Harold Levy Lance Corporal Harold Levy 9Th Battalion Devonshire Regiment
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Assembly and Class information sheets www.jewsfww.london School Assemblies Case Studies Jewish men killed on 1st July, 1916, the First Day of the Battle of the Somme Harold Levy Lance Corporal Harold Levy 9th Battalion Devonshire regiment His registered next of kin is his mother, Elsie Levy, of 1 Guy Cliff Cottage, Oakley Road, Whetstone, London. In the 1901 census, the Levy family is listed as being at the Whetstone address. Harold is listed as being 3 years of age with a slightly older brother – Herbert - and a sister – Miriam. His father is listed as Joseph. On the documents for his death in 1916 only his mother Elsie is mentioned and she is listed as receiving his final probate of £1 9s 2d. Harold Levy is buried at the Devonshire Trench Cemetery near Mametz on the Somme, France The 8th and 9th Battalions of the Devonshire Regiments, which were part of the 7th Division, attacked on 1st July 1916 from a point on the south-west side of Albert- Maricourt road, due south of Mametz village, by a plantation called Mansel Copse. On 4th July, they returned to this location and established a cemetery, burying their dead in a section of their old front line trench. All but two of the burials belong to these battalions. Devonshire Cemetery contains 163 Commonwealth burials of the First World War As 161 of the burials are from the Devonshire Regiment, the cemetery is held with affection by all members of the Devonshire regiments. At the entrance to the cemetery there is the statement: The Devonshires held this trench. The Devonshires hold it still. Levy is buried close to the poet Lieutenant William Noel Hodgson MC. They will have been of a similar age. Assembly and Class information sheets www.jewsfww.london School Assemblies Case Studies Jewish men killed on 1st July, 1916, the First Day of the Battle of the Somme Joseph Josephs Second Lieutenant Joseph Josephs London Regiment (The Rangers) Gommecourt British Cemetery No 2, Hebuterne, France Son of David and Sabina Josephs, 72 Highbury New Park, London The Commonwealth War Graves Commission lists his address as 206 Willesden Lane, NW10, which is the address that he gave when he joined up. The family believe that this is because he joined up underage and that he gave a false address so that the authorities couldn’t check up on him. According to the 1901 census, Joseph was 3 in 1901, thus making his birth year 1897/8. In 1916 he was 19. However, family history gives him as enlisting while he was still underage (probably at the start of 1914 when he was still 16) and that he lied about his age. The grave register states ‘Believed to be Joseph Josephs’. Probate was granted to his mother Sabina Josephs in the sum of £671 10s 2d. Assembly and Class information sheets www.jewsfww.london School Assemblies Case Studies Jewish men killed on 1st July, 1916, the First Day of the Battle of the Somme Cecil Lyons Hart Captain C. L. Hart, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) is buried at 10. Sucrerie Military Cemetery, Colincamps, France. In 1901, Cecil was 11 and living with his grandparents in Kensington along with two cousins and his uncle. His grandfather, Lyon A Hart, was a cigar dealer. According to the 1911 census, Cecil was born in Kimberley, South Africa in 1890 to parents Moss (54) and Marguerite (44), who had been born in England. He had two younger sisters. In 1911 he was a law student. We know that Mrs Marguerite Hart, his mother, applied for the 1914 star for him, in November 1920. Assembly and Class information sheets www.jewsfww.london School Assemblies Case Studies Jewish men who served but were killed after the Battle of the Somme Marcus Segal Marcus Segal was born on 5th December 1896 in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, later moving to Kilburn in London with his family. After school he went straight into the London Regiment. He was then commissioned (made into an officer) as a temporary Second Lieutenant in the 16th Battalion King’s Liverpool Regiment on 29th October 1915. In September 1916, Segal was part of the British forces serving in France where he wrote regularly to his family. He was very proud of his Jewish identity and religion and, through his letters, we know that he asked his parents to ‘let Grandma know I have been carrying (sic) on my work as a Good Jew’. He also tried to arrange Jewish Services in the trenches with Chaplains Reverend Jacob Phillips and Reverend Adler and to participate in Jewish festivals, such as Succot; ‘I had my last dug-out full of leaves on top in honour of Succot but I dare not put any fruit hanging as fruit would not hang long here…life out here makes one very religious and it makes one think what the Almighty can do…we get issued with biscuits just like Matza...’ Marcus had always been keen on sport and was the head of the sports committee for his regiment. He played football and rugby: ‘Yesterday we had a quick game of rugby against the Brigade staff and had a fine game. I came back full of bruises just as in olden times.’ In letters back home to his sisters he talks about reading a lot but also finding time to play sports, poker, listen to music and write home. It is through his letters that we also know that Marcus was a very popular officer with his fellow officers and men and made many friends,I ‘ have met men galore I know out here and it makes matters very much jollier…naturally I am somewhat popular as I am jack of all trades.’ For many soldiers at the front, letters from home were an essential part of keeping up morale. Marcus wrote, ‘I had no letters from home yesterday and felt very disappointed as that’s all we look forward to and keep awake to absurd hours to see if there are any letters for us, so you can imagine how we appreciate any correspondence and especially from our dear ones.’ Marcus Segal was killed by a shell at Arras on 19th June 1917. He is buried in Faubourg D’Amiens Cemetery, Arras. The Jewish Military Museum has 150 letters written by Marcus Segal. Assembly and Class information sheets www.jewsfww.london School Assemblies Case Studies There were five Jewish VC winners – two are here: Frank De Pass Frank Alexander de Pass (1887-1914) was born in 1887, the son of Eliot and Beatrice de Pass of 23 Queen’s Gate Terrace, Kensington. Frank had two brothers and was educated at the Abbey School in Beckenham and at Rugby School. He intended to be a soldier from an early age. He attended the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, and was commissioned into the Royal Horse Artillery in December 1906. He transferred to the 34th Prince Albert Victor’s Own Poona Horse (a British Indian Army regiment) in 1909. He spoke a number of Indian languages and was a keen polo player. In 1913, he was appointed orderly officer to Lieutenant-General Sir Percy Lake, Chief of the General Staff in India. The following year he was engaged to be married. On the outbreak of war, in August 1914, Lieutenant Frank de Pass’ regiment was stationed at Secunderabad in India. As part of the 9th Cavalry Brigade of 2nd Indian Cavalry Division, the Poona Horse was sent from Bombay to France, landing at Marseilles on 13 October 1914. In November 1914, he was involved in a serious action on the Western Front. For his bravery he was awarded the Victoria Cross – the highest award for bravery in the British forces. His citation read For conspicuous bravery near Festubert on the 24th November, in entering a German sap and destroying a traverse in the face of the enemy's bombs, and for subsequently rescuing, under heavy fire, a wounded man who was lying exposed in the open. Lieutenant de Pass lost his life on this day in a second attempt to capture the aforementioned sap, which had been re- occupied by the enemy. He was killed in action the following day on November 25 1914. Frank de Pass was buried at Béthune Town Cemetery. He is also commemorated on the Bevis Marks Synagogue war memorial in the City of London and on the war memorial in the chapel at Rugby School. A paving stone is due to be unveiled outside his birthplace as part of the UK government’s First World War Centenary Programme. Assembly and Class information sheets www.jewsfww.london School Assemblies Case Studies There were five Jewish VC winners – two are here: Issy Smith VC Issy Smith was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1890 to Eva and Moses Shmeilowitz. Smith travelled to Britain as a child stowaway and first volunteered to serve in the British Army in 1904. After leaving the army he emigrated to Australia. In 1914, when the war started, Smith was mobilised as a reservist. He became a corporal in the Manchester Regiment and was sent to the Western Front. He took part in the Second Battle of Ypres, Belgium. On 26 April 1915, while under fire from the Germans, Smith put his own life at risk to recover wounded soldiers. He was awarded the VC, his citation read: No. 168 Acting Corporal Issy Smith, 1st Battalion, The Manchester Regiment. For most conspicuous bravery on 26th April, 1915, near Ypres, when he left his Company on his own initiative and went well forward towards the enemy's position to assist a severely wounded man, whom he carried a distance of 250 yards into safety, whilst exposed the whole time to heavy machine-gun and rifle fire.