Current Information:

Age-27

51, Strathleven Road, Brixton

First Battle of Ypres

Between 21st October and 22nd November, 1914 a desperate fight took place around the Belgium city of Ypres, the first of three major battles that were to be fought there during the course of the war. British troops entered Ypres in October. The 1st and 2nd Divisions plus the 3rd Cavalry Division had made their way up from the Aisne as part of the “Race to the Sea”, whilst the 7th Division came west to Ypres after Antwerp had fallen. The Germans knew that Ypres was the gateway to the Channel ports and that these were vital to Britain’s war effort so they poured reinforcements into the area. The fighting fell into three distinct battles; the Battle of Langemarck, 21-24 October, the Battle of Gheluvelt, 29-31 October and the Battle of Nonne Bosschen, 11 November. Ypres did not fall to the Germans but its defence during these two months resulted in the destruction of much of the old regular British Army.

By the middle of October, 7th Division were in the Ypres area and preparing to advance on Menin from Zonnebeke. When 22 Brigade moved forward on 18th October, the 2nd Royal Warwickshire battalion first moved to a wood near Veldhoek and then on to billets. The battalion diary recorded that at 5am on the following day, 19th October, the battalion marched towards Menin and attacked the enemy at Dadizeele but a German division coming up from Roulers forced them back to Zonnebeke where they dug in. At daybreak on 21st October the enemy attacked these new trenches, first with high-explosive shells and then with their infantry and at 1am 2nd Warwickshire were forced back to the railway crossing south-west of Zonnebeke where they took up a new trench line. Arthur Head was one of the many casualties suffered by the battalion during the fighting.