George Henri Wesselhoeft
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
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He was the son of George Vaughan Wesselhoeft and Julia Dorothea Wesselhoeft of Pelham Avenue, Nottingham, and later of 'Westholme', West Heath Road, Northfield, Birmingham. He was the brother of Ethel Eleanor Wesselhoeft.His parents were originally from Germany and his father was a dealer in printing materials trading at 46 Houndsgate, Nottingham. He had been in business for over 20 years with Rudolf Zimmerman before the latter's death in a bathing accident in Norfolk on 21st August 1910.His cousin Frederic Grange Wesselhoeft, a sergeant in the Royal Warwickshires, was killed in action on 20 September 1917 aged 20.
A former Nottingham High School boy, he was a member of Nottingham University O.T.C. when war broke out. Granted a commission in the Durham Light Infantry,on 22nd July 1915 he had only served with the 15th Battalion since 12th July 1916. He served in France from 12th August 1916 and was killed in the Battle of Flers on 16th September 1916. He is buried in the A.I.F. Burial Ground, Flers.
The Nottingham Guardian on Monday 2nd October 1916 had the headline “Royal Sympathy With Nottingham Parents”. It then went on to state that George Vaughan Wesselhoeft had received a royal telegram which stated:- “The King and Queen deeply regret the loss you and the Army have sustained by the death of Second Lieutenant G H Wesselhoeft in the service of his country. Their Majesties truly sympathize with you in your sorrow.Signed Keeper of the Privy Purse.”His colonel wrote of him " Your son was killed on 16th September gallantly leading his men to the attack, I understand from those who were near him that he was killed outright. Your son was a soldier and a gentleman greatly liked by his fellow officers and men. " On the 16th the 64th Brigade, including 15th Durham Light Infantry, temporarily attached to 41st Division from 21st, was involved in the following:Flers1 New Zealand Bde repelled a German advance from Ligny at 9am and was then brought forward to launch an attack of it’s own. 1st(Wellington) Bn secured it’s sector of Grove Alley at 9.30am. Because 64 Bde’s advance failed the New Zealanders consolidated just short of the Ligny Road. 1st (Canterbury) Bn dug a trench back to Box & Cox as part of the consolidation. In these actions tank D11 helped repel the German attack but the assault advanced only 300 yards before being immobilised by shelling.41st Div sent 64 Bde (attached from 21st Div) to take Gird Trench. In the lead were 9th Bn, KOYLI and 15th Bn, Durham Light Infantry with 10th Bn, KOYLI and 1st Bn, East Yorkshire Regt in support. Darkness and rain hindered the advance to the start line so that when the brigade advanced it was over 1,000 yards behind the barrage. Before passing 41st Div’s forward positions 64 Bde had already suffered heavily from machine gun and shell fire. A few men got within 100 yards of Gird Trench before pulling back and rallying in Bull’s Road. A fresh attack was ordered in the evening, but never materialised. Tank D14 participated in this attack and advanced to Guedecourt before being destroyed.This terse summary of the action in front of Flers tells us the information that Second Lieutenant Wesselhoeft died in a bungled and pointless attack where most of the attacking force never even got close to their objective.
