Current Information:

Age-24

23, Murray's Buildings, Vauxhall

During the first two weeks of July 1916, 1st Royal Fusiliers of 17 Brigade, 24th Division were holding the line at Kemmel in Belgium, a few miles to the south of Ypres. At this time all attention was focused on the epic struggle taking place some 50 miles to the south on the Somme but that is not  to say that fighting elsewhere came to a standstill. The usual practices of trench warfare still prevailed; artillery bombardments, snipers and patrols were still a regular occurrence and men continued to be killed and wounded along the whole stretch of the line. On 13th July, 1916, 1st Royal Fusiliers were relieved and moved back to Wakefield Huts just south of Locre (Loker). From here they were engaged in training and also provided working parties at night. This was the case on 16th July when Alfred Baker was killed. The Battalion Diary makes no mention of him, but it was likely that he was killed by shell fire.