S/4667 Pte Edward Johnstone Calvert, 10th Bn, Gordon Highlanders

S/4667 Pte Edward Johnstone Calvert of 10th Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, died on the 1st March 1916. He was 21 years old, the son of Maud Calvert, of 3 Grosvenor Street, Edinburgh.

Edward was born in Langholm, Dimfriesshire and enlisted there too. He is buried in Lillers Communal Cemetery in France.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

41884 Sgt James Goudie, RE

41884 Sergeant James Goudie of the Royal Engineers died of wounds on the 28th February 1918; he was 29 years old. Soldiers Died in The Greta War records that he was serving with :No 2 Army Tramway Company" whilst The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records this as "2nd Army Tramway Company".

James Goudie was the son of James and Margaret Jane Goudie, of Scotland, and the husband of Mary Carr Goudie of 311 Main Street, Bonhill, Dumbartonshire. He is buried in Tilloy British Cemetery Tilloy-Les-Mofflaines in France.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

11098 Pte Henry Hill, 1st Bn, South Staffs Regt

11098 Private Henry Hill of the 1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment, died of wounds on the 27th February 1915. He is buried in Sailly-sur-la-Lys churchyard in France; this from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission:

"Sailly Church was burnt during the open fighting of October 1914, when French cavalry and British and German infantry fought on the Lys, but from the winter of 1914-1915 to the spring of 1918 the village was comparatively untouched. It was captured by the Germans on 9 April 1918, and it remained in their hands until the beginning of September. The churchyard was used by our forces from November 1914 to April 1915, and again in April 1918. It was then used by the Germans, and three memorials in the nearby Anzac Cemetery record the names of Commonwealth soldiers buried at that time whose graves could not be found when the German burials were removed. The churchyard now contains 48 Commonwealth burials of the First World War and one from the Second World War. The Commonwealth section was designed by A J S Hutton."

Henry's number indicates that he joined the South Staffordshire Regiment after war was declared, and he arrived in France on the 17th December 1914.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

8/4864 Pte Ernest Albert Jasper, 13th Bn, Hampshire Regt

Another day, another staggering death toll; 317 British Army officers and men died on the 26th February 1917 and 8/4864 Private Ernest Albert Jasper of the 13th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment was one of the day's fatalities. He wasn't killed in action but died in the UK, probably as a result of sickness.

Soldiers Died in The Great War records that Ernest Jasper was born in Lezant, Cornwall and was still living there when he enlisted. His place of enlistment was Launceston. Soldiers Died records his regiment as the Hampshire regiment although the Commonwealth War Graves Commission notes that he was serving with the 34th Training Reserve Battalion. It also gives the additional information that he was 24 years old, the son of of "J and Mary M Jasper of Trecarrell Mill, Lezant, Launceston."

Ernest Jasper is buried in Coad's Green Wesleyan Chapel in Cornwall.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

12741 Pte Alfred Edward Cornish, 2nd Bn, Royal Berkshire Regt

12741 Private Alfred Edward Cornish of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, died on the 25th February 1918. He was killed in action in the Ypres salient.

Alfred was the son of Mrs Catherine Cornish of 28 Girdlestone Road, Highgate in London. He was 20 years old when he died an, having no known grave, is commemorated on the Tyne Cot War Memorial. His medal index card indicates that he was overseas as early as 25th July 1915 whilst his number indicates that he joined the Royal Berks in September 1914.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

203095 Pte John Voller, 1/4th Hants Regt

354 British Army officers and men died in this single day in 1917. That's enough men to populate all the teams in the English Premier League - on one day.

203095 Private John Voller of the 1/4th Hampshire Regiment was killed in action on the 24th February 1917. He was born in Shottermill, Surrey, was living at Grayshott, Hants and enlisted at Petersfield, also in Hampshire.

John Voller died during operations in Mesopotamia. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Basra Memorial in Iraq.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

14917 Pte George Isaacs, Royal Dublin Fusiliers

14917 Private George Isaacs of the 7th Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers died - probably as a result of illness - on the 23rd February 1915.

George Isaacs was born in Hackney and living in Hoxton when he enlisted at (according to Soldiers Died in The Great War) Hackney Barracks. Before joining the RDF he served with the Wiltshire Regiment, his number - 13050 - indicating that he joined that regiment in September 1914. His RDF number dates to around the same time and it seems likely that he transferred almost immediately.

George died before he had a chance to travel overseas. He is buried in Grangegorman Military Cemetery in Dublin, one of 613 burials from WW1.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

11690 Pte Edwin Hemingway, 9th Bn, West Riding Regt

11690 Private Edwin Hemingway of the 9th Battalion, West Riding Regiment, was killed in action on the 22nd February 1916.

Edwin was born at Leeds and enlisted at Bradford. He is possibly the same man whose birth was recorded in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1887 and who appears on the 1901 census as a 13-year-old weaver living with his widowed mother at Talbot Street, Batley. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission incorrectly records his number as 1690 although his medal index card (recording his name as Hemmingway) and Soldiers Died in The Great War, show it correctly.

Edwin joined the West Riding Regiment in September 1914 and he arrived in France on the 15th July 1915. He is buried in Dickebusch New Military Cemetery in Belgium.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

1409562 Gnr Trevor Holliday, RFA

1409562 Gunner Trevor John Holliday of D Battery, 261st Bde, Royal Field Artillery, was killed in action on the 21st February 1918. He is buried in Roclincourt Military Cemetery.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

B/203684 Rfm William C D Scurr, 7th Bn, Rifle Brigade

B/203684 Rifleman William Scurr of the 7th Battalion, Rifle Brigade, died in England on the 20th February 1917. He was born in Mile End, London and enlisted at Poplar. He had previously served with the King's Royal Rifle Corps.

William Scurr is buried in the City of London and Tower Hamlets Cemetery.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

1667 Sgt Robert Fellows, 1/5th Bn, Durham Light Infantry

1667 Sergeant Robert Fellows of the 1/5th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, died of wounds on the 19th February 1916.

Robert Fellows was born at Darlington and enlisted at Castle Eden. Soldiers Died in The Great War and The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) give his place of residence as Trimdon Colliery, Durham. Sergeant Fellows was, according to CWGC, 46 years old when he died, although this age is at odds with information recorded on his service record and the 1901 census. He was probably closer to 40 years old and it seems possible that 40 was mis-transcribed as 46 by an over-worked clerk at the Imperial War Graves Commission. CWGC also records that Robert was the son of Benjamin and Isabella Fellows, and the husband of Mary Jane Fellows, of Coffee Pot Street, Trimdon Colliery, County Durham.

Robert had married Mary Jane Wood at Darlington in the December quarter of 1898 and the couple appear on the 1901 census living "Behind the pit" at Trimdon. Robert is recorded as a 24-year-old colliery foreman and his wife's age is noted as 22. She was born at Wheatley Hill, another mining village in County Durham. Completing the family in 1901 was the couple's two month old son, William Alfred. Other children would follow.

The 5th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry was headquartered at Stockton-on-Tees and appears to have had something of a recruitment drive in 1912 which was when Robert Fellows joined the battalion. His number dates to the 8th of June that year.

From surviving service papers in the WO 363 series held at the National Archives we can see that at the time of his attestation, Robert Fellows stated that he was 34 years old and working as a miner for the Trimdon Grange Coal Company. He was five feet, six and a half inches tall and had good physical development (as one might expect of a miner). It is also noted that he had previously served with the battalion for two years before being discharged at the end of his period of engagement. Papers from this enlistment also survive and record that he first joined the 5th DLI on the 22nd May 1908. At that time, still working at the colliery, Robert's age was recorded as 33 years and five months and he had been serving as a Volunteer with the 1st Volunteer Battlion, Durham Light Infantry since the 26th May 1906.

With the demise of the Volunteer Force and the birth of the Territorials, many serving Volunteers re-enlisted with their newly formed local unit and Robert Fellows duly signed on for one year initially, and then a second year. He was certainly present at the battalion's annual camps at Scarborough in 1908 and Richmond in 1909.

Having enlisted for a second time, Robert was appointed lance-corporal in October 1912 and then promoted to corporal in April 1913. He was still a corporal when Britain went to war in August 1914 but was appointed acting sergeant the following month.

On the formation of a second-line battalion in September 1914, the 5th DLI became the 1/5th DLI and the new battalion, the 2/5th. Robert Fellows remained in England with the 1/5th until April 1915 when he was posted to the 2/5th DLI. He was posted back to the 1/5th DLI on the 26th June 1915 and then sailed for France the following day. On arrival in France his rank is noted as Sub Sergeant.

In July 1915, Sergeant Fellows was hospitalised at Bailleul with an ear infection and, having seen an ear specialist, did not return to his battalion until the 24th September 1915 (the day before the opening of the Battle of Loos).

Robert Fellows received a combination of shrapnel and gunshot wounds to his feet and legs on the 15th February 1916. He was taken to Number 17 Casualty Clearing Station the same day and died there of his wounds four days later. That was 94 years ago today.

Robert Fellows is buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Belgium. As well as a widow, he also left five sons and a daughter who, along with their mother, were awarded a weekly pension of 30 shillings from 11th September 1916. Robert had also written a will, leaving everything to his wife and children. In due course, Mary Jane would also be sent her husband's medals and the memorial plaque and scroll.

Robert and Mary's children were, in age order, William Alfred Fellows (born around February 1901), Emma Jane Fellows (birth registered in the December quarter of 1902), Robert Anthony Fellows (birth registered in the March quarter of 1905), (Ernest Fellows), birth registered in the December quarter of 1908), Harry Fellows, (birth registered in the December quarter of 1910), and Harold Fellows (birth registered in the December quarter of 1913). The children must have sorely missed their father.

Photo of war memorial in The Trimdons courtesy of Hett65, Great War Forum.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (BMD, 1901 census, MIC, WO 363)
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

7729 Cpl Percy Chambers, 1st Bn, Suffolk Regt

7729 Corporal Percy Chambers of the 1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, was killed in action on the 18th February 1915.

Percy was born at Cavendish in Suffolk, and he enlisted at Bury-St-Edmunds in 1909. He is buried in La Brique Military Cemetery No 2.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

200947 Pte Walter Goff, 1st Bn, Sherwood Foresters

200947 Pte Walter Goff of the 1st Battalion, Sherwood Foresters, was killed in action on the 17th February 1918. Walter's number belongs to the series which was allocated to the 5th Battalion, and his medal index card also shows his original number - 3284.

Walter enlisted at Long Eaton, Derbyshire and he was the husband of Edith Alice Goff, of 19 St James Terrace, College Street, Long Eaton. He was 28 years old when he died. He is buried in Poelcapelle British Cemetery in Belgium.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

14423 Pte Job Salter, 5th Bn, South Wales Borderers

Four days ago, on the 12th February, I wrote that 281 British Army officers and men had died on that day in 1917. Four days later and 286 men soldiers died on the 16th February 1917. Such losses would be inconceivable today and yet during the First World War years such figures, if not always the norm, were certainly not out of the ordinary.

14423 Private Job Salter of the 5th Battalion, South Wales Borderers, was one of those 286 men to lose his life. He volunteered for his King and Country in September 1914, and two and a half years later he was killed in action.

Job Salter, who had been overseas since 17th July 1915, was a native of Cardiff and enlisted at Newport in Monmouthshire. He is probably the same man whose birth was registered in the September quarter of 1878. He is buried in Courcelles-Au-Bois Communal Cemetery Extension.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

L/12280 Pte Albert Wiggins, 3rd Bn, Middx Regt

L/12280 Private Albert Wiggins of the 3rd Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, was killed in action on the 15th February 1915. He was one of 216 British Army soldiers to die on this date and one of 63 Middlesex Regiment men.

Albert was born in Willesden and joined the army at Mill Hill on the 7th September 1908. He was 20 years and one month old and was working as a carman. His surviving attestation papers show that he initially joined the Royal Irish Regiment and then transferred to The Middlesex Regiment on the 23rd September. Albert was five feet, four inches tall, had a fresh complexion, brown eyes and light brown hair.

Initially attached to the 6th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, Albert was posted to the 4th Battalion on the 28th September 1908 and then to the 3rd Battalion on the 1st October 1909. The same day he sailed for Singapore and would remain there until December 1910 when he moved west into India. He left for India on the 19th December 1910 and would remain there until the 18th November 1914 when he sailed for the UK. He was in England for a few months until he sailed again, this time for France, arriving there on the 18th January 1915.

Albert's papers record his next of kin as his parents: Henry and Lydia Wiggins of 5 Junction Terrace, Harlesden. It is also noted that he had three older brothers: Ernest, Charles and William; and two younger brothers: John and Henry.

A note on Albert's file states that he was killed in action between the 12th and 15th February 1915, but that his presumed date of death was the 15th. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Menin Gate at Ypres.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

2189 Pte John Sproul, 4th Bn, Yorkshire Regt

Three hundred and sixty five British Army officers and men died on this single day - Valentine's Day - in 1916. 2189 Private John Sproul of the 4th Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment was killed in action on the 14th February.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission notes that he was serving with Y Company at the time of his death and that he was 20 years old and the son of Alexander and Helen Sproul, of 36, Aire Street, South Bank, Yorkshire. He was a native of Leith, Scotland and is buried in the Railway Dug-outs Burial Ground 2kms south east of Ypres town centre.

John Sproul's number dates to September 1914 and he enlisted at Stokesley. He first arrived overseas on the 18th April 1915.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

32555 Pte Henry Frank Allworthy, 7th Bn, East Surrey Regt

32555 Private Henry Frank Allworthy of the 7th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment was one of 65 British Army officers and men to die on the 13th February 1918. He was from Leyton in London and he died of wounds in the UK. He is buried in Chingford Mount Cemetery.

Soldiers Died in The Great War spells his name Alworthey but this is incorrect. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission notes that he was 21 years old and the son of Henry Alfred and Edith Allworthy of 552 Lea Bridge Road, Leyton.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

G/23860 Pte John Thoms Jury, 1st Bn, Royal West Kent Regt

Two hundred and eighty one officers and men of the British Army died on this day in 1917, and Private John Jury of the 1st Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment was one of these casualties. He died of wounds on the 12th February 1917.

John Jury was 24 years old and the son of Walter and Jane Jury, of 91, Cannon Heath, Wateringbury, Maidstone. He was born in West Malling, Kent and was living there when he enlisted. His number appears to date to around November 1916 which in turn suggests that he would not have had a great deal of training before being sent overseas.

John Jury died in hospital and is buried in the Longuenesse (St Omer) Souvenir Cemetery.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

9729 Pte Joseph Richard Fisher, 1st Bn, South Staffordshire Regt

9729 Private Joseph Richard Fisher of the 1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment, was killed in action on the 11th February 1915. He was born in Walsall and enlisted there in August 1914. He arrived in France on the 19th January 1915 and so had been overseas for less than a month when he was killed. He is buried in the Rue-David Military Cemetery at Fleurbaix.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

19302 Pte Harry Magee, 9th Bn, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

19302 Private Harry Magee of the 9th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, was killed in action on the 10th February 1916. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records his name as Henry Magee and notes that he was 26 years old; the son of James Magee of Strabane, and the husband of Maggie Murdock (formerly Magee), of Backfence, Strabane, County Tyrone.

Harry - or Henry - was born in Camus, County Tyrone, and enlisted at Strabane in January 1915. He arrived in France on the 5th October that year. He is buried in Sucrerie Military Cemetery at Colincamps.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC, Ireland's Casualties of World War 1 1914-1918)
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

56814 Gnr Peter Rankin, RGA

56814 Gunner Peter Rankin of the Royal Garrison Artillery, died of dysentery on the 9th February 1917.

Peter Rankin was a Glaswegian; 32 years old and living with his mother at 636 Duke Street, Glasgow when he volunteered at Leith on the 19th December 1914. He was also a time-expired regular soldier having served eight years with the Royal Engineers and four years on the reserve.

Gunner Rankin arrived overseas in France on the 12th October 1915 and later sailed for East Africa. At the time of his death in what is now Tanzania, Peter Rankin was attached to the 7th Battery, East African Details. He is buried in Morogoro Cemetery.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC, WO 363)
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

G/89536 Pte Walter Tupling, 20th Bn, Middlesex Regt

G/89536 Private Walter Tupling of the 20th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, was killed in action on the 8th February 1918. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records his name as W Tupling and gives his date of death (incorrectly) as the 6th February 1918. It adds the additional information that he was the son of Mr F Tupling of 48 Westwood Street, Peterborough.

Soldiers Died... notes that Walter, a driller by trade, was born in Peterborough and enlisted at Northampton although he was living at Peterborough at the time. He was called up on the 26th February 1917 aged 18 years and three months. Initially posted to the 28th Training Reserve Battalion and then the 30th TRB, he joined the 5th (Reserve Battalion) Middlesex Regiment on the 13th December 1917 and was subsequently posted to the 20th Battalion on the 18th January 1918. He embarked for France the same day and joined his battalion in the Field, two days later. According to surviving service papers in WO 363 he was killed in action on the 8th February and not the 6th as stated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Walter Tupling is buried in Mory Abbey Military Cemetery in Mory, France.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (WO 363)
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

PS/6054 Pte Charles Hornung, 18th Bn, Royal Fusiliers

PS/6054 Private Charles Peter Hornung of the 18th (Service) Battalion (1st Public School's) Royal Fusiliers, was killed in action on the 7th February 1916. He was born in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire but was living in Norwood, south east London, when he enlisted.

Peter Hornung's number dates to January 1915 and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission notes that he was 18 years old at the time of his death and serving with C Company. He was the son of Charles and Edith A Hornung, of Oaklands, Horley in Surrey. He is buried in Cambrin Churchyard Extension.

Private Hornung's medals were originally issued in the name of HOMMING and were returned by his father for amendment.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

11563 Pte Leonard Lee, 3rd Bn, Coldstream Guards

11563 Private Leonard Lee of the 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, was killed in action on the 6th February 1915. He was 21 years old, the son of Mrs Edith E Taylor of 71 Murray Road in Ecclesall, Sheffield.

Leonard Lee's number dates to early September 1914 and he had been in France for just two weeks when he was killed. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial in France.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

G/9311 Pte Walter Alfred Cheeseman, 3rd Bn, Royal West Kent Regt

G/9311 Private Walter Alfred Cheeseman of the 3rd Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment, died in England before he had a chance to fight overseas. His number indicates that he joined the Royal West Kents in late August or early September 1915, and he died on the 5th February 1916, probably as a result of sickness.

Walter was the son of Walter and Elizabeth Cheeseman of Sevenoaks in Kent, and he is buried in the churchyard of St Peter's and St Paul's church in Shoreham. He was probably around twenty years old at the time of his death, as he appears on the 1901 census as a four-year-old child living with his parents at London Road, Farningham, Kent.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC, WO363)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

27359 Pte Bert Harrison Blades, 1st Bn, King's Own

27359 Private Bert Harrison Blades of the 1st Battalion, King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment), was killed in action on the 4th February 1917.

Bert had originally joined the 5th Lincolnshire Regiment as an eighteen-year-old, on the 30th May 1911. At the time, it was noted that he was born in Horncastle and was working as a labourer. He was still serving as a Territorial when Britain went to war in August 1914, but for whatever reason, was not with the battalion when it arrived overseas in March 1915. Surviving papers in his service record note that he was in England until the 3rd September 1916 when he was posted to the 2/5th Battalion. He set in France as - according to his service record - 2/5th man, but must have been part of a draft for the 1/5th Battalion as the 2/5th was still in Ireland and would not set foot in France until February 1917.

Whilst in France, Bert was transferred to the 2/4th King's Own (20th September 1916) and then immediately posted to the regular 1st Battalion on the same day. He was serving with the 1st Battalion when he was killed in action on the Somme.

Bert Blades has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

2nd Lt Francis Claude Uzzell, 2/5th Bn, Royal Warwickshire Regt

Second Lieutenant Francis Claude Uzzell of the 2/5th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, died of wounds on the 3rd February 1918. He was 21 years old, the son of George and Elizabeth Uzzell, of "Muilla," London Road, Cheltenham.

Francis had previously served as a private with the Middlesex Regiment before being commissioned in the Royal Warwickshires. His number suggest that he originally joined up in the autumn of 1916. He is buried in Ham British Cemetery in Muille Villette, France.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

5046 L/Sgt Harold Edward Pitt, 2nd Bn, Coldstream Guards

5046 Lance-Sergeant Harold Edward Pitt of the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, died of wounds on the 2nd February 1915. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission gives the additional information that he was the "son of Francis John Pitt and Lilian Mary Ann Pitt (nee Turner), and the husband of Ellice Bertha Pitt of 131 Oldknow Road, Small Heath, Birmingham. Born in Erdington, Warwickshire."

Harold - or Hal as he was known to his family - was a regular soldier who had been in France and Belgium since the 12th August 1914. His Coldstream Guards number dates to around March 1903 and when war was declared he was a reservist and serving as a police constable in the Birmingham City Police. Hal was severely wounded on the 1st February 1915 when throwing grenades out of his trench at Cuinchy and it was one of these which exploded, mortally wounding him. He was Mentioned In Dispatches on the 18th June 1915 in The London Gazette.

Harold Pitt is buried in Lillers Communal Cemetery in France and is remembered with affection and admiration by his family (see comments).

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

11947 Pte Foster Guthrie, 10th Bn, DLI

11947 Private Foster Guthrie of the 10th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, was killed in action on the 1st February 1916. His partial service record survives as a burnt document at the National Archive, and the following information is taken from this.

He was born in the parish of St Mary's in Gateshead and at the time of his enlistment at Newcastle on the 14th August 1914, he was 26 years and two months old, five feet five and a half inches tall, and working as a moulder. He came from a large family and in 1919, according to Army Form W.5080, had his parents, one brother and five sisters still living.

Foster's death in action was confirmed by the officer commanding the 10th DLI, and he was buried at Essex Farm Cemetery by the Yser Canal, the Reverend Telford of the 4rd Light Infantry Brigade, officiating

After the war, Foster's medals, his memorial scroll and plaque, were sent to his father, Mr Walter Guthrie, at 334 Sunderland Road, Gateshead

I also remember today, my grandfather, Walter Leonard Nixon, a Great War veteran who served with the Royal Garrison Artillery between 1916 and 1918 and who was born on this day in 1893.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC, WO363)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War