25-year-old Corporal William Reginald Finley, 1st Life Guards, died of wounds on 20th May 1918 after being injured by an aerial bomb some days before. Born in Bentley Heath, Solihull in 1892, he was the only son of parents William Robert and Elizabeth (née Ravenhill) who had married in Aston in 1889. The couple also had four daughters.
18th May 1918
Gunner Ralph George Baker, 309 Siege Battery, Honourable Artillery Company, died of pneumonia on 18th May 1918 in a German Hospital as a Prisoner of War. He was born in Handsworth on 12th July 1898, and was the second of the three sons of Charles (a jeweller) and Amelia (known as Minne) (née Deakin).
15th May 1918
Acting 2nd Corporal James William Alfred Borley died of wounds on 15th May 1918 at the 17th Casualty Clearing Station, whilst serving with the Railway Operating Division of the Royal Engineers. He was 25 years old, and had been born in Hampton-in-Arden in 1892.
8th May 1918
Second Lieutenant Kenneth William Allan Duncan, aged 23, died on 8th May 1918 serving with the 10th Battalion The King’s (Liverpool Regiment), attached to the 6th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders. On the same day, Private Ernest Austin, 11th Battalion Durham Light Infantry, died of illness in a German Prisoner of War hospital.
6th May 1918
Private Joseph Albert Jeffcott, 2nd/7th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers died of wounds on 6th May 1918 at the 1st Southern General Hospital, Stourbridge. This was the infirmary at Stourbridge Union Workhouse, which was commandeered for war service in June 1915. After several name changes, it became Wordsley Hospital in the 1970s.
5th May 1918
21-year-old Captain Clement Martineau, 10th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment, died of wounds on 5th May 1918 after being badly wounded and taken prisoner on 10th April 1918.
Continue reading “5th May 1918”4th May 1918
Private Gilbert Scott Osborne died of wounds on 4th May 1918 whilst serving with the 1st Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment. Born in Handsworth in 1888, he attended Solihull School, becoming a die sinker with a silversmith on leaving.
30th April 1918
Private Alfred Stevens MM, 99th Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps, died of his wounds at Keighley War Hospital on 30th April 1918, having been invalided to the UK. Born in Shirley in 1889, Alfred became a clerk with the Britannic Assurance company.
28th April 1918
Rifleman Thomas Clifford Williams died of wounds on 28th April 1918 whilst serving with the London Regiment (Queen Victoria’s Rifles). He was 27 years old and was born in Solihull in 1890.
26th April 1918
Private Herbert Frank Crofts died of wounds on 26th April 1918 whilst serving with the 2nd Battalion Devonshire Regiment. He was 19 years old.
Solihull Life 