22114 Pte George Slattery, 10th Bn, Cheshire Regt

22114 Pte George Slattery of the 10th Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment, was killed in action on the 1st June 1916. He is buried in Ecoivres Military Cemetery at Mont St Eloi.

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

Sources:

Ancestry (MIC)
Soldiers Died in The Great War
Army Service Numbers
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

9010 Rfm James Dolan, 2nd Bn, Royal Irish Rifles

9010 Rifleman James Dolan of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, was killed in action on the 20th May 1916. He was born in Shankhill, County Antrim, and enlisted in Belfast.

James arrived overseas on the 14th October 1914 and it seems likely therefore, that he was a regular soldier, his number dating to April or May 1908. He could also, conceivably, have been a Special Reservist with the 3rd Battalion - the number dating to August 1914.

James Dolan is buried in Ecoivres Military Cemetery at Mont St Eloi, France.

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

Sources:

Ancestry (MIC)
Soldiers Died in The Great War
Army Service Numbers
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

9827 Pte William Critchley, 11th Bn, Lancashire Fusiliers

9827 Private William Critchley of the 11th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, was killed in action on the 6th May 1916. He was born in St Helens and enlisted at Warrington in November 1914. He was the son of James and Mary Ellen Critchley of St. Helens, and he is buried in Ecoivres Military Cemetery in St Eloi.

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

Sources:

Ancestry (MIC, WO 363)
Soldiers Died in The Great War
Army Service Numbers
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

3/9695 Pte Percy Dudman, 2nd Bn, Wiltshire Regt

Day two of the Battle of Neuve Chapelle and another 537 British Army deaths (according to Soldiers Died in The Great War). 3/9695 Private Percy Dudman of B Company, the 2nd Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment, was killed in action on the 11th March 1915. He was born in Tollard Royal, Wiltshire and enlisted at Salisbury.

Percy's number indicates that he originally joined the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion in January 1912. When Britain went to war he presumably transferred to the 2nd Battalion fairly soon afterwards but retained his 3rd Battalion number. His service record does not survive, but his medal index card indicates that he arrived overseas on the 20th October 1914.

Percy came from a large family. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission notes that he was 21 years old, the son of Thomas and Emily Dudman of Hill Side, Pitton, Salisbury. In 1901, Percy appears as an eight-year-old living at Hindon, Wiltshire with his parents and siblings. Thomas Dudman, the head of the family is recorded as a 37-year-old police constable, and Emily was also the same age. The couple had eight children: Albert Dudman (aged 15), Thomas Dudman (aged 14), Daisy M Dudman (aged 12), George Dudman (aged ten), Percy, Walter F Dudman (aged six), Herbert Dudman (aged five), and Harold Dudman (aged two).

There is a birth registered in the June quarter of 1893 for a Percy Charles Dudman and this is probably almost certainly him.

Percy has no known grave and is commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial. His younger brother Walter, also a Wiltshire Regiment regular soldier, was killed in action on the 4th May 1916. He is buried in Ecoivres Military Cemetery, Mont St Eloi.

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

Sources:

Ancestry (MIC)
Soldiers Died in The Great War
Army Service Numbers
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission