Current Information:

Age-22

107, Victoria Road, Muswell Hill

Brown's Road Military Cemetery, Festubert, France

The Battle of Festubert (16–25 May 1915)

This followed quickly on the heels of  the Battle of Aubers Ridge and was an offensive operation by the British Army in the Artois region of France in conjunction with a French attack further south.  Initial success soon ground to a halt and although there had been an advance of two miles in some places the end result was not the hoped for breakout but merely more muddy trenches which became the new front line. British casualties over the ten days amounted to nearly 17,000, three times as many as inflicted on the Germans.

The 6th London battalion arrived in France in March 1915 as part of 4 Brigade, 2nd London Division, soon to be renamed 140 Brigade, 47th Division. On 19th April they went into the trenches for the first time at Givenchy and on 4th May they took over the line facing Festubert. They were out of the line when the Battle of Festubert began on 15th May, 1915 but on the next day they moved up to a line of support trenches where they remained for four days providing working parties, mainly building breastworks near the shell swept Willow Road to form a defensive flank. They suffered many casualties here doing this dangerous work, including Edwin Croager who was killed on 18th May and it was almost a sense of relief when they moved into the front line on 20th May.