WW1 100 years on
Llanferres.org
Private John William Cordiner 36700
1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment
John was born in Llanferres in 1895, the youngest son of John
Matthew and Catherine Cordiner (née Kerr - born in Ireland) He
had an elder brother, two elder and two younger sisters residing
at Rhos Farm, the family later living at Ty-Fy-Nain on Forestry
Road.
John enlisted in the village in early 1916 and joined the 1st
Battalion after basic training as a draft replacement (the
Cheshires had been fighting in France since August 1914)
The first battle of the Somme started on July 1st 1916 after an
eight day, largely ineffective, bombardment of the German
positions with over 1.7 million shells of various calibres fired over
a 30 kilometre front, and the explosion of 10 huge underground
mines under the opposing trenches. The attack at 7.30am, in
broad daylight, was a disaster with a scarcely credible 57,470
casualties on the first day, including 19,240 killed, most of those
in the first few hours, and remains the blackest day ever for the
British army.
The Cheshires were involved from the end of July at both the
infamous High Wood and Delville (Devil’s) Wood before going
into reserve; and at the end of August were ordered to relieve
the 14th Royal Warwicks, and moved to Chimpanzee Trench
near Hardecourt, in preparation for an attack on Falfemont farm
(battle of Guillemont) planned for the 3rd September.
It was later that morning, probably before 10.00am that John
was killed, aged just 21. The regimental diary states “casualties
during the day were not very heavy, but amounted to about 23
other ranks” tragically, some of those from “shorts” of 75mm
shells from a nearby French gun battery. John was one of 6
killed in action that day, also one officer and one other ordinary
rank dying later of wounds received.
The subsequent attack on the farm was driven back on the 3rd
but objectives finally taken the following afternoon and the
battalion withdrawn with an “estimated 460 casualties”- more
than half of the diminished battalion number, and of which, only
300, all ranks fighting strength, were at roll call on the 6th at
Citadel camp (now a cemetery) after relief by the Royal Irish
Fusiliers.
John is buried in Quarry Cemetery (Mountauban), then an
advanced dressing station, with 583 other known ranks,
postumately awarded the Victory Medal and British War medal
(known colloquially as “Mutt and Jeff”)
He left an Informal Will written on July 14th which read “In the
event of my death I give the whole of my property and effects to
my mother Mrs Catherine Cordiner Rhos Farm Llanferres Mold”
He is also commemorated on his parent’s grave in Llanferres
churchyard with the poignant wording “He did his duty faithfully”
The 1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment suffered the highest
casualties of all the Cheshire battalions in the war - a total of
1,259 other ranks killed or died of wounds / disease - more than
the nominal strength (1,007) of a battalion.
If you would like to read a fuller account of the 1st Battalion
Cheshire Regiment in the Great War please visit this website
page.
Article by Noel Headley of Llanferres. You can contact Noel via
the contact page
Chimpanzee trench
Quarry Cemetery Montauban
36700 Private
J.W.CORDINER
Cheshire Regiment
September 1916 Age 21
Son of John Matthew
and Catherine Cordiner
of Llanferres Denbighshire
"Jesus Wept"
