Lance Sgt. M. Hartley
FIRST NAMES: Maynard UNIT: 4th Yorkshire Regiment NUMBER: 200997 STATUS: Killed in Action DATE OF DEATH: 21st April 1917 CEMETERY OR MEMORIAL: Hibers Trench Cemetery, Wancourt, France AGE: Unknown |
Lance Sergeant Hartley enlisted in Northallerton.
His official rank is given as Lance Sergeant, though he appears as a Sergeant on the Northallerton Memorial.
On 21st April 1917 the 4th Yorkshires were occupying the support line in Niger Trench, a former German front-line trench which had defended the village of Wancourt to the East. The trench had been virtually destroyed during its original capture and it provided its new occupants with very little cover.
Consequently when the Germans began shelling the trench from 6.00 to 8.00pm. the battalion suffered heavy casualties. Virtually all the Sergeants in W Company became casualties, including Lance Sergeant Hartley.