4th October 1917 |
The final day of William "Bill" Noon |
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A small portion of the army map for Gheluvelt (Edition 7A with trenches corrected to 14th September 1917). The map reference for 4th October 1917 when Bill Noon was killed was given as J.14.d.95.40 where the Battalion HQ was established.. The section 14 is shown at centre. To locate the exact position the square 14 is divided into four squares lettered a to d running top-left to bottom-right. Square d can be subdivided into a grid of 10 x 10 squares or, for maximum accuracy, into a grid of 100 x 100 squares which will give a position to within 5 square yards. On that day this position was part of the British front line which, during the course of that day, advanced about 200 yards. The road running diagonally exists today and connects Ypres (Ieper) to Gheluvelt.
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By using the military map of 1917 and relating it to Google Earth a reasonably accurate position for the battalion HQ could be located . While numerous new roads have appeared since 1917 there exists today sufficent roads extant from that time in the surrounding area to enable the location to be pinpointed to within an accuracy of about 50 square yards. A subsequent visit to the site confirmed the location to even greater accuracy as the pillboxes mentioned in the diary of the 15th Service Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment exist to this day. The tower which was also mentioned no longer exists.The red "X" on the Google Earth image oposite shows the location of the pillboxes at: 50 degrees 50 minutes 27.63 seconds North 2 degrees 58 minutes 29.67 seconds East This image relates to a much smaller portion of the army map above.
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The pillbox (or bunker) mentioned in the
Battalion diary as it exists today. This area and surrounding woodland is now in private
hands and thanks must go to the owner for allowing access. Nearby is a concrete foundation
which could have been that of the tower also mentioned in the diary. It is not known
if this tower was a military or civilian structure.
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View looking north-east from the pillbox towards what would have been the British front line. It follows that Bill Noon was killed somewhere within this area while carrying a box of ammunition presumably for use by the infantry. This photograph was taken at 1100 on Thursday 20th November 2008 . |
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The only memorial to William Noon is his name
carved into stone at the Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves cemetery in Belgium. Members of
the Royal Warwickshire Regiment are commemorated on panels 23 to 28.
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The commemorative bronze plaque or medal was sent to Bill`s parents following the Great War. It is inscribed simply with his name, William Noon, and around the circumference reads the following "He died for Freedom and Honour" |
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The letter opposite was written by Bill`s employer, David Solomon, to Frederick Noon (father) on 29th March 1918. It reads: Dear Mr Noon, Your sad news gives me profound sorrow. I liked your boy. He was so honest and cheerful and I was looking forward to his advancement when he again resumed his place at the works. This wicked German war is far too much for all of us taking from us as it is our best. Your boy was one of our best and my heart is with you in your sorrow. Your sole consolation must be the pride of his voluntary sacrifice in his country`s cause. He has died the noblest of deaths and coming generations will have cause to bless his memory with all those who have fallen with him as their saviours. In all sorrow, yours very truly David Solomon.
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