Description
Military Medal 1914 ,2nd battalion West Riding regiment. (Somme award)
Military Medal (Geo V) 7682 Bndsmn. F.A. O’Kelly . 2/W. Rid.R.; 1914 Star (bar. 5th Aug-22nd Nov 1914) 7682 Pte F.A. O’Kelly.2/.W. Rid.R.; British War and Victory Medals, 7682 Pte F.A. O’Kelly W.Rid.R.; Long Service and Good Conduct (Geo V) 4603345 Pte F.A. O’Kelly. D.W.R.
Frederick Alexander O’Kelly was born in Bermuda on the 23rd February 1888.
His MIC shows he landed in France on the 14th August 1914
Military Medal – London Gazette 9th December 1916. (Somme)
During the autumn of 1916, the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding Regiment) served as part of the 12th Infantry Brigade within the British 4th Division. Having already suffered severe losses on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme at Serre in July, the battalion spent late August and early September reorganizing before being committed back into the main line of attack for the late-autumn battles of Morval and Le Transloy.
In late September 1916, the 2nd Battalion moved into the sector near Lesboeufs and Gueudecourt. The Allied command was pushing to break through German secondary and tertiary defensive networks before the onset of winter. However, autumn rain had turned the Somme battlefield into a continuous expanse of deep, waterlogged mud, severely hampering movement, artillery support, and supply lines.
The battalion’s primary action of this period took place on 12 October 1916 during the Battle of Le Transloy. The 2nd Battalion was tasked with capturing Spectrum Trench, a heavily defended German line situated northeast of Lesboeufs. Advancing at 14:05 across exposed, shell-pocked terrain, the troops were met with intense crossfire from German machine-gun strongpoints and a heavy artillery counter-barrage. Despite aggressive hand-to-hand fighting, the attack proved costly. On 12 October alone, the battalion suffered dozens of fatalities among officers and enlisted personnel, many of whom are buried at the nearby Guards Cemetery in Lesboeufs or commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.
Between 13 and 23 October, the 2nd Battalion remained in active frontline and support positions northeast of Lesboeufs. During this ten-day rotation, the unit held its ground under continuous shelling, repelled localized enemy counter-attacks, and worked to clear flooded trenches. The brutal conditions—exhaustion, trench foot, and constant exposure—tested the battalion’s endurance to its limits.
On 25 October, the depleted 2nd Battalion was relieved and pulled back to the Fricourt area, moving on to Méricourt on 27 October for rest, reorganization, and reinforcement. The battalion’s actions throughout September and October 1916 played a vital role in securing the Allied position around Lesboeufs during the final, challenging phase of the Somme offensive.
He died in December 1965 in Halifax, Yorkshire.
Condition – VF, all medals are polished.
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