Private. 4th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, the Duke of Albany’s) No. S/40506.
Early life:
Norman was born in Keighley in mid 1886, the eldest son of Joseph and Sarah Walbank. His younger brother Harold also served, but he survived the war.
He was four years old in the 1891 census and a scholar, living at Oakworth with his parents, in his Grandparent’s
house. By 1901 he was 14 and an errand boy at a worsted mill, living at Oakworth with his parents.
He married Mary Hollings of Stanbury in 1910 at the age of 23 and their marriage was registered at Keighley.
At the age of 24 in the 1911 census he was living with his wife Mary at 130, Commercial Street, Oakworth and working as a weaving overlooker whilst Mary was a Weaver. Their first child Nigel Eric Walbank was born on 25th July 1912 registered at Keighley in the third quarter of the year.
He appears in the 1915 electoral roll, living at 32, Mount Street, Oakworth.
War service:
The date he enlisted is not known, but he did not enter a war theatre until after 1st January 1916 as no Star was awarded. When we look at his Soldier’s effects record, for a Private being killed on the 20th September 1917, the £9 war gratuity equates to a date of enlistment around August 1915.
On the 19th January 1916 their second son was born Angus Seaforth Walbank, registered at Keighley in the first quarter of the year. His middle name is a nod to Norman’s regiment, the Seaforth Highlanders.
He was wounded in June 1916 whilst serving at Vimy Ridge, and he also sustained a bullet wound in the left shoulder in April 1917, both of which were reported in the local newspaper.
Keighley News 5th May 1917, page3:
Private Norman Walbank, of the Seaforth Highlanders, a native of Oakworth, is now in the Middlesex Hospital, suffering from a bullet wound in the left shoulder. Private Walbank was wounded at Vimy Ridge on June 6 last year.
In the weeks leading up to Norman’s death they were involved in the Third Battle of Ypres: After the initial success of beating the Germans at the Messines Ridge a more prolonged campaign moved North East, with deteriorating weather and hard conditions against a determined German opposition, culminating in with the capture of Passchendaele in November 1917.
During this time, Norman was killed in action on the 20th September 1917 in the Ypres Salient and his body was never found. Eighteen other men from his battalion died on the same day and 114 of the 4th battalion were killed in that month alone and 414 Seaforth Highlanders died in the period from June to November 1917, with just 28 ending up with a grave and 386 men being lost forever in the mud.
The battlefield conditions were so harsh that not one member of this battalion killed in September of 1917 has a known grave and all the men who were lost disappeared without trace and are remembered with their names on the Tyne Cot Cemetery Memorial wall.
Seaforth Highlanders War Diary:
Assembly positions West of Langemarck.
19th September 1917:
Good day. Marched from SIEGE Camp into assembly positions leaving Camp at 8.30 pm. An attack on the LANGEMARCK GUELVELT System takes place tomorrow.
20th September 1917:
3.30 am. All companies in Assembly positions. (all map references are ref. map POELCAPPELLE 1/10,000.
5.40 am. Attack commenced. WHITE HOUSE captured without opposition. PHEASANT TRENCH very strongly held. Trench entered & captured with little opposition very severe fighting on right.
6.10 am. CEMETERY and PHEASANT FARM reported captured: large number of Germans prisoners killed; very few prisoners taken. On left all objectives taken on time. Attack delayed on right owing to strong opposition by bombing and machine gun fire from concrete houses.
One platoon of left Company wheeled to right to support attack of right Company.
6.28 am. Reported all objectives captured.
6.50 am. Ammunition sent up.
9 am. Prisoner reported enemy would counter attack immediately from South of POELCAPPELLE. Ordered up 2 platoons of No. 1 Company that were in reserve.
9.30 am. 12th R.B. on left reported their line ran U.24.c.9.3. to U23.d.9.4. and left battalion held up by machine gun fire from EAGLE TRENCH (U.23 d. 9.5.7.0) Formed defensive flank.
4.45 pm. Informed by 4th Gordons they were attacked on their right and had given way to a line about 100 yards in front of MALTA HOUSE.
4.55 pm. Left Company reported small parties of the 4th Gordons withdrawing; 11 hostile aeroplanes flew over our right between 3.45pm and 4.45pm. Enemy shelling heavier since 3.45pm.
6.10 pm. Reported that enemy had made a strong counter attack driving forward posts.
Saw line withdrawing & sent up reinforcements, Posted 1 Machine Gun at WHITE HOUSE.
6.59 pm. Reported holding line in advance of WHITE HOUSE – PHEASANT, FARM – CEMETERY on lift. Two platoons counter attacked and re-established the line, driving the enemy back into our barrage & inflicting heavy casualties.
Nothing of incident occurred during the night.
21st September 1917:
Nothing of incident occurred until 6 pm when Germans were seen to be massing for a counter-attack. Heavy barrage opened by both sides.
7.20 pm. It was reported no further signs of attack and situation had resumed normality.
Relieved by 5th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders during the night & moved back to SIEGE CAMP.
Post war:
Norman was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal for his war service.
Remembrance:
He is remembered with 385 other members of his battalion on the memorial panels at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium.
As he served with a Scottish Regiment, his name is recorded in the Scottish War Memorial books at Edinburgh Castle.
Locally, Norman is remembered on the Oakworth War Memorial at Holden Park in Oakworth and on the Oakworth Wesleyan Roll of Honour in Oakworth Methodist Church. He is also named on Oakworth’s Great War Centenary roll of honour on display at Oakworth Community Hall.
