69579: Hesketh Adair Ramsden

Hesketh Adair Ramsden was born in on the 14th of November 1898 at 382 Hilton Lane, Little Hulton in Lancashire and was baptised at St Stephens Church in Astley on December 26th 1898.He joined the Army on the 4th of May 1917 and started his officer training the following day at no. 6 Officer Cadet Battalion, Balliol College, Oxford. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant (Special Reserve of Officers) in the 6th Battalion, The Kings Royal Rifle Corps (6/60th) at Sheerness in Kent on the 29th of August 1917 and gazetted on the 29th of September 1917. His Medal Card says he arrived in France on the 6th of January 1918 and the Index to Officer's Papers (below) records his service number as 184452 (probably a file number) but his attestation papers say 63226. He arrived at his Battalion on the 11th of January and was posted to B Company at Forester's Camp in Divisional Reserve. During January the Battalion was in the Ypres/Dickebushe area and alternate between the front line and the reserve lines, typical releaving their sister battalions the 10th and 12th. In February they moved to the Somme Sector based at Ecuvilly near Amiens and onto Voyennes and Folies. The award of the Military Cross was gazetted on the 28th of July 1918 with a citation for his actions as a 2nd Lt in the 11th Battalion of the KRRC on 27 Mar 1918 at Folies, France. The awarding of his Military Cross was marked, by the men under his command, by the presentation of a tankard with an inscription. On the 9th of April 1918 Hesketh was promoted to Acting Captain and appointed to command B Company of the 11th battalion of the KRRC. On his return to England he was transferred to the 6th battalion of the KRRC. He relinquished his commission and left the army on the 5th of April 1919 becoming a mining engineer in the Manchester Collieries with his father's company This is an extract of a longer story to be found in the Europeana 1914-1918 collection