Current Information:

Born-Bethnal Green

Oosttaverne Wood Cemetery, Belgium

During the evening of 20th April, 1915, the 4th King’s Royal Rifle Corps battalion of 80 Brigade, 27th Division left their dugouts at Bellewarde, near Hooge and moved into trenches in Nonne Boschen Wood in the Ypres salient. Their time here coincided with the start of the Second Battle of Ypres when the enemy, using gas as a weapon for the first time, attacked in the northern part of the salient. This battle continued for two weeks by the end of which, the line had not been broken but had been pushed back to a tighter perimeter around Ypres. Throughout this period 4th King’s Royal Rifle Corps came under increased artillery fire and as a consequence suffered a number of casualties. One of these was James Donovan who was killed on 23rd April.