Joseph Arthur Carter | South Lincolnshire War Memorials

Biography of Private Joseph Arthur Carter (22883)
1st Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment
Died 22nd December 1917

Soldier

Name: Joseph Arthur Carter
Date of birth: 1888
Place of Birth: Castle Bytham, Lincolnshire, England
Date of Birth Registration: April – June 1888
Place of Birth Registration: Bourne, Lincolnshire, England

Father

Name: John Carter
DOB: 1841
Place of Birth: Pickworth, Lincolnshire, England
Occupation: Labourer

Mother

Name: Mary Wallhead
DOB: 1863
Place Of Birth: Castle Bytham, Lincolnshire, England
Marriage: 1881 Bourne District

Siblings: (Name), (DOB), (POB)

Mary Ann Carter, 1868, Leasingham Moor (Half sister)
John Carter, 1881, Castle Bytham
Joseph Arthur Carter, 1888, Castle Bytham

Census

1891: Arthur is living with his parents in New Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire
1901: Arthur is living with his parents in Hereward Street,Bourne, Lincolnshire
1911: Arthur is living with his parents at 5 hereward Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire. The census gives him an age of 23 and he is listed as a printer compositor.

Relatives in services

None found

Marriage

No marriage for Arthur has been found and because of his age we can assume that he never had the opportunity to marry.

Newspaper Mentions

War Office Weekly Casualty List January 29th 1918
DIED OF WOUNDS
LINCOLNSHIRE REGIMENT
Carter 22883 J. A. (Bourne)

Military Records

Attestation Papers

Available

Soldier’s Died In The Great War

These records show that Private Joseph Arthur Carter, 22883,1st Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment was killed in action on 22nd December 1917 in the Western European Theatre in France and Flanders.

Pension Records

Available

Effects Left To

Mother Mary
Brother John

Medals

The British Medal
The Victory Medal

Memorials

UK:
Bourne, Roll of Honour in Bourne Abbey Church
Bourne War Memorial in the Memorial Gardens

Commonwealth War Graves Commission:
In memory of Private Joseph Arthur Carter, 22883, 1st Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment who died on 22nd December 1917 age 30.
Son of John and Mary Carter, of 27, Hereward St., Bourne, Lincs.
Remembered with honour, Tincourt New British Cemetery
Grave III. G. 24.

Military Service Timeline

Joseph (normally known as Arthur) was born in the spring of 1888 in Castle Bytham to John Carter, a brewery labourer and his wife Mary Wallhead.

In 1891 the family were living at 8 New Street (original name for Hereward Street) in Bourne where John was working as a Brewery Labourer. 10 years later and they were living in Hereward Street where John is now working as a Brewery Cellerman.

By 1911 the family were living at 27 Hereward Street, Bourne and Arthur was working as a compositor for a printers.

Arthur enlisted to the army in Stamford on the 22nd February 1916 and was eventually mobilised on the 11th April 1916 and subsequently posted to the 9th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment for training. After 3 months Arthur was posted to France arriving at the Infantry Base Depot on the 24th July. Here he would have received extra training before being posted to the 1st Battalion on the 27th August.

In May 1917 Arthur was admitted to hospital with an injury to the knee joint which was deemed not be be due to active service. He was posted as fit one month later and rejoined his Battalion.

Arthur was granted leave between the 18th and the 30th November 1917 and after this once again joined his Battalion. He arrived just in time to entrain at Maroeiul at 11pm for Peronne and then they marched to Cartigny arriving there at 11am on the 1st December.

The Battalion were held in readiness until the 6th December when they were moved to Heudecourt. On the 9th they went into the line around the railway embankment west of Villers Guisain, a village that was in enemy hands, to relieve the 15th Battalion Durham Light Infantry. At this time there were not connected lines here just a series of posts. Over the next few days they formed working parties at night to attempt to link up the posts.

On the 12th after a couple of quiet days, the enemy shelled the advanced posts, killing one man and wounding 5 others. These were the first casualties of this tour.

On December 15th the battalion diary reported that the day was quiet until about 5.30pm when the battalions position was shelled heavily, without causing any casualties. Two hours later a barrage was put up by our machine guns and artillery.

Artillery activity was marked throughout the night, the enemy shelling the Battalion front and the railway embankment intermittently, our artillery retaliating spasmodically.

December 16th only had one entry in the Battalion Diary, A quiet day, nothing noteworthy taking place.

On the 17th things changed around 4am, the enemy raided the left front of the Battalion with a party of about 20 men. This post was held by a party of about 20 men of A company. The enemy made his way through a gap in our wire to the left of the post. The approach was made under cover of the extreme darkness and a snowstorm, and attacked the post from the flanks and the rear, throwing a number of hand grenades when close in. One of the grenades dropped in the post and wounded 6 men. A few of the enemy succeeded in forcing their way into the trench but were thrown out again immediately not however before they had captured two of our men whom they took back with them.

In the evening the Battalion was relieved by the 1st East Yorks Regiment, relief being completed by 6pm. Shortly after D Company had left battalion HQ a number of shells burst in their vicinity causing 6 casualties, otherwise the relief was carried out undisturbed. On relief the battalion marched to Longavesnes.

During this tour in the line the Battalion accomplished much good work. Existing posts and trenches were improved by being widened and deepened and making of firesteps, laying of trench boards and erection of shelters. New trenches were dug and the existing were strengthened and a number of dug outs were constructed behind the railway embankment. Severe weather prevailed throughout.

The casualties sustained by the battalion during this spell in the line were 4 killed, 3 missing, 27 wounded, a total of 34.

Arthur carter received a gun shot wound to the back, supposedly on the 16th December 1917, although certainly during this tour and later died of wounds on the 22nd December 1917 at a casualty clearing station around Tincourt.

Private Joseph Arthur Carter 22883, 1st Bn., Lincolnshire Regiment died on 22 December 1917 Age 30. Son of John and Mary Carter, of 27, Hereward St., Bourne, Lincs. Remembered with honour Tincourt New British Cemetery.

Sources

WW1 Soldier’s Records (www.ancestry.co.uk)
British Newspaper Archive.
Fold 3
Find My Past
Genealogist
Forces War Records
British Army Service Numbers
War Gratuity Calculator
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
National Archives – Battalion War Diaries
General Registry Office