Current Information:

Age-19

Born-Shoreham, Kent

After the opening battles of the war at Mons on 23rd August, 1914 and Le Cateau on 26th August, the British Army (BEF), in conjunction with the French Army, began a retreat that took them all the way back to the River Marne, 200 miles to the south. With the Germans in hot pursuit they were forced to fight a series of rear guard actions as they fell back in extremely hot weather. The Great Retreat, as it became known, came to an end on 5th September, 1914 when the allied forces attacked along the River Marne and drove the Germans back to the River Aisne.

5th Division, which had seen action both at Mons and Le Cateau, retreated south with the rest of the British Army and by 5th September, the 1st Royal West Kent battalion of 13 Brigade had reached Tournan, a village just to the east of Paris and south of the Marne. The next day they began their advance and by 8th September they had re-crossed the River Marne and reached Boissy-le-Chatel before moving on to Noisement. Thomas Highgate lost his life on this day, but not in battle. He was executed for desertion.