Current Information:

Enlisted-Stamford Brook

Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery, Iraq

Rupert Sedgwick died from unspecified causes on 8th October, while serving with the 2/10th Middlesex battalion of 160 Brigade, 53rd Division in Mesopotamia.  It is not known if he died from wounds or from illness, both of which took their toll of the men on  active service. 

However the biggest danger facing the troops in Mesopotamia was disease. Sickness was rife, brought about by temperatures of nearly 50⁰ Centigrade, poor sanitation and regular flooding all of which encouraged flies, mosquitoes and rats. Clean water was always a big problem in the desert and consequently water-borne diseases such as typhoid and cholera claimed many victims. The problem was exacerbated by shockingly poor medical arrangements with sick men taking up to two weeks to get to a hospital.