Current Information:

Born-Walthamstow

On 17th January, 1915, the 2nd Sherwood Foresters battalion of 18 Brigade, 6th Division moved into the front line at Houplines, just to the east of Armentières where they remained until relieved on 21st January. The battalion diary recorded that 19th January, the day on which Thomas Daden was killed, was a miserable day during which the companies did some musketry practice against the Germans and one man was killed. 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.