Description
1914 Star – 1st battalion Royal Wesh Fusiliers.
1914 Star, 5600 Pte W. Mannion. 1/R.W. Fus.
William Mannion’s MIC and rolls confirm his entitlement to the 1914 Star, and that he transferred to the Labour Corps on the 2nd February 1917 (service no 369510.)
Note surname also spelt Manion.
The 1st Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers (1st RWF), a regular army unit, delivered distinguished service on the Western Front and Italian Front during World War I.
Stationed in Malta at the outbreak of war in August 1914, the 1st Battalion recalled to England and was assigned to the 22nd Brigade, 7th Division. Landing at Zeebrugge, Belgium, in October 1914, the battalion was thrown into heavy combat during the First Battle of Ypres. There, it held critical defensive positions against overwhelming German attacks, suffering catastrophic casualties that nearly annihilated its initial ranks.
Rebuilt through reinforcements, the 1st Battalion saw extensive offensive action throughout 1915, including the major battles of Neuve Chapelle, Aubers Ridge, Festubert, and the Battle of Loos.
In 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, the battalion engaged in fierce engagements near Mametz Wood, Quadrangle Trench, and Bazentin-le-Petit, where officers like writer Siegfried Sassoon—who served in the battalion alongside fellow author Robert Graves—earned distinction for gallantry. The battalion continued heavy combat on the Western Front into 1917, participating in the Battle of Arras and the grueling Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele).
Following the disastrous Italian defeat at Caporetto, the 7th Division, including 1st RWF, was redeployed to the Italian Front in November 1917 to reinforce Allied forces along the River Piave. The battalion spent the remaining year securing defensive sectors and participating in offensive river crossings, culminating in the decisive Battle of Vittorio Veneto in late October 1918. This victory collapsed Austro-Hungarian lines, leading to the armistice on the Italian Front shortly before the overall war concluded in November 1918.
Condition – GVF
