Patrick and the 7th (Service) Battalion arrived at Le Havre on the 18/12/1915 and were part of the 47th Brigade, 16th (Irish) Division. The Division rose to prominence on the 3rd September 1916 with battles in Guillemont and Ginchy. About 4,300 men from the Division were Killed or Wounded in the clashes, which lead to the successful capture of the two villages from German soldiers. Patrick was Killed when a shell landed near him as his Company was heading to the front line at the Battle of Guillemont, 3rd - 6th September 1916 (The Division captured the village) : South of Delville Wood, the second German defensive system snaked down to the village of Guillemont. It became another place where men of both sides were cut down in their thousands, as attack and counter-attack took place (see Newspaper clipping with letter to his mother from the Reverend C. W. Smith, Senior R.C. Chaplain). SEE PHOTOS x 18 FOR THE BATTALION WAR DIARY JULY - SEPTEMBER 1916. The Battalion War Diary states - In the field 3rd September 1916 - "Battalion moved into its assembly trenches in the GRIDIRON at 4 A.M. in the following order. "A" and "C" Companies in the front trench. "B" and "D" Companies in the rear trench. At 12 noon the attack commenced and Battalion reached its first objective BROMPTON ROAD. With comparative ease the enemy been taken by surprise. At 12.40 P.M. it moved forward against its 2nd objective GREEN STREET which it also made good. The Bombers did particularly good work by pushing through our own Barrage and clearing the village. They got as far as the CROSS ROADS EAST of GUILLEMONT and then fell back on the Battalion. Captain H. F. DOWNING was Killed at about 1 P.M. on this day by Rifle fire. The Battalion held onto its position with comparative ease, but great difficulty was experienced in the evacuation of wounded owing to scarcity of stretchers". The Battle of Guillemont was part of the Battles of the Somme, 1st July - 18th November 1916 : A Franco-British offensive that was undertaken after Allied strategic conferences in late 1915, but which changed its nature due to the German attack against the French in the epic Battle of Verdun, which lasted from late February to November. Huge British losses on the first day and a series of fiercely-contested steps that became attritional in nature. For all armies on the Western Front it was becoming what the Germans would call "materialschlacht" : a war not of morale, will or even manpower, but of sheer industrial material might. The 15th September 1916 saw the first-ever use of tanks in the step known as the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. The British army in France is now approaching its maximum strength in numbers but is still developing in terms of tactics, technology, command and control. Patrick is listed as MCWILLIAM on the Thiepval Memorial and by the CWGC. Patrick was previously a noted footballer and played for Albion Rovers, Broxburn, Hamilton Academicals and Bolton Wanderers. He was an expert penalty taker. Patrick signed for the Rovers from junior side Airdrie St. Margaret's, a good source of players for the Rovers. Patrick played mainly at left back, "a capital back, and an expert at taking penalty kicks", he did play one match as goalkeeper when the regular keeper was in bed ill. He played for Rovers from 1900 to 1902. Rovers won the Lanarkshire league and the Scottish Combination league in season 1901-02. Patrick wrote to the Coatbridge Express on the 5th July, 1916, talking about football and his interest in the doings of his old team, Albion Rovers. In a bit of black humour from the trenches, he suggested a team of Harry Sandbag, John Bomb, Peter Grenade, James Barbwire, Joe Starlight and Bob Bayonet, Mick Rifle, Dennis Whizzbang, Hector Sniper, Lewis Gun and William Trench Mortar was in the final of the European Cup against the Huns (see Newspaper clippings). He is also remembered in the St. Patrick's Church (book) Roll of Honour and in the St. Augustine's Parish (book) Roll of Honour. See photos for Patrick's Medal Index Card, a commemoration remembering the 16th (Irish) Division men who liberated the French village of Guillemont 100 years previously, the plaque beneath the Celtic Cross at Guillemont, Patrick's Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls x 2, his listing in the Ireland Casualties WW1, his CWGC Grave Registration, his name on the Thiepval Memorial, Patrick's Pension Records x 2 and the Leinster Regiment Cap Badge. Also see photos x 4 for Newspaper clippings (Coatbridge Express x 1, Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser x 2 and the Sunday Post x 1), PHOTOS x 18 FOR THE IRELAND'S UNKNOWN SOLDIERS BOOK SOMME 1916 (The 16th (Irish) Division in the Great War. A fantastic book from Terence Denham), the 16th (Irish) Division Order of Battle x 14 (the Division Patrick was with when he fell) and see photos x 5 for the Remembrance Garden opened on the 11/11/2023 at the Albion Rovers stadium. 8 plaques show the names of the players. Rovers chaplain David Shaw led prayers and readings at the poignant service, which was attended by around 60 people, while Salvation Army bugler Captain Scott Garman sounded 'The Last Post' ahead of a two-minute silence, see photos x 2 for the Albion Rovers F.C. match programme in January 2022. Patrick's story is told in 2 pages. Brian Nugent is heavily involved in remembering the men who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the Great War and who played for the Wee Rovers. He kindly mentioned myself and this website in the article. Finally, Dame Judi Dench's father, Captain Reginald Arthur Dench M.C., fought with the 7th (Service) Battalion. For his story please read
here
