Current Information:

Age-19

18, Eclipse Road, Plaistow

Born-Plaistow

Naves Communal Cemetery, France

October 1918 was a month which saw the Allies pushing the Germans back all along the Western Front and liberating towns, villages and whole areas, which had been under German occupation for four long years.  At 5.10am on 8 October, 1918, the British launched an offensive on a 20 mile front between St Quentin and Cambrai when three British Armies, backed by 82 tanks, advanced 3 miles and captured 10,000 prisoners and 150 guns. After 24 hours of fighting the Hindenburg Line was overrun in its entirety and the enemy were in full retreat.

On 8th October, 37th Division with some of the 12th Tank Battalion attached, attacked on the the Third Army front pushing eastwards from a position about six miles south of Cambrai. Zero hour was at 4.30am at which time 111 Brigade advanced behind an artillery barrage along the divisional front towards their first objective, the Beaurevoir Line. Starting at 4.30am and after some hard fighting this objective had been achieved by 6am at which time 112 Brigade passed through and resumed the offensive. The 4th Middlesex battalion of 63 Brigade were attached to 112 Brigade for this operation and after 1st Hertfordshire had captured Briseux Wood they moved forward to try to further exploit the situation. However they were met by heavy machine-gun fire from Guillemin Farm and were forced back to the wood. Among their casualties was Ernest Taylor.