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General => Armed Forces => World War One => Topic started by: Washy on Friday 22 July 11 23:58 BST (UK)
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Hi Everyone
Doing tree for friend & her dad asked me to find out abt his two Gt uncles who died in WW1 years. His grandad Andrew Cochrane was one of three brother the others Thomas & Hugh. Said one died at docks & one in the Battle of the Somme, didn't know which.
Found death of Hugh Cochrane
Rank: Corporal
Royal Engineers
Unit, 97th Field Coy.
Age: 24
Date of Death: 28/05/1918
Service No: 46075
Additional information: Son of Hugh and Elizabeth Cochrane, of 23, Fleet St., Belfast.
Memorial Reference: Panel 10 to 13. Memorial: POZIERES MEMORIAL
From date of death am I right in thinking didn't die in Battle of Somme? If so can anyone help me with where & what battle he died in. Also can anyone give me his service record.
Many thanks
Washy
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This is probably not your friends family but it's a strange coincidence
COCHRANE, THOMAS
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Private
Regiment/Service: Seaforth Highlanders
Unit Text: 9th Bn.
Age: 23
Date of Death: 25/03/1918
Service No: S/8075
Additional information: Son of Hugh and Margaret Cochrane, of 65, 3rd Block, Fallin, Stirling. His brother Hugh also fell
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Hi Carole
No not his brother, Interesting story on Thomas. Didn't want to put it in main post as thought it would be too long lol.
Found Thomas on Belfast City Burial site. but info was wrong
Name of deceased Thomas Kitchen Cochrane
Last place of residence St George'S Dock Hull 23 Fleet St
Age20 Years
Date of death30 May 1916
Date of burial 4 June 1916
CemeteryCity Cemetery Grave section and number F2 304
From this thought he died in docks at Hull. Just by chance & I don't even know why i looked for him, when I found Hugh Cochrane on the Commonwealth war graves site, I looked for Thomas. Even though I knew when he died according to Cemetery details I extended my year search & bingo this came up.
COCHRANE Initials: T Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Ordinary Seaman Regiment/Service: Royal Navy Unit Text: H.M.S. "St. George." Age: 19 Date of Death: 12/11/1915 Service No: CH/SS/5098 Additional information: Son of Hugh and Elizabeth Cochrane, of 23, Fleet St., Belfast. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: F2. 34. Cemetery: BELFAST CITY CEMETERY
This boy wanted to be found.
Washy
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That's great. I know many families lost more than one son in the war but I still find it so sad
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Yes it was, found out that Thomas & two others drowned in an accident.
Would you know if it only says panel number for Hugh Cochrane does this mean he has no grave.
At least Thomas is buried with his parents.
Washy
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What's even stranger Carole is that, even though boys from Ireland have traced family back to Alloa Stirling in Scotland.
Washy
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Hi
That Stirling connection is weird given the memorial I found above
Re: grave for Hugh etc - if you go back to the cwgc entry for him and click on POZIERES MEMORIAL - it gives a lot of info including this extract:
The Memorial commemorates over 14,000 casualties of the United Kingdom and 300 of the South African Forces who have no known grave and who died on the Somme from 21 March to 7 August 1918.
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A 'Naval History' website gives the date of Thomas's death as 12/11/1915, - when three seamen drowned from HMS St George, an ex-cruiser used as a depot ship.
A
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Good morning A
Does it give any more information, where they where etc. I've spent hours surfing the web looking for info on the ship, have some really nice photo's, but can't find anything abt what happened. I did find what someone had wrote on a forum that the St George depot ship at Salonica 7/7/18 - 1/7/19.
What is a depot ship? Would really like the service records for these boys but as of yet no replies. Fingers crossed lol. Do you know if there is a special forum on here to ask for service records?
Hello Carole,
Found that info yesterday lol, seems alot of unknown boys buried there, think because it only gives panel no ref for Hugh he is one of them. So Sad.
All the best
Washy
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Good morning A
Does it give any more information, where they where etc. I've spent hours surfing the web looking for info on the ship, have some really nice photo's, but can't find anything abt what happened. I did find what someone had wrote on a forum that the St George depot ship at Salonica 7/7/18 - 1/7/19.
What is a depot ship? Would really like the service records for these boys but as of yet no replies. Fingers crossed lol. Do you know if there is a special forum on here to ask for service records?
Hello Carole,
Found that info yesterday lol, seems alot of unknown boys buried there, think because it only gives panel no ref for Hugh he is one of them. So Sad.
All the best
Washy
hiThis is probably not your friends family but it's a strange coincidence
COCHRANE, THOMAS
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Private
Regiment/Service: Seaforth Highlanders
Unit Text: 9th Bn.
Age: 23
Date of Death: 25/03/1918
Service No: S/8075
Additional information: Son of Hugh and Margaret Cochrane, of 65, 3rd Block, Fallin, Stirling. His brother Hugh also fell
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Just a snippet of info for you: 97th Field Company RE was part of the 21st Division. Here's a list of where that Division was involved in in 1918:
1918
The Battle of St Quentin+
The First Battle of Bapaume+
The battles marked + are phases of the First Battles of the Somme 1918
The Battle of Messines=
The Second Battle of Kemmel=
The battles marked = are phases of the Battles of the Lys 1918
The Battle of the Aisne 1918
The Battle of Albert++
The Second Battle of Bapaume++
The battles marked ++ are phases of the Second Battles of the Somme 1918
The Battle of Epehy^
The Battle of the St Quentin Canal^
The Battle of Cambrai 1918^
The battles marked ^ are phases of the Battles of the Hindenburg Line
The Battle of the Selle, a phase of the Final Advance in Picardy
When the Armistice came into effect at 11am on 11 November 1918 the units of the Division were halted around Berlaimont. Next day they moved to Beaufort, going between 12-20 December to west of Amiens. Demobilisation began and by 19 May 1919 the Division ceased to exist. In all the 21st Division had suffered the loss of 55581 killed, wounded and missing.
RRTB
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Hugh Cochrane ''Missing Will'' Cpl 46075, Royal Engineers, B E F. died 28/05/18
Letter from his mother Mrs E Cochrane and Fiance Miss Agnes Martin,18 Pittsburg Street or Square,Belfast.
http://soldierswills.nationalarchives.ie/reels/sw/1918_22/CochraneH_E750708.pdf
http://soldierswills.nationalarchives.ie/search/sw/index.jsp
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Afternoon,
don't know if you are aware but a photo of each deceased brother was placed in the Belfast Evening Telegraph in and around the time of their death.
David
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Thomas Cochrane was my great uncle I am named after him I also was born in Fleet st off York St ..my father was called Thomas also
There is 5 Thomas Cochrane in the family today all alive ..... There was medals my grand dad had but when he died they went missing ...
Cheers Thomas Cochrane ..
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28 May was the second day of the 1918 Battle of the Aisne. The 21st Division seems to have been one of the extremely unlicky units that faced all three German onslaughts in the spring of 1918 - every time they were moved to a quiet front to recover from the previous mauling the new front became anything but quiet.
Company HQ was at Chalon le Verguer when the Germans struck. Most of the company were sent to the 15th DLI (Durham Light Infantry). Thereafter the 97 Field Coy diary is not of much use in working out what happened to the men.
The diary of 15 DLI is also of little use - no mention of a bunch of engineers joining them; just a tale of a unit desperately trying to hold together in the face of an almost overwhelming attack. By 1 June they had been savgely depleted and were opertating as part of a composite battalion (men from multiple units scraped together).
The situation was a mess, the men from 97th Field Coy may never have reached the DLI, they could have been caught up in the fighting anywhere along the 21 Division front.
It is a little odd that his name is on the Pozieres Memorial rather than the Soissons Memorial (Soissons is rather small, I guess they ran out of room).
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Hi Everyone
Doing tree for friend & her dad asked me to find out abt his two Gt uncles who died in WW1 years. His grandad Andrew Cochrane was one of three brother the others Thomas & Hugh. Said one died at docks & one in the Battle of the Somme, didn't know which.
Found death of Hugh Cochrane
Rank: Corporal
Royal Engineers
Unit, 97th Field Coy.
Age: 24
Date of Death: 28/05/1918
Service No: 46075
Additional information: Son of Hugh and Elizabeth Cochrane, of 23, Fleet St., Belfast.
Memorial Reference: Panel 10 to 13. Memorial: POZIERES MEMORIAL
From date of death am I right in thinking didn't die in Battle of Somme? If so can anyone help me with where & what battle he died in. Also can anyone give me his service record.
Many thanks
Washy
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Hello Lucinda cochrane,
You pressed the quote button in your first post, you need to click on the reply button to leave a message.
Regards
Sarah
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Hi
I am Hugh and Thomas great niece .
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Hi Lucinda I did this for Louise & her dad who I think you may know. I gave them a print out of everything I found. I also emailed some which I have found & can send to you if you private message me your email. Regards Val
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Hi
Is it Louise cochrane ?
I think she moved to England , yes I know her .
Thank you !
Cindy
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That right have told her & she told her dad, I’m assuming he may get in touch with you to show you copy of info.