Current Information:

Born-Holborn

St Souplet British Cemetery, France

After the opening battles of the war at Mons on 23rd August, 1914 and Le Cateau on 26th August, the British Army (BEF), in conjunction with the French Army, began a retreat that took them all the way back to the River Marne, 200 miles to the south. With the Germans in hot pursuit they were forced to fight a series of rear guard actions as they fell back in extremely hot weather. The Great Retreat, as it became known, came to an end on 5th September, 1914 when the allied forces attacked along the River Marne and drove the Germans back to the River Aisne.

The 2nd King’s Royal Rifle Corps were part of 2 Brigade, 1st Division and as such were not involved in the two opening battles at Mons and Le Cateau. Their journey south took then through Wassigny to Noyales on 27th Aug and then on to Fressancourt on the next day. The battalion diary makes no mention of being in action during this time so there is no information concerning the death of William Hill which is recorded as being on 29th August by which time, 2nd King’s Royal Rifle Corps were much further south from St Souplet, where he is buried.