Theatre

Action/Battle/Other

Second Battle of Gaza

Place of Death

Gaza

Medals

Medal Citation (if app)

~

Enlisted Date/Place

March 1916 at Southam

Previous Regiments/Units

Previous service number 8816

Circumstances Leading to Death (Normally from War Diary)

The war diary is not available but I found an account of the whole Battle and have picked out the parts involving the 1st/4th Bn. Thank you to “The History of the Norfolk Regiment 1685 – 1918”, Volume 2, by F. Loraine Petre.

Precis "The 163rd Brigade was to attack about Khirbet-el-Bir with the 52nd Division on its left. In the front line were the 1/5th Norfolk on the right, the 1/4th Norfolk on the left, and the 8th Hants in support, with the 5th Suffolks in reserve.

The attack started at 4am after an allied bombardment but when the infantry moved forward it soon became apparent that the British artillery had done very little harm, and the attack was met by what a Captain Buxton described as “a perfect hell of artillery and machine-gun fire.” The British artillery could not give them adequate support, as they had already fired away a great part of their ammunition and, moreover, the range of 6,000 yards was excessive. Thus, with little support, the infantry had to cross some 1,700 yards of undulating country in full view of the Turks awaiting them in trenches and well-wired redoubts beyond the Gaza-Beersheba road".

The attack failed and the survivors dug in or found shelter before retiring back to their original positions at night fall.. Casualties for the 1st/4th were 55 Killed, 323 Wounded & 100 Missing.

Birth Date & Place

Baptism Date & Place

Parents

Thomas & Sarah of Birdingbury

Wife & Marriage

Children

• Dora Gladys b1902
• Ena Mary b1907

Occupation(s)

• 1891 Footman
• 1901 Carpenter
• 1911 House Painter

Schools & Colleges

Address History

• 1891 - 2 Warwick Place, Milverton
• 1901 - Marton
• 1911 - Birdingbury

Other Information

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