La Bassee bell

William Doughty was born in Apia, Samoa in 1889 to Kate and William Doughty. His father was a businessman in Wellington and for a time William worked for him as a travelling salesman. He then joined the firm of Dawson and Maudsley in the same occupation before enlisting in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in April 1916. He advanced quickly up the ranks and while still in training in New Zealand he was promoted to sergeant major and then to second lieutenant. In February 1917 he departed for service overseas.

William was posted to the Wellington Infantry Regiment and in mid-June 1917 joined his battalion on the Western Front. A little over a month later he was killed in action at La Basseville, a small village on the border between France and Belgium. The New Zealanders had been tasked with attacking the village of La Basseville as part of the Third Battle of Ypres. They took the town on 27 July 1917 and, following its recapture by the Germans, retook it on 31 July, the day William died. Leslie Andrew became the first man in the Wellington Infantry Regiment to win a Victoria Cross for his actions at La Basseville that same day. 

William is buried in Mud Corner Cemetery in Belgium, not far from the border with France. His mother gave the ‘La Bassee’ bell in his memory. In a confusing twist, the name of the bell is the name of a small village in France. La Bassée saw fighting in October 1914, long before any New Zealand forces arrived on the Western Front. It is unclear whether the subcommittee responsible for naming the bells confused La Basseville and La Bassée when naming this bell, or whether 'La Bassee' was another name for La Basseville.  

Further information:

Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph record – William Doughty
Commonwealth War Graves Commission record – William Doughty