Current Information:

Age-21

120, Lordship Road, Stoke Newington

Ploegsteert Wood Military Cemetery, Belgium

The 5th London battalion arrived in France at the beginning of November, 1914, where they joined 11 Brigade of 4th Division. They moved into the trenches for the first time on 20th November at Romarin, a small hamlet to the west of Ploegsteert and on 23rd December they moved forward from Ploegsteert to the front line, each company attached to the regular battalions of the brigade. Arthur Bassingham was killed on 24th December but the battalion diary gives no information about his death. The attrition rate among British soldiers on the Western Front was on average 300 each day and 60% of these were as a result of shellfire. When not involved in an actual battle it was either shell fire or a sniper’s bullet that caused most deaths and injuries.