Current Information:

Born-Shoreditch

Etreux 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 15th Hussars landed at Rouen on 18 August 1914 and were soon split up to provide Squadrons for various divisions: A Squadron went to 3rd Division. B Squadron to 2nd Division and C Squadron to 1st Division. At 4am on 27th August,  I Corps began to withdraw along the single highway that ran through Guise and that had been left clear for them by the French.  1 Brigade formed the rearguard and remained in position until late afternoon with the 1st Coldstream Guards at Oisy, 1st Black Watch and 1st Scots Guards just west of them and  2nd Royal Munster Fusiliers accompanied by two troops of the 15th Hussars making up the rear party east of the Sambre Canal.  Half a company of the Munsters plus one troop of 15th Hussars pushed south-east to Bergues and at 9am, when an enemy patrol approached Chapel Rouge a few shots were fired. There was no reply from the 2nd Munsters and 15th Hussars  until 10.30am when German infantry attacked from the north-east. This was repelled without difficulty but it is likely that this was when William Wilkes was killed.