Current Information:

Age-20

Born-Wandsworth

Post Office Rifles Cemetery, Festubert, France

The Battle of Festubert (16–25 May 1915)

This followed quickly on the heels of the Battle of Aubers Ridge and was an offensive operation by the British Army in the Artois region of France in conjunction with a French attack further south.  Initial success soon ground to a halt and although there had been an advance of two miles in some places the end result was not the hoped for breakout but merely more muddy trenches which became the new front line. British casualties over the ten days amounted to nearly 17,000, three times as many as inflicted on the Germans.

47th Division did not become fully involved in the battle until 24th May and up until that time they were used to man support and reserve trenches and to provide working and carrying parties for various tasks and as the battle progressed they sustained a number of casualties from the increase in shelling by both sides. Unfortunately the battalion diary for May, 1915 of the 8th London battalion of 140 Brigade, 47th Division is missing so the information concerning their movements is rather limited. On 16th May they moved from support trenches at Annequin to the Festubert line where Alfred Pine was killed on the 18th May.