Herbert George Shurville

Birth	1888, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon
Parents	Son of George and Sarah Shurville
Residence	Winchester
Occupation

Enlisted	Winchester, Hants
Regiment	Corps of Royal Engineers
Regimental No:	42792
Rank	Sapper
Service Record	“Z” Special Company, R.E.

Death	6th May 1917, killed in action
Theatre of War	France and Flanders
Commemoration	Beaulencourt British Cemetery, Ligny-Thiloy
Medals	Victory Medal, British War Medal

Herbert George Shurville was born in 1888 in Rotherfield Greys, near Henley-on-Thames, Oxford, the son of George and Sarah Shurville. We do not know exactly how and when he came to live in the Alton area, but it was after the 1911 Census. However, we do know that he was working as a chauffeur for the St Fair family at Mill Court, Binsted, when he joined up, so perhaps he lived in one of the Mill Court Cottages. Herbert, or Bert, as he was known, enlisted in Winchester and served in the Corps of Royal Engineers as 42792 Sapper Herbert Shurville. On 27th January 1917, in St Mary’s Church, Froyle, he married Evelyn May Broomfield, the daughter of John and Annie Broomfield, who ran the Hen & Chicken public house in Froyle. Sadly, their marriage was to be a short one as he was killed in action on 6th May 1917. He was serving with Z Special Company, Royal Engineers at the time. He was 29 years old. The details of Herbert’s death are well documented and I make no excuse for including them here, along with a little background to Z Special Company, Royal Engineers.
Z Special Company was formed in early 1916 to experiment with liquid fire. Its commander was a remarkable man, Captain William Howard Livens, a civil engineer and inventor. Herbert Shurville became one of his men and must have watched with great interest and apprehension as Livens began to build and test various types of flame throwers. These flame throwers were not the small portable types seen in World War II, the largest of Livens inventions needed a deep trench at least 45 feet long from which to operate. In late June 1916 the men of Z Company began assembling their apparatus near Kasino Point, ready to support the 18th Division on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme. For the enlisted men of Z Company this must have been a very trying time, great cylinders of highly flammable liquid had to be hauled up through narrow support trenches into the front line, a chance German shell could have caused havoc at any minute. On the morning of 1st July the flame throwers swung into action sending two powerful jets of flaming liquid into the German lines. Several charred bodies were later found in the enemy trenches. In the weeks that followed Z Company used their flame throwers in other parts of the line with varying results. When these results were reviewed it was decided that all the cost and effort involved in erecting and firing the flame throwers was simply not worth it. Z Company was ordered to put their flame throwers into storage.
Z Company was no ordinary unit, for soon it would be hard at work experimenting with mortars and many highly unusual and dangerous projectiles. The end result was the Livens projector, a mortar type weapon which, although not very accurate, could be used in large numbers to fire gas filled projectiles saturating a sizeable area. All the Special Companies of the Royal Engineers were trained in its use and the first large scale use of this weapon took place at Arras on 4th April 1917.
Z Company had, so far, born a charmed life, its losses on the Somme had been very light. During their period testing projectiles they had lost at least one officer killed and several men wounded, but taking into account the experimental equipment and the volatile nature of the projectiles used, it could have been a lot worse. Sadly, this good luck was about to run out.
On the night of the 5th, early hours of 6th May 1917, in a sunken lane just north of Vaulx-Vraucourt, the men of Z Company were busy setting up around 250 projectors that were being transported from Z Company HQ at Bienvillers-au-Bois in 20 General Service wagons from 7th and 58th Division ammunition columns behind a ridge hidden from the Germans ready for a gas attack near Bullecourt.
G and P Special Companies were also involved and the officers and men were busy organising the unloading of the equipment from the horse drawn transport when, suddenly, without any warning, a lone German shell came hurtling out of the night sky landing almost on top of the wagon carrying the propellant charges. A huge explosion followed and around 90% of the total casualties in that action occurred then. The Germans, realising something was going on turned every field gun they could muster on the ridge.
The scattered survivors of the initial explosion scrambled for cover in cubby holes dug into the embankment in the nearby sunken lane. Unfortunately a shell landed on top of the embankment, burying some seven or eight men. Most of the men were rescued but one died of his wounds shortly afterwards and two others, who were buried beneath several tons of earth, were lost.
When the shelling stopped they emerged to find a scene of utter devastation. 5 men from 58th Division Ammunition Column killed and 1 wounded, P Special Company had lost 21 killed and 14 wounded, G Special Company had 1 officer and 8 other ranks killed and 17 wounded. Z Company itself had lost 14 of its men, including Herbert, with 7 wounded.
Sapper Herbert Shurville was laid to rest, along with 43 other men of the Royal Engineers who died in the same action, in Beaulencourt British Cemetery, Ligny Tilloy. Unfortunately, when the war ended it was impossible to identify his grave and he is now commemorated in the cemetery by a special memorial as you enter it. Plot Sp. Mem. A.2.
In July the Parish Magazine announced:
We record with much sorrow the death of Sapper Herbert George Shurville, R.E. who was killed recently in France. May he rest in peace. We offer most sincere sympathy to his widow. The wedding took place only last January.
The Alton Gazette of 6th July 1917 reported Sapper Shurville’s passing in some depth:
DEATH OF SAPPER SHURVILLE R.E. - After some doubtful reports to the contrary, Mrs Shurville, daughter of Mr Jno Broomfield, of the Hen and Chicken, Froyle, has now received definite news of the death, in action, of her husband, Sapper Bert Shurville, R.E. The following is an extract from a letter received from his commanding officer, Lieut HGL Strange M.C. R.E.:- ‘I was the officer in charge of Shurville’s section, and had a very fine opinion of him as a man and a soldier. He was killed instantly by enemy shell fire whilst carrying out his duty on May 6th, at 10.30, a few hundred yards from the German lines. We buried him with several officers and many of his comrades on the spot where he was killed, and we have erected a very nice oak cross with all their names on. The only consolation I can offer is to tell you that he died bravely doing his duty for England, and in spite of the very heavy shell fire, he carried on with his work until he was killed and I am sure it is the death any soldier would prefer.’ Sapper Shurville was, previously to joining up, employed as a chauffeur to Mr St Fair, of Mill Court, and was much liked by his many friends. Our sympathy goes out to the widow and the members of both families.
Sapper Herbert Shurville was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.