Description
Ypres Military Medal group – 7th battalion Somerset Light Infantry.
Military Medal (Geo V) 3-7270 Sjt .F. Horwood 7/Som. L.I.; 1914-15 Star, 3-7270 Cpl F.W. Horwood Som. L.I.; British war and Victory Medals, 3-7270 Sjt F.E. Horwood. Som.L.I. (Swing mounted on a strip of black material)
Frederick William Horwood was born in 1873 in Sussex and was living in Bramble Hall, Davies Heath, Hadleigh at the time of the 1921 census.
His MIC confirms he landed France 24th July 1915 and served to 9th March 1919.
Military Medal, London Gazette – 18th October 1917 which contains awards for Ypres in covering 31st July 1917 to 18th October 1917.
MIC etc available on Ancestry
Condition – NEF
Formed at Taunton in September 1914 as part of Kitchener’s Second New Army (K2), the 7th (Service) Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry served within the 61st Brigade of the 20th (Light) Division. Following intensive training on Salisbury Plain, the battalion landed at Boulogne in July 1915, entering the line near Lavantie and Fleurbaix for their initial exposure to static trench warfare, persistent sniping, and winter shellfire.
The battalion’s first severe test arrived during the 1916 Battle of the Somme. In August and September, the 7th Somersets fought in desperate actions at Delville Wood and Guillemont, capturing heavily fortified German strongpoints under crushing artillery fire, albeit at a severe cost in casualties.
In early 1917, the unit shadowed the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line before shifting north to Flanders for the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele), enduring atrocious, mud-filled conditions. Late in November 1917, they were rushed into the Battle of Cambrai, where they mounted a resolute defense against fierce German counter-attacks near Lateux Wood.
When the German Spring Offensive struck on 21st March 1918, the 7th Somersets fought crucial, desperate rearguard actions across the old Somme battlefields, enduring heavy losses while slowing the enemy advance. Reconstructed with fresh reinforcements, the battalion participated vigorously in the Allied Hundred Days Offensive from August 1918 onward. They broke through fortified German defensive belts across Flanders and Artois, crossing the Canal du Nord and liberating numerous French villages. By the Armistice on 11th November 1918, the battalion rested near Avesnes, concluding over three years of frontline combat marked by exceptional resilience and military distinction.
Actions Between July and November 1917
Between July and November 1917, the 7th Somersets served in the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele). Deployed into the flooded Ypres Salient, they faced relentless artillery bombardments, deep mud, and waterlogged shell holes. Their primary assault took place on 16th August during the Battle of Langemarck, where the battalion attacked heavily fortified German concrete pillboxes and Eagle Trench. Despite intense machine-gun fire and heavy casualties, they successfully captured their objectives. Through September and October, the battalion endured grueling trench rotations in the Poelcappelle sector before moving south in November, immediately entering the line at Cambrai to repulse major German counter-attacks
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