Frederick Henry Machin was born on 26 th May 1889 in the tiny hamlet of L ynn, which is four miles to the south of Newport, Shropshire. He was the oldes t of the ten children born to James Machin a farm waggoner and his wife Sarah. A few weeks later on the 23 rd June, Frederick was baptised at the little chapel dedicated to St Peter at W oodcote. Frederick received a very basic education at the W oodcote Estate/Church of England Controlled Primary School. When he left sc hool at 14 years of age, Frederick found w ork at a local farm, the 191 1 census recording him as being a groom (domestic). A domestic groom cared for the family horses, managed the stables and cleaned the tack and carriag es. When Frederick Machi n enlisted is not k nown, nor whether he volunt eered or was conscripted; however’ on his medal card it is recorded that he was awarded the British W ar Medal and V ictory Medal. These medals were awarded for active service after the 1 st January 191 6 . Following his training Frederick was posted to the 2/5 th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment a T erritorial Force unit formed in Hanley , Stoke on T rent on 1 st November 1914. The battalion fought on the Wes tern Front as part of the 176th Brigade, 59t h (2nd North Midland) Division befor e bei ng absorb ed into the 1/5th Battalion in early 1918. In September 1917, the 2/5th Battalion, North Staf fordshire Regiment was serving in the 176th Brigade of the 59th (2nd North Midland) Division. The battalion was heavily involved in the Third Battle of Y pres , unof ficially known as Passchendaele. During the night of 23 rd /24 th September 1917, the 59th Division moved into the Y pres Salient to relieve the 55th (West Lancashire) Division in the Gravenstafel/Polygon Wood sector; leading up to the phase of the offensive know n as the Battle of the Meni n Road Ridge and the Battle of Polygon W ood. During this push, the 2/5th North Staffs (part of the 176th Brigade, 59th Di vision) faced intense count er-attacks and shelling. The North Staf fords was heavily engaged in the fighting that took place in the northern sector of the Y pres Salient, moving toward the Zonnebeke and Polygon W ood areas and was succe ssfu l . Because the advance achieved its objectives relatively quickly , the regiment's casualties were comparatively light. During this specific engagement, one of ficer , one sergeant, one lance corporal and six privates were killed in action , one of the privates was Frederick Henry Machin. He has no known grave but is remembered on the T yne Cot Memorial and at St Mary’s church, Moreton.

Frederick He nry Machin

Private 2019 70 - 2 /5 th North Staffordsh ire Regi men t Ki lled in Ac ti on – 24 th Septem be r1 917 – aged 28 Remembered on the T yne Cot Memorial

T yne Cot Memorial, Zonnebeke ,

Historical Informatio n 'Tyne Cot' or 'T yne Cottage' was the name given by the Northumberland Fusiliers to a barn which stood near the level crossing on the Passchendaele -Broodseinde road. The barn, which had become the centre of five or six German blockhouses, or pill -boxes, was captured by the 3rd Australian Division on 4 October 1917, in the advance on Passchendae le. One of these pill-boxes was unusually larg e and was used as an adv anced dressing station after its capture . From 6 October to the end of March 1918, 343 graves w ere made, on two sides of it, by the 50th (Northumbrian) and 33rd Divisions, and by tw o Canadian units. The cemetery was in German hands again from 13 April to 28 September , when it was finally recaptured, with Passchendaele, by the Belgian Army . It was greatly enlarged after the Armistice when remains were brought in from the battlefields of Passchendaele and Langemarck, and from a few small burial grounds. It is now the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the world in terms of burials. At the suggestion of King George V, who visited the cemetery in 1922, the Cross of Sacrifice was placed on the original large pill-box. There are three other pill-boxes in the cemetery .