Military History

George is listed as being killed in action on 3rd July 1916 during the Battle of Albert, the initial stages of The Battle of the Somme. The following description of the events of the 2nd to 6th July 1916 is taken from the book History of the Cheshire Regiment in the Great War by Colonel Arthur Crookenden published by Naval and Military Press. (Kindle Edition).

The 11th Battalion was the first in action, attacking Thiepval from the direction of Authuille, under the 32nd Division. Without going into all the details, it is sufficient to say that the 75th Brigade was sent into action under as bad conditions as the 9th Battalion on the same day. Their Brigadier had taken the utmost pains to get all arrangements as cut and dried as the short notice allowed. But late in the evening, the Corps Commander, who earlier had heard and approved the whole plan, sent for the Divisional Commander.

It took the latter an hour to go, and an hour to return with a new plan. It was not till 12-30 a.m. on the 3rd that Brigade H.Q. got it. Zero was to have been at 3 a.m., so the Brigadier protested. Corps H.Q. agreed to a three-hour postponement of infantry, but not of the artillery, attack!

The 11th Battalion, under Colonel R.L. Aspinall, struggling through heavily shelled communication trenches, packed with wounded moving out, on stretchers and walking, were hours late. They received no fresh orders, could not identify the rendezvous, objectives, nor find other troops. Practically every battery telephone wire was cut. The orders for the barrage for the new attack had to be carried by runners, who, in the darkness and congested state of the trenches, could only travel slowly. Most of the batteries did not receive their orders till half way through the preliminary bombardment for the 3 a.m. attack.

For the later attack, only half the necessary ammunition was available. It is easy to understand now why the artillery support was so poor. It need hardly be said, that the gunners were as desperate about their inability to help the infantry as the latter were at not receiving support. But without notice, without reconnaissance, without ammunition, what could the artillery do?

Matters were made worse by a terrible catastrophe at Brigade H.Q., which lost 40 of its indispensable personnel from shell fire, while new orders were actually being drafted.

However, an advance was made with little artillery support, with the calm deliberate courage which our New Armies always showed. The only reason for the attack, or indication that an attack should be made at all, was the fact that our people saw the 8th Border Regiment moving and went too. They were met by a withering fire of machine guns, under which they walked forward till the Battalion simply melted away. Colonel Aspinall was killed. Every Company Commander was a casualty. The Adjutant, Captain Hill, of the Suffolk Regiment, with great energy and bravery, got the survivors back to the starting line.

On the morning of the 4th, no organised body of men existed, “one simply ran about no-man’s land collecting men here and there.” On this day, Private Marsden and about 60 men reached the enemy front line and established themselves there. They were withdrawn after dark.

Of 20 officers and 657 men who went into the attack, few answered the roll on the 6th. Including those who had been left with the details, only 6 officers and 50 men remained.