Current Information:

Age-27

130, Albany Street, Regents Park

Queens Cemetery, Bucquoy, France

The Battle of Albert was a continuation of the Battle of Amiens that had been fought earlier in the month and which had been the start of the Hundred Days Offensive that culminated in the collapse of the German army and the end of the war. On the first day, 21st August, the British Third Army attacked along a front that stretched over ten miles northwards from the town of Albert as far as Moyenneville and made significant advances everywhere. The following day the British Fourth Army came into action when they attacked the ridge of high ground that lay between the Somme and Ancre river valleys, stretching north from Bray to the town of Albert.

At 4.45am on 21st August, IV Corps attacked east and south-east of Bucquoy with three divisions, the 37th, NZ and 42nd, in line. Once the first objective, the high ground east of Ablainzeville and Bucquoy, had been gained,  63rd and 5th Divisions passed through to continue the attack. Their objectives were first the Arras to Albert railway line and then a line just east of Bihucourt and Irles. 95 Brigade of 5th Division had  1st East Surrey and 1st Cornwall Light Infantry in front and although they made good initial progress they were then held up by machine-gun fire on an intermediate line halfway to the railway. The 12th Gloucestershire battalion was sent up from reserve  and along with some of 1st East Surrey they managed a further advance that took them across the railway and on to the high ground beyond. But their position here was not tenable and in the face of fierce machine-gun fire only a few of them made it back to the intermediate line where they consolidated their position.

On 23rd August the attack was resumed when 5th Division had as their objective a line running from Irles to Bihucourt. 95 Brigade sent forward 12th Gloucestershire and 1st East Surrey to achieve this and although 12th Gloucestershire met stiff opposition and were held up, 1st East Surrey managed, after some heavy fighting, to overcome some determined pockets of resistance and had reached their objective before midday. There had however been a price to pay in terms of casualties which numbered nearly one hundred of the battalion’s strength. One of these was Edmund Babington who was killed in action.