Current Information:

Age-32

37, Springfield Road, South Tottenham

Born-Rotherhithe

Vendresse British Cemetery, France

The Battle of the Aisne 13th September -28 September, 1914

After the Germans were defeated on the Marne they fell back to the River Aisne, closely pursued by both the British and the French. The new German line was a very formidable defensive position. To attack it meant having to cross the Aisne and then climb up a 500 foot high ridge on top of which was the Chemin des Dames, a road that gave the Germans an easy way to move troops along the top of the hills. On 13th September the Aisne was crossed by both British and French troops but after that progress became slower, until there was no progress at all. Both sides dug in and the fighting settled down into trench warfare. The fighting on the Aisne continued for two weeks at the end of which both sides realised that frontal attacks on entrenched positions were both costly and non-productive, not that this deterred them from continuing with this tactic throughout the war.

On 14th September, 1914, just before dawn, 1st Division moved off to seize the heights north of the Aisne including the Chemin des Dames. 2 Brigade were leading but they were stopped by the strongly defended sugar factory north of Troyons and just short of Cerny. At 7.30am, 3 Brigade set out from Bourg heading north to Vendresse and the Troyon spur. The 1st Gloucestershire battalion were in Brigade reserve and sheltered under cover of the Troyon-Chivy ridge. From there their companies were deployed to different locations to support other units and in the fighting during this day and the next, they suffered some casualties, one of whom was Albert Gray, who died from wounds on 16th September.