- See Walter Alfred Fleming’s entry on the Board of Trade’s Ancestry public tree.
- This information updates the group’s previous research published on the former DTI website (now archived by the National Archives).
- Do you have any more information about Walter Alfred Fleming? If so the War Memorial Research Group would love to hear from you
Name recorded on Board of Trade Memorial: W. A. Fleming
Born: 5 May 1890 in Liverpool
Date of Death: 8 October 1918
Age at death: 28
Service, Regiment, Corps, etc: Tank Corps
Unit, Ship, etc: 12th Battalion and previously Machine Gun Corps and 1/15th London Regiment
Enlisted: Liverpool
Rank: Private (Service No: 309128 and previously 95789 and R/203440)
Decorations: WW1 Service Medals (British War Medal and Victory Medal)
War (and theatre): WW1 (France and Flanders)
Manner of Death: Killed in Action (KIA)
Family Details: Son of B Martindale (formerly Fleming), 2A Lambeth Road, Kirkdale, Liverpool and late James Fleming
Residence: Liverpool
Home Department: Board of Trade – Mercantile Marine Office Staff, Liverpool
Civilian Rank: Assistant Clerk
Cemetery or Memorial: Anneux British Cemetery (IV.C.1); Board of Trade War Memorial;
Biography:
Walter Alfred Fleming was born on 5 May 1890 in Liverpool. His father was James Fleming (1856-1905) and his mother was Bridget Hellen (1860-1941). Walter was baptised on 17 May 1890 in Liverpool. His father worked as a brass founderer.
Walter had three brothers – William John Fleming (1878-?), James Fleming (1883-?) and John Patrick Fleming (1884-1902) and four sisters – Alice Fleming (1880-1886) , Teresa Fleming (1894-1929), Mary Martindale (1900-1972) and Josephine Agatha Fleming (1903-?).
Walter appears in three census records – firstly he is aged only a year old living with his parents at 99 Tichfield Street, Liverpool. In the 1901 census the Fleming family are living at 46 Blenheim Street, Liverpool. wjhen Walter is aged 10. Only four years later, his father, James died when Walter is aged only 15. His mother later remarried to William Martindale in 1911.
Then in the 1911 census Walter (aged 20) has moved to London and is renting along with several other Civil Servant colleagues at 30 Bessborough Gardens, Westminster. According to this record he is employed as an Assistant Clerk in the Civil Service.
During WW1, we know from Walter’s surviving WW1 medal index card that he enlisted to serve as a Private in the Machine Gun Corps. He subsequently served in the 1/15th Civil Service Rifles, and then ultimately served in the 12th Battalion, Tank Corps. Unfortunately Walter’s full military service record does not survive (as a result of WW2 bombing raids which destroyed a large number of WW1 military records) so it would be extremely difficult to determine his precise military history further.
We know that Walter sadly died aged 28 on 8 October 1918 on the first day of the Second Battle of Cambrai (8 to 10 October 1918) during the 100 Days Offensive leading up to what would be the end of the war. The battle took place in and around the French town of Cambrai in northern France. During the British offensive, the Germans (who were defending the town) were bombarded by 324 tanks, using a lot of new tactics using tanks and mobile warfare that had been learnt from the earlier First Battle of Cambrai in 1917 when tanks also played a prominent part in battle for the first time.
The British troops in October 1918 supported by Canadians pressed northwards and captured Cambrai fairly swiftly.
In 1918, a heavy tank battalion comprised 3 companies (A, B and C) consisting of 20 crews arranged in 4 sections.
We know that Walter was killed in action whilst operating the guns of his tank during an attack on Niergnies, near Cambrai, as part of a major tank offensive designed to break the deadlock in this sector of the Western Front. On 8 October 1918, “A Company” of the 12th Battalion, Tank Corps deployed 7 tanks in action. Attacking simultaneously with infantry the attack was a major success, and was noteworthy in particular for their hard-fought battle with four British-made tanks now surprisingly under German control, which had been previously been taken captive and repaired, then turned against British tanks. This was quite possibly the first instance of a tank on tank battle in WWI. Further detail of the 12th Battalion’s exploits on 8 October 1918 are detailed on the website “Landships“.
Walter Fleming’s death was recorded as follows in “The Liverpool Echo” on 26 October1918: “Fleming. October 8th Killed in action at Niergnies near Cambrai, aged 28 years. Gunner Walter A Fleming (our Wally) Tank Corps. The dearly beloved and youngest son of the late James Fleming and Mrs Martindale. Deeply mourned by his sorrowing Mother, Brother and Sister. 43 Taylor Street, Liverpool. RIP. It’s only a mother that knows the sorrow It’s only a mother that knows the pain Of losing her son she loved so dearly And knows she will never see him again.”
On 19 October 1914, Walter’s surviving memorial plaque or ‘Dead Man’s Penny’ was sold by auction by the auction house “The Saleroom“. Similar memorial plaques or medallions were issued after WW1 to all the next of kin of service British Empire personnel who were killed during the war. Walter’s plaque was sold with a quantity of relevant documentation including copy war diary entries, MIC, casualty reports, article ‘The 12th Battalion at Niergnies 1918’, mention in the ‘Tank Corps Book of Honour’, and copies of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) citation to Major R Campbell and Military Medal (MM) citation for Private Thomas William Hutchinson who both received awards specifically for gallant acts at Niergnies. It would be fascinating to know where this item has ended up and we hope it is safely in the hands of a museum). The papers of R G Forward (who was a Lewis gunner in the tank ‘Lochiel’ in the 1st section, A Company, 12th Battalion, Tank Corps also still survive and are now part of the Imperial War Museum’s collection.
At the time of Walter’s death, tanks were were still a relatively new weapon technology on the battlefields. They had first been used at the Somme on 15 September 1916. The Tank Corps was formed on 27 July 1917. Tanks were useful in crushing wire, over-running machine gun posts and strong posts and helping infantry through destroyed villages. They were an important technology but did not win the war. By October 1918, many tanks had been damaged or destroyed in the great advance.
The motto of the Tank Corps is “Through mud and blood to the green fields beyond” and it is hoped that Walter is now at rest and at peace in green fields. He is buried in Anneux British Cemetery in the small village of Anneux, near to Cambrai and Bapaume. The cemetery contains 1,013 burials and commemorations from WW1 and was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.
Walter is also remembered by the Board of Trade War Memorial. It is not known if he is remembered on any other local war memorials. in England.
Board of Trade War Memorial 