HARDIMAN, Walter W

Walter Hardiman was a regular soldier who might well have been recalled from the Reserve when war broke out. He was sent to the 3rd Battalion which was involved in continuous action from 1914. They advanced into Belgium in August, endured the long retreat from Mons and then helped to halt the German advance in the battle of the Marne. In October they were transferred to the Ypres sector to meet further German attacks and in March 1915 they were at Spanbroek Mill at the end of the Messines Ridge. On the 12th March a strong attack was put in to aid a major British advance at Neuve Chapelle. The attack was held up because of dense mist and in the waiting period German shelling of the British trenches caused many casualties. At 4.10 a.m. from waterlogged trenches A and C companies moved slowly up towards the ridge. Suffering heavy losses some troops managed to reach a few gaps in the German wire and to enter the enemy trenches. Although the German counter-attacks were held, the British artillery started shelling the German trenches again without realising where the British troops were located. The survivors, including wounded, had to make their own way back to the British lines after nightfall. The losses amounted to 9 officers and 38 men killed, 32 missing, mainly killed, and 99 wounded, a heavy price to pay for a diversionary attack. Private Walter Hardiman was one of those killed in action. He is commemorated on the Menin Gate, Stourbridge and St. John's church Memorials.