Current Information:

Age-34

58, Hazlewell Road, Putney

Philosophe British Cemetery, Mazingarbe, France

40th Division, including 20th Middlesex of 121 Brigade, arrived in France in May 1916 and after a period of trench instruction moved into the front line at Maroc, close to Loos, on 3rd July, 1916. The Double Crassier and The Triangle were important features here and both had been fiercely contested during the Battle of Loos in 1915. On 29th July, 1916, ‘B’ and’C’ Companies of 20th Middlesex moved into the front line here. It was often the case that the enemy ‘welcomed’ in-coming battalions with a fierce bombardment of their new positions, hoping to disrupt the relief and cause maximum damage and this was very much the case on this occasion. That morning their front line was heavily bombarded and if that was not enough, in the evening, commencing at 9.30, there was an even heavier bombardment of both the front line and the support positions held by 20th Middlesex. In places the trenches were flattened especially where the heavy trench mortars (Minenwerfers) landed and there were of course a number of casualties suffered by the battalion. One of these was Joseph Baines.