Current Information:

Age-25

77, St Margaret's Road, Barking

When the war broke out in August, 1914 the 2nd Leicestershire battalion was in India as part of the 20th (Garhwal) Infantry Brigade, 7th (Meerut) Division of the Indian Army which was straight away despatched to Europe. The division landed at Marseilles on 12th October and began to move north to the trenches. They reached Lillers on 28th October and on the next day 2nd Leicestershire marched to Calonne where they relieved the 3rd Worcestershire battalion in the front line trenches there, their first experience of the Western Front.

On 17th December, 1914, they moved into the Rue de Berceaux trenches near Richbourg-l’Avoue. On 19th December, 2nd Leicestershire took part in an operation to capture some enemy trenches opposite. Starting at 3.30am they moved forward and despite machine-gun fire and uncut wire they managed to get into the German lines. This trench was empty of any of the enemy so the advance continued to the second line. Once again they faced machine-gun fire as well as their own artillery’s shells now falling on this second line so the leading company returned to the first captured German trench. A bombing party then set off along this trench which led to the main enemy positions but they met stiff opposition and were all put out of action. Barricades were quickly erected but pressure from the enemy increased and eventually the captured trench was relinquished and the survivors of the attack returned to their own lines. One of the casualties for 2nd Leicestershire was Henry Wyatt who died from wounds on 23rd December by which time the battalion were in billets in Richebourg-St Vaast.