Thursday, February 12, 2009

William Richard Pointing - wounded at Arras

William Richard Pointing of the 6th Buffs (East Kent Regiment) was wounded twice - on the Somme in 1916 and at Arras in 1917 - and then taken prisoner in November 1917. Although his Arras wound - shrapnel in his hand - rendered his left little finger useless, it quite possibly saved his life as well. On April 9th 1917, while he was in an Arras hospital, British, Canadian and French troops attacked the German positions. British casualties during the battle would ultimately amount to close to 160,000 men.

William's partial service record survives in the WO 364 series at the National Archives in Kew, London and I have quoted from this in the revised biography I have written for him on the main Chailey 1914-1918 site.

Read William Pointing's partial service record on-line with a FREE 14 day trial to Ancestry.co.uk - Click here!



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