Current Information:

Age-21

SDGW-09/11/15  

11, Helvetia Street, Catford

Born-East Ham

Cerisy-Gailly Military Cemetery, France

In August, 1915,  5th Division moved to the Somme, an area of the front line recently taken over from the French. For the rest of that year, 1st East Surrey of 14 Brigade were either in the front line trenches near Maricourt or in billets in Suzanne or Maricourt village. They were in the front line on 3rd November, 1915 in extremely wet and muddy trenches after two days of rain. The battalion diary reports six inches of liquid mud at the bottom of the trenches and collapsed parapets which blocked the fire trenches. This was a sector where there was a lot of mining activity taking place as well as the usual dangers arising from artillery and sniper fire. The Moulin de Fargny was a feature of their front line position and just as it got dark a German trench mortar bomb fell and exploded in a fire trench here, killing three men who were having tea. Later that night another man was killed by enemy shells in the South Peronne sector.