William Buckle was born and raised in a large family in Middlesbrough. He and his 11 siblings lived in Crescent Road. In 1914 he was a 21 year-old clerk working for Messrs B Samuelson and Co Ltd. On 1 Sep 14 he joined the 4th Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment (nicknamed then ‘Green Howards’), a Territorial Force battalion based in Northallerton. Like most other ‘territorials’ William signed up for overseas service a few days later. During the winter of 1914/15 the Battalion trained and prepared as part of the York and Durham Brigade in the Newcastle area. In April 1915 the Brigade, part of the Northumbrian Division (later 50th Division), was ordered to Flanders. William’s 4th Battalion arrived near Ypres on 22 April – at exactly the same time as the Germans began the 2nd Battle of Ypres. William and the other Yorkshire soldiers were flung into action the next day. After a series of battles the Battalion was much depleted. By 24 May the remains of the Battalion were supporting the 2nd Cavalry Brigade astride the Menin road near Hooge. Here, in desperate fighting, Private William Buckle was shot in the right shoulder and hip. He was quickly evacuated back to Britain where he spent the summer recovering from his wounds. William was then posted to3/4th Green Howards, a training unit in Northallerton, as an instructor and promoted to Lance Corporal on 23 Sep 15. He was promoted again in Jan 16 to Corporal. He volunteered for a commission and joined an Officer Cadet battalion in Denham, Buckinghamshire for a 4½ month course. He was commissioned into his Regiment on 7 Jul 16. In Aug 1916 2Lt William Buckle was fighting again in the latter stages of the Battle of the Somme but this time with a New Army battalion, the 8th Green Howards, part of 23 Division. The Division then spent the winter of 1916/17 in the front line, or training, near Ypres. On 24th May 1917 the 8th Green Howards were warned to attack Hill 60 on the opening day of the 3rd Battle of Ypres – 7 Jun 1917. Hill 60 lies 3.5 km SE of Ypres beside a prominent railway line. The ‘hill’ was, in fact, the spoil dug from the railway cutting through the Messines Ridge. It was a strategically important feature in the Ypres Salient and many men had died in the titanic struggles for its possession in the previous 3 years. Careful preparation had been made for its capture, including 2 enormous mines under Hill 60 and an adjacent feature - the Caterpillar. At 0300 on 7 Jun 1917, 2Lt Buckle and his platoon got out of their assembly trench and lay down on the ground. At 0310 the 2 mines exploded. Immediately Buckle and his men, and the rest of the Battalion advanced to capture Hill 60 and the Caterpillar, which both lay on the crest of the ridge above them. The Battalion’s first objectives were quickly taken but the Germans replied with artillery and machine guns. Two officers and 35 men were killed that day. One of the officers was William Buckle. He was wounded and evacuated to No 10 Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) at Remy Sidings where he died. He was 24. He is buried in Lijssenhoek Military Cemetery near the site of the CCS. In his will William left his mother £17 6sh 11d. Had he lived, William Buckle would have been my wife’s great uncle. Mark Tovey Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Late Green Howards

Mark Tovey