Fact sheet on Henry Camp Badcock 1898-1915 – Questions at the end.

1898 Feb?He was born in Ibstock, the son of William Badcock and Mary Badcock.[1]

1901 Census at "Suum Cui Que"[2] Cottages, modern (52, Leicester Rd.), Ibstock.
William BadcockHead39 Colliery ForemanbnCoalville
Mary BadcockWife 40bn Ripley
Charles BadcockSon 8bn Ibstock
William BadcockSon6bn Ibstock
Henry BadcockSon 3bn Ibstock

1911 Census at 52 Leicester Road, Ibstock. (Married for 19 years, 4 children born 1 died.)

William Stenson Badcock Head 19 Colliery FormanBn Coalville
Mary Jane BadcockWife 50Bn Ripley
Charles BadcockSon 18Colliery ShunterBn Ibstock
Henry Camp BadcockSon 13SchoolboyBn Ibstock
Sidney Stenson DaveyBoarder 21Colliery labourerBn Leicester

1914 Nov 16th He volunteered for the Leicestershire Regiment as Private 2392in the 1/5 Battalion at the Drill Hall in Ashby Road, Coalville aged 16yrs 9mos? He lied about his age when he said he was 18 years and 353 days. He was physically fit and 5 foot 9.5 inches tall. His chest was 33.5 inches. He said his home address was 52, Leicester Road, Ibstock, and that his brothers were Charles, aged 27, and William, aged 25, who lived at 135 High Street, Ibstock.

1915 June 25th Embarked on Steam Ship “St Petersburgh” in Southampton after being in the Army for 222 days.

1915 June 26th Arrived at the French Port of Rouen and joined Leicestershire regiment 5th battalion at Reninghelst near Ypres, in a group of 80 new soldiers. (see map below)In 4 days he was to be in the trenche,s and thirty-six days later, he was dead.

1915 June 29th His unit moved into the front line for the first time, into trenches at Armagh Wood for 7 days in combat. This area, down to the Mountsorrel position and Trench 50, was to be the focus of fighting in the remaining month of his life before he died near Maple Copse from shelling.

Figure 1: Later 1916 trench map showing Maple Copse and Mountsorrel position of Trench 50.

1915 July 5thRest period of 8 days begins – moved from Armagh wood trenches to back Ouderdom.

1915 July 13thHis unit is moved back into the front line –to an area just to the west of Armagh wood, betweenHill 60 and the Commines Canal.

1915 July 17/18thUnit moved back to Armagh Wood area.

1915 July 25thReturn to Ouderdom for rest after 12 days in combat.

1915 July 30thUnit moved to combat in Maple Copse after 5 days rest.

1915 July 31st He was killed on the first day of digging a communication trench westwards from Maple Copse to Zillebeke at Ypres. He was killed after only 37 days in France aged 17 years and 5 months? and his body never found. He is remembered on the Memorial at Ibstock and on the Menin Gate in Ypres.

This is the official record of the action that killed him: click here for the full version.

“at dawn on the 30th July, the enemy, anxious to recapture Hooge, … preceded the attack with streams of liquid fire… At the same time an intense bombardment was opened, and we, whose rest was not due to end until the following day, were ordered to stand by ready to move at 30 minutes' notice.

… at 2-30 p.m. orders came for us to go to Kruisstraat at once.

We marched by Companies, and on arrival bivouacked in a field close to the Indian Transport Lines, … The wildest rumours were heard everywhere, that the Germans had used burning oil, vitriol, and almost every other acid ever invented, that the salient was broken, that our Division had been surrounded. One thing was certain—that at 4 p.m. the gunfire had almost ceased, and there was no sign of any German near Ypres.

All through the night and the following day (the 31st) there were continual short artillery bombardments by both sides, and on four occasions the Copse was shelled with salvoes of shrapnel in rapid succession. As not more than half of us had any sort of dug-outs, and the remainder had to rely mainly on tree trunks for protection, our casualties were fairly heavy, and in a short time we had lost 23 wounded, …

We might, during the day, have built ourselves some sort of cover, but every available man had to be sent carrying bombs, ammunition, and trench mortars for the Sherwood Foresters, whose left flank was constantly in touch with the enemy.

By the evening of the 31st the situation was more satisfactory, …it was discovered that from his newly captured position, the Boche completely overlooked the track from Zillebeke to Maple Copse, and accordingly we were ordered to start at once to dig a communication trench alongside the track. All that night, (the 31st) the next day, Bank Holiday, and the following night, we worked till we could hardly hold our shovels, and by the time we stopped, at dawn on the 3rd, there was a trench the whole way—not very deep in places and not perhaps very scientifically dug, but still enough to give cover. As soon as work was over we returned to the copse and slept, for at dusk that night we were to go once more to the line and relieve the Lincolnshires in "50" to "A7." Maple Copse had cost us altogether 35 killed and wounded.[


QUESTIONS – USE THESE RESPONSES IN YOUR PRESENTATION ABOUT HIM

  1. Where was he born and when?
  1. What kind of family did he have?
  1. What would his life in Ibstock have been like if he had not volunteered for the Army?
  1. Why did he lie about his age to get in? How much did he cut off his age?
  1. He arrived in France on June 26th. How do you think he and his friends in the Regiment felt when they first saw France from the boat?
  1. He got to the trenches on the 29th June. How many days were spent in the trenches fighting & how many behind the lines resting until his death on the 31st July?
  1. Can you think why this pattern of fighting and rest was important for the soldiers?
  1. Look at the map – why would the Leicester Regiment men give the name Mountsorrel to a French hill?
  1. Look at all the events up to the night of the 30th July. How do you think he felt as his last day alive, the 31st, began?
  1. What was his unit doing when he was killed? Was it risky?
  1. Why do you think his body was never found?
  1. How important might it be for the family to have his name on the memorial in Ibstock?
  1. What have you learnt from studying his life?

[1] The first Badcock to come to Ibstock (between 1851 & 1861) was Harry’s great-grandfather, Henry, who was a schoolmaster and had been born in Axminster in Devon. He was also the great grandson of Mr William Stenson, who built the first coal-mine in Coalville and led the group of business-men who brought George & Robert Stephenson to Coalville build the Swannington to Leicester Railway.

[2]To each according to their own merits.