Current Information:

Age-25

85, Roseberry Gardens, Harringay

Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, France

The exact circumstances of the death of Joseph Downes, who died from wounds on 26th October, 1914, after having been sent back to a base hospital on the coast, are not known but artillery men faced many dangers and during the course of the war nearly 50,000 of them were killed. Their gun batteries were targeted by the enemy’s guns which accounted for many of their casualties. Others were sent forward to act as ‘spotters’ which meant going forward to the front line and signalling back to the guns necessary changes in target and other vital information. Keeping the batteries supplied with ammunition was a dangerous task as the enemy guns would target the known supply routes, especially at night. Brigade Diaries rarely shine any light on casualties sustained, unless of course they were officers and even then information is sparse.

During the First World War some 800,000 British and Allied men served in the artillery, of whom nearly 50,00 were killed. They were a vital component of the army, used for a number of purposes but essentially to destroy the enemy’s defences before the infantry attacked. The Royal Horse Artillery were attached to the cavalry; one battery to each brigade of cavalry. As the name suggests they used horses to quickly pull their light and mobile 13-pounder field guns to where they were required but as the war progressed and it became less and less a war of movement  the role of the Royal Horse Artillery diminished accordingly and they had a more static role.

In October, 1914, E Battery of the Royal Horse Artillery was part of the 5th Cavalry Brigade of 2nd Cavalry Division and had been in action since the start of the war, most recently during First Ypres.