Address / Local links: 49 Upper Wickham Lane, Welling
Family / Relatives: Son of Arthur George and Florence Rhoda Webb of Welling
Other Information: Son of a Gun Barrel Rifler
Reginald Webb
Reginald was born on the 17th April 1917 in the Borough of Lewisham. He was the third son of Arthur George Webb (1892 – 1971) and Florence Rhoda nee Longley (1889 – 1958) who had four boys in total.
George was born on the 21st December 1892 in Hadlow near Tonbridge. According to the 1911 census his occupation was a Compositor Turner. He married Florence (born in Cranbrook) during the last quarter of 1913 and their first son Albert (1913 – 1976) was born in the December. Sometime following the birth of Albert the family moved to Lewisham as their second son Ernest (1915 – ?) is registered as being born here in the second quarter of 1915. Their youngest son, Frederick, was born on the 28th May 1920 (d. 1984) also in Lewisham.
In 1922 it is confirmed from the Electoral Roll that the family are living at 299 High Road, Lewisham. The last record showing them living at this address is 1933. By the time the 1939 census was taken we find that the family are residing at 49 Upper Wickham Lane, Welling. From this census we find that both George and his eldest son Albert are employed as Gun Barrel Riflers, possibly working at the Woolwich Arsenal. Reginald is a Carpet Salesman and Frederick is a Commercial Motor Driver. Reginald’s mother, Florence, is also recorded along with her mother Harriet Longley who is detailed as being incapacitated.
(A ‘Rifler’ is someone who machines helical grooves into the internal surface of a firearm’s barrel for imparting a spin to a projectile to improve its stability and accuracy).
7th Battalion Queens Own Royal West Kent Regiment
It is not known when Reginald joined up but it must have been very soon after the outbreak of war in 1939. The 7th Battalion was a territorial unit and was sent out to France in April 1940 to join the rest of the British Expeditionary Force, they went primarily to work behind the lines to relieve the regular soldiers of manual labour as they were needed to fight. Reginald was to lose his life on the 20th May 1940 in the vicinity of Albert in the Somme area in what became known as the Battle of France. The 7th was ordered to help hold back the advancing German army to enable British Forces to reach Dunkirk for evacuation. They did not stand a chance against the might of the German Army they were poorly trained and equipped and with little in the way of supporting units.
“Massacre of the Innocent”
Three Kent Territorial Army units were destroyed on the 20th May 1940 in what has since been described as a ‘massacre of the innocent’. These were two battalion the 6th and 7th, from the West Kent’s and the 5thbattalion of the Royal East Kent’s known as The Buffs. More than 1,000 men were killed or captured in 14 hours of horror as they battled to hold back overwhelming Nazi forces. They were under-trained and under-equipped soldiers who had never heard a shot fired in anger. They were sent to France in April 1940 to join the rest of the B.E.F, their job was mainly as digging divisions and manual labourers who had been given reassurances that they would not be called upon to fight until they had been properly trained. This promise was broken owing to the German Blitzkrieg (Lightening War). The French towns of Albert and Doullens in the Somme saw some of the worst battles of the First World War and they were about to be written into the history of the Second World War.
Secret talks between the War Office and the Admiralty had concluded that the only hope of rescue for the British forces was evacuation from a French port called Dunkirk. A rear-guard action was essential to buy time. On the evening of 19th new orders arrived for the troops in Doullens. The West Kents (6th) were to hold the town and the Buffs were to defend a six-mile section of the road and railway leading from Doullens to Arras, a direct route to the Belgian border. A few miles south, the 7th West Kents were already in action. Although they were “ill-trained and ill-armed” they were part of a force sent to hold back the Germans. Their heavy fire stopped an advance force crossing a canal. The Germans fell back and waited for the rest of their division. That night the 7th was ordered to withdraw to a town called Albert and hold it.
A vicious air raid welcomed the 7th West Kent’s to Albert at about 6am on the 20th. They were repeatedly attacked as they struggled to find shelter and as they set up defensive positions the first Panzers and German infantry arrived. Most men only had their rifles. There were some Bren guns (light machine guns) and anti-tank rifles but few of the men had ever used them. Nevertheless, the fighting was heavy, and so was the casualty rate. Some Territorials were forced into the town centre and pinned down by an “all enveloping” fire from close range. Others tried to battle their way through the narrow streets. After two hours of desperate fighting the brave West Kent’s were overwhelmed.
Approximately 1,000 of the West Kent Territorials and 500 of the 5th Buffs were reported missing, either killed or captured. They were sacrificed by generals who knew they didn’t have a chance. But rear-guard troops were desperately needed to slow the German advance. And they did – it was estimated that the German advance was delayed for up to eight hours and every hour was valuable. Lord Gort, the expeditionary force commander, said that despite inexperience and lack of equipment the Territorials proved they could hold their own against a “better-found and more numerous enemy”. The Nazi’s war diary said they only made ground slowly “with continual fighting against an enemy who defended himself stubbornly” – a tribute to the courage of untrained soldiers pitched into a battle already lost.
For a full account see: https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/how-1-000-county-soldiers-were-sacrificed-227454/
London Cemetery and Extension. Longueval
Reginald was buried in the London Cemetery and Extension. Longueval, Department de la Somme, Picadie, France. Plot 13. Row E. Grave 19.
In WW1, the cemetery, one of five in the immediate vicinity of Longueval which together contain more than 15,000 graves, is the third largest cemetery on the Somme with 3,873 First World War burials, 3,114 of them unidentified.
London Cemetery and Extension was used again in 1946 by the Army Graves Service for the reburial of Second World War casualties recovered from various temporary burial grounds, French military cemeteries, small communal cemeteries, churchyards and isolated graves, where permanent maintenance was not possible. These graves are in one central plot at the extreme end of the cemetery, behind the Cross of Sacrifice. Second World War burials number 165.
The original London Cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker, but the site was completely re-modelled after the Second World War by Austin Blomfield.
He is not only remembered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission but his name is engraved on the East Wickham and Welling Memorial in St Michael’s Church, East Wickham.
It is not known whether any of Reginald’s brothers served in the armed forces during the war as no documentation can be traced regarding this. However all three brothers did go on to marry and Ernest emigrated to New Zealand with his wife in 1953.
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Pictured, along with Reginald’s headstone, are Upper Wickham Lane, as the Webb family would have known it, the Royal West Kent’s badge, and the London Cemetery and Extension, Longueval.
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Commemorated
- St. Michael’s East Wickham Church Memorial Tablet
- London Cemetery and Extension, Longueval, France
This story has been researched by volunteers. We have taken every effort to ensure its accuracy. If you are related to Reginald Artur John Webb, or if you have any further information, please do get in touch.