Current Information:

Born-Folkestone

Enlisted-London

Royal Irish Rifles Graveyard, Laventie, France

During the winter of 1914-1915, 8th Division held a section of the line running north from Neuve Chapelle, The battalion diary of the 2nd Middlesex battalion of 23 Brigade has little to no information about this period, such as time spent in the front line and time in reserve but we can presume that they followed the normal pattern then of 2-3 days in the front trenches followed by a period in the support trenches or in billets in reserve. The trenches in northern France were, at this time, in a terrible condition, largely due to the rain which produced the inevitable mud. We also know from the casualty records that 2nd Middlesex suffered a steady string of casualties in the opening two months of the year and no doubt it was German snipers and shell fire that were responsible for most of these, including Frank Robinson on 3rd January 1915.