experience as a motor-cyclist was very useful and so he was given despatch rider duties in the Mersey Defence Corps. The next year he was selected for a commission and in September 1915 he was posted as Second Lieutenant to the 1/8th King’s (Liverpool Regiment), a Territorial battalion generally known as the Liverpool Irish.
In January 1916 the battalion was sent to France as part of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division and moved to the Somme sector which was at that time a quiet part of the Western Front. The Division was stationed at Bretencourt in the northern end of the sector close to Arras.
He was promoted to Lieutenant on the 19th February (though sadly it was not gazetted until 1st September 1916) and he was acting as the battalion's bombing officer, a position for which he quickly acquired a reputation, as his raiding party was given the nickname of the “Forty Thieves”.
Lieutenant Baxter went missing on the 18th April 1916. He was one of three officers involved in a successful raiding party near Blairville, an operation which commenced on the night of 16th/17th April 1916 and completed on the night of 17th/18th April
He led his men into the enemy's trench, all of whom, with the exception of himself, returned safely.
The enterprise was entirely successful, and over sixty Germans were killed or wounded. It was on this occasion that his gallantry was recognised by the award of the Victoria Cross.
As soon as Baxter was reported missing, search parties were sent out immediately, but failed to find any trace of him.
Sometime after, his wife received a letter from his Colonel, advising her that he may be a prisoner (wounded or otherwise), but that he fears that he has been killed.
In July 1916 the German government informed the American Embassy that he had died on the afternoon of the raid.
In 1920 German records revealed that he had been buried in the churchyard at Boiry-Sainte Rictrude, close to Blairville.
His remains were eventually reinterred at Fillièvres British cemetery nearly 40 miles away from where he died.
He was Liverpool’s first VC recipient in France in the Great War, although there is apparently no special memorial to him in that city. His name is commemorated on the Kidderminster, St. Mary’s, Oldswinford, Christ’s Hospital and the former Hartlebury Grammar School Memorials.
No greater testimony to the valour of Lieutenant Baxter is required than that paid by his Battalion commander Colonel Fagan, who, in a letter to Mrs. Baxter explaining the circumstances of his death, added:
"The raid was successful, due to a great extent, to the gallantry and resource of your husband . . . The men say his gallantry and coolness were marvellous. He had not been with the battalion very long, but we had realised what a splendid fellow he was. I have lost one of my best officers."
Similarly his fellow officers speak in the highest terms of him, and one of his men, who was wounded in the same raid, described him as:
“the most popular officer in the regiment - an officer and a gentleman."
Of such a man it can truly be said that he brought honour both to his regiment and to the city whose name it bore. Heroism was not an uncommon feature of the British army, but even in heroism there are degrees, and it required conduct of outstanding merit before the award of the Victoria Cross - the highest recognition of all - was made. That Lieutenant Baxter fully deserved the honour conferred upon him posthumously is fully testified to by those who had the advantage of knowing him under actual battle conditions.
Edward Felix Baxter is buried at Fillievres British Cemetery Grave Ref: A. 10.
His Citation:
For his part in the action the citation for the Victoria Cross provides a vivid account of his actions and his bravery:
2nd Lt. Edward Felix Baxter, late Liverpool Regiment.
''For most conspicuous bravery. Prior to a raid on the hostile line he was engaged during two nights in cutting wire close to the enemy's trenches. The enemy could be heard on the other side of the parapet.
Second Lieutenant Baxter, while assisting in the wire cutting, held a bomb in his hand with the pin withdrawn ready to throw. On one occasion the bomb slipped and fell to the ground, but he instantly picked it up, unscrewed the base plug, and took out the detonator, which he smothered in the ground, thereby preventing the alarm being given, and undoubtedly saving many casualties.
Later, he led the left storming party with the greatest gallantry, and was the first man into the trench, shooting the sentry with his revolver. He then assisted to bomb dugouts, and finally climbed out of the trench and assisted the last man over the parapet.
After this he was not seen again, though search parties went out at once to look for him. There seems no doubt that he lost his life in his great devotion to duty.”
[London Gazette 26th September 1916].
His wife received the Victoria Cross from King George V on the 29th November 1916. She returned to live in Kidderminster for a while and later remarried. His daughter never married and died in London in 1987.
The medals were eventually donated to the Imperial War Museum where they are displayed in fine fashion at the Lord Ashcroft gallery.
Le Souvenir Français is a French association for maintaining war memorials and war memory, comparable to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It is one of France's oldest associations “d’utilité publique” (being recognised as such on 1st February 1906) and has three aims:
1: To conserve the memory of those who have died for France
2: To maintain memorials to France's war dead
3: To hand down the memory of them to future generations
Le Souvenir Français is dedicated to honour the memory of all those who died For France whether French or foreign nationals.
The Royal British Legion was formed in 1921 to care for those who had suffered as a result of service in the Armed Forces during the war, whether through their own service or through that of a husband, father or son. Granted ‘Royal’ status in 1971 Today we help members of the Armed Services, veterans and their families all year round. We also campaign to improve their lives, organise the Poppy Appeal and remember the fallen.
The Western Front Association was formed with the aim of furthering interest in the period 1914-1918, to perpetuate the memory, courage and comradeship of those of all sides who served their countries in France and Flanders and their own countries during the Great War. The object of the Association is to educate the public in the history of the Great War with particular reference to the Western Front. Applications for membership are welcomed from anyone with like mind.
[His Life: His Citation: & More information can be read by scrolling to the base of this text.]
It is a fascinating story of his bravery, in an attack on German trenches in front of the village of Blairville, to gather information prior to the Somme offensive, in 1916.
He has no grave or monument locally. (He was buried by the Germans in a village nearby but reinterred after the war by the War Graves Commission in a British cemetery nearly 40 miles away.)
I am therefore in the process of seeking to have his bravery recognised, by erecting a memorial stone in the village, close to the vicinity of his last known whereabouts during the trench attack that cost him his life 100 years ago in April 2016.
I have located the area where the action took place from his unit war diaries and trench maps, I have held a meeting with the local Maire (Mayor) and the regional President and members of Le Souvenir Français, and Mr André Coilliot a local historian. I have also managed to locate a distant relative of Baxter in the UK whom I am liaising with.
I am now seeking to raise funds for the project.
I have approached all the major service/veteran charities seeking to have my project adopted but have been unable to gain assistance. (generally due to their legal restrictions.)
All monies raised will be used only for the building/commemoration of the memorial and passed directly to Le Souvenir Francais in the Arras Region who have agreed to assist with building a memorial and conducting of the ceremony in Blairville. (more information on their role in France is explained later.)
If by chance the amount raised exceeded the cost needed, any additional donations would be used to maintain other such memorials to our brave and sometimes forgotten heroes, in France.
I am looking to raise the funds in time for the centenary anniversary in April 2016 to enable Edward Felix Baxter VC to have a fitting ceremony; unveiling his memorial with representation from France and the UK. (his family descendants, regimental and official veteran organisations being present.)
This young man made the ultimate sacrifice to secure our freedom and, even though he won our nations highest honour, remains relatively unknown. He left a wife and daughter at home in Liverpool with only memories.
He has no memorial in Liverpool even though he was a keen and successlful motor cyclist in the area before the war.(He also raced in the Isle of Man TT in 1910.)
His story is attached and I shall place more information and photos onto this fund raising request as it gains interest.
I thank you on behalf of Edward Felix Baxter VC and hope that you can offer even a small amount towards building his memorial. Every contribution enforces the message that his, and all the sacrifices made, will never be forgotten.
Please, share this with your friends, educate your children with our history, and hope that they never have to face such an horrific episode in their lifetime.
Thank you for any contributions.
David.
His Life:
Edward Felix Baxter was born in the village of Oldswinford near Stourbridge, Worcestershire, England, on 18th September 1885. He was the third of five children, to Charles and Beatrice Baxter. His father was a prosperous corn merchant. He lived his early life at ‘Thornleigh’, a sizeable detached property in the Hagley Road. This is now ‘The Crabmill’ public house.
In 1894 his family moved to Hartlebury village and lived at ‘Ivy Crest’, Inn Lane.
Felix attended Hartlebury Grammar School and from there he won a place in 1896 to enter Christ’s Hospital, the London Bluecoat boarding school.
He left Christ’s Hospital in 1901 to work in the United Counties Bank but then decided to enter the teaching profession.
About 1905 he joined Skerry’s College in Rodney Street, Liverpool, where he eventually became Head Commercial Teacher.
The next year he married Leonora Mary Cornish of Roden Avenue, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, the daughter of a customs and excise officer.
They went on to have three children but only their eldest child, Leonora Frances who was born in 1907, survived infancy.
Edward and his wife and daughter were living at 5 Blantyre Road, Liverpool in 1914.
Before the war, during his spare time, Edward was a competitive motor-cyclist and was probably the best known competition rider in or around Liverpool. He was well known in the motor-cycling world for being a daring but skilful rider and he won many prizes on the track and in hill-climbing competitions and, with his wife, was to be found at almost every motor-cyclists’ function. His choice of motor-cycle was a REX design which is now a very rare machine.
He took part in the 1910 TT race on the Isle of Man but had to retire after a crash damaged his machine too badly to continue on the infamous Ballacraine bend.
When war came he enlisted in the Lancashire (fortress) Royal Engineers on the 4th September 1914 and on the same day was promoted to Sergeant. His pre-war experience as a motor-cyclist was very useful and so he was given despatch rider duties in the Mersey Defence Corps. The next year he was selected for a commission and in September 1915 he was posted as Second Lieutenant to the 1/8th King’s (Liverpool Regiment), a Territorial battalion generally known as the Liverpool Irish.
In January 1916 the battalion was sent to France as part of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division and moved to the Somme sector which was at that time a quiet part of the Western Front. The Division was stationed at Bretencourt in the northern end of the sector close to Arras.
He was promoted to Lieutenant on the 19th February (though sadly it was not gazetted until 1st September 1916) and he was acting as the battalion's bombing officer, a position for which he quickly acquired a reputation, as his raiding party was given the nickname of the “Forty Thieves”.
Lieutenant Baxter went missing on the 18th April 1916. He was one of three officers involved in a successful raiding party near Blairville, an operation which commenced on the night of 16th/17th April 1916 and completed on the night of 17th/18th April
He led his men into the enemy's trench, all of whom, with the exception of himself, returned safely.
The enterprise was entirely successful, and over sixty Germans were killed or wounded. It was on this occasion that his gallantry was recognised by the award of the Victoria Cross.
As soon as Baxter was reported missing, search parties were sent out immediately, but failed to find any trace of him.
Sometime after, his wife received a letter from his Colonel, advising her that he may be a prisoner (wounded or otherwise), but that he fears that he has been killed.
In July 1916 the German government informed the American Embassy that he had died on the afternoon of the raid.
In 1920 German records revealed that he had been buried in the churchyard at Boiry-Sainte Rictrude, close to Blairville.
His remains were eventually reinterred at Fillièvres British cemetery nearly 40 miles away from where he died.
He was Liverpool’s first VC recipient in France in the Great War, although there is apparently no special memorial to him in that city. His name is commemorated on the Kidderminster, St. Mary’s, Oldswinford, Christ’s Hospital and the former Hartlebury Grammar School Memorials.
No greater testimony to the valour of Lieutenant Baxter is required than that paid by his Battalion commander Colonel Fagan, who, in a letter to Mrs. Baxter explaining the circumstances of his death, added:
"The raid was successful, due to a great extent, to the gallantry and resource of your husband . . . The men say his gallantry and coolness were marvellous. He had not been with the battalion very long, but we had realised what a splendid fellow he was. I have lost one of my best officers."
Similarly his fellow officers speak in the highest terms of him, and one of his men, who was wounded in the same raid, described him as:
“the most popular officer in the regiment - an officer and a gentleman."
Of such a man it can truly be said that he brought honour both to his regiment and to the city whose name it bore. Heroism was not an uncommon feature of the British army, but even in heroism there are degrees, and it required conduct of outstanding merit before the award of the Victoria Cross - the highest recognition of all - was made. That Lieutenant Baxter fully deserved the honour conferred upon him posthumously is fully testified to by those who had the advantage of knowing him under actual battle conditions.
Edward Felix Baxter is buried at Fillievres British Cemetery Grave Ref: A. 10.
His Citation:
For his part in the action the citation for the Victoria Cross provides a vivid account of his actions and his bravery:
2nd Lt. Edward Felix Baxter, late Liverpool Regiment.
''For most conspicuous bravery. Prior to a raid on the hostile line he was engaged during two nights in cutting wire close to the enemy's trenches. The enemy could be heard on the other side of the parapet.
Second Lieutenant Baxter, while assisting in the wire cutting, held a bomb in his hand with the pin withdrawn ready to throw. On one occasion the bomb slipped and fell to the ground, but he instantly picked it up, unscrewed the base plug, and took out the detonator, which he smothered in the ground, thereby preventing the alarm being given, and undoubtedly saving many casualties.
Later, he led the left storming party with the greatest gallantry, and was the first man into the trench, shooting the sentry with his revolver. He then assisted to bomb dugouts, and finally climbed out of the trench and assisted the last man over the parapet.
After this he was not seen again, though search parties went out at once to look for him. There seems no doubt that he lost his life in his great devotion to duty.”
[London Gazette 26th September 1916].
His wife received the Victoria Cross from King George V on the 29th November 1916. She returned to live in Kidderminster for a while and later remarried. His daughter never married and died in London in 1987.
The medals were eventually donated to the Imperial War Museum where they are displayed in fine fashion at the Lord Ashcroft gallery.
Le Souvenir Français is a French association for maintaining war memorials and war memory, comparable to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It is one of France's oldest associations “d’utilité publique” (being recognised as such on 1st February 1906) and has three aims:
1: To conserve the memory of those who have died for France
2: To maintain memorials to France's war dead
3: To hand down the memory of them to future generations
Le Souvenir Français is dedicated to honour the memory of all those who died For France whether French or foreign nationals.
The Royal British Legion was formed in 1921 to care for those who had suffered as a result of service in the Armed Forces during the war, whether through their own service or through that of a husband, father or son. Granted ‘Royal’ status in 1971 Today we help members of the Armed Services, veterans and their families all year round. We also campaign to improve their lives, organise the Poppy Appeal and remember the fallen.
The Western Front Association was formed with the aim of furthering interest in the period 1914-1918, to perpetuate the memory, courage and comradeship of those of all sides who served their countries in France and Flanders and their own countries during the Great War. The object of the Association is to educate the public in the history of the Great War with particular reference to the Western Front. Applications for membership are welcomed from anyone with like mind.
Organizer
David Moore
Organizer
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