Current Information:

Born-Lambeth

After the opening battles of the war at Mons on 23rd August, 1914 and Le Cateau on 26th August, the British Army (BEF), in conjunction with the French Army, began a retreat that took them all the way back to the River Marne, 200 miles to the south. With the Germans in hot pursuit they were forced to fight a series of rear guard actions as they fell back in extremely hot weather. The Great Retreat, as it became known, came to an end on 5th September, 1914 when the allied forces attacked along the River Marne and drove the Germans back to the River Aisne. On

1st September, 1914, the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards of 2nd Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division left their billets at Chevrières and made their way, via Bazicourt, to Pont St. Maxence. From there they continued on to Barberie and then Rully before finally going into billets at Mont L’Eveque. The unit diary makes no mention of any casualties on this day so the circumstances of the death of Edward Skates on 1st September are as yet, unknown.