War Diary - 6 Jul 1916

Leipzig Salient – 6^th – Morning: On the extreme right of the captured trench, communication was now opened via an old CT [Communication Trench] with A Company who were holding the line behind.  

C & D Companies were relieved about 5am & went back to Tobermory Street reaching there at 7.30am. Two companies of the 3^rd Worcestershire Regiment took their place in the captured trench & carried on the work of consolidation.

In this first attack [on the 5^th] the casualties were roughly as follows:
Killed: Col. W.S. Brown Capt A.H Hales
Missing: Lt Starkey
Wounded: Lt Holman; 2/Lt Holman; 2/Lt Taylor JR; 2/Lt Stockbridge; Lt Pewa?; 2/Lt Troughton

Throughout the day the enemy carried on with intermittent bombing; trench mortars & rifle grenades. Shelling was continuous the whole day but was not of the same intense nature as during the attack.

In the evening C & D Companies were again brought up into the Leipzig Salient, C Coy taking over from the line they had captured on the night of 5^th July. A Company were placed in the Quarries to relieve the other Company of 3^rd Worcestershire Regt. D Company taking the place of  A Coy in Support. The 2 Companies of the 3^rd Worcestershire Regt relieved returned to Reserve in the 2^nd line of old British Trenches.

Newspaper Report/Obituary

Stratford Herald Friday September 8th 1916

Shipston-on-Stour

ANOTHER SHIPSTON SOLIDER KILLED - Mr Charles Sturch of Watery Lane, Shipston has just received news of the death of his nephew Pte Albert Sturch (fiddler) who was killed by a bayonet charge in the fighting on the Somme on July 6th. He joined the army on the outbreak of war. He had been in the thickest of the fighting and had been previously wounded 4 times. He was once invalided home suffering from shell shock after being buried by a shell near Ypres. On that occasion he wandered about between the opposing lines for 6 days before he ran into one of our patrols and was brought in with his reason for the time completely gone.  He had only rejoined his Regiment after being discharged from hospital 2 or 3 days before he met his death.  Pte Sturch was a native of Shipston and a grandson of the late Mr Harry Sturch, a fiddler, with a very wide reputation. He was in the regimental string band during his previous service in the army.