Richardson, Harold.

Hull Pals Memorial Post. PRIVATE HAROLD RICHARDSON 11/103. Born in 1895, Harold was the eldest of four sons to Charles and Alice Richardson of 10 Kent Terrace, Holderness Road, Hull. A Saw Mill Labourer before the war, he queued outside City Hall on 8th September 1914 to enlist in the fledgling 11th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment, ‘The Tradesmen’, 2nd Hull Pals. Clearly a handful for the authorities, Harold’s rap sheet is an interesting read. Twice he overstayed passes in 1915, the second time he was arrested by the Police back in Hull having failed to return from leave. He was disciplined twice for being ‘dirty on parade’ and again for ‘committing a nuisance in a billet’. A natural rebel then. Having served in Egypt and on the Somme, he was listed as ‘Missing’ following the attack on Oppy Wood on 3rd May 1917 and missing he remained until his body was discovered in November 1921. He was reburied in Orchard Dump Cemetery, and his family finally received the news they no doubt already knew. Harold was 21 years old.

The attack on Oppy Wood, part of the Battle of Arras, was a significant battle for the East Yorkshire Regiment and particularly for the city of Hull.  All four Hull Pals battalions were involved on 3 May and all suffered heavy casualties, with 40% of those present killed or injured. 2nd Lieutenant Jack Harrison, a local teacher and rugby player with Hull FC, won a posthumous Victoria Cross for his bravery in rushing a machine gun position to protect his platoon. His body was never found.
The village of Oppy in France had been in German hands since October 1914 and was part of a formidable defensive system including trenches, dug-outs and thick barbed wire defences. During the Battle of Arras, which began in April 1917, the British tried to take Oppy. The first attack was a failure. A second attack was partially successful. The third attack on 3 May, known officially as the Third Battle of the Scarpe, was again unsuccessful with significant loss of life. The troops were ordered to attack at 3.45am, rather than at dawn, and the defending Germans could easily see the line of British soldiers clearly lit by the full moon. The British continued to attack Oppy and were finally successful the following year. The City of Hull Memorial at Oppy was unveiled in 1927 and commemorates the men of the Hull Pals who were killed on 3 and 4 May 1917.
First name:
HAROLD
Regiment:
11th East Yorkshire Regiment (Hull Tradesmen)
Military Number:
11/103
Rank:
Private
Date Died
03/05/1917
Place died:
Orchard Dump Cemetery, Arleux-En-Gohelle, Pas de Calais, France
Age:
21
10 , KENT STREET, HULL, EAST YORKSHIRE, UK
Place Buried
62580 Arleux-en-Gohelle, France