John Alphonso Carrol

John Carrol rose to the rank of sergeant, thought he fought under the false name of Carnell. He was a professional soldier, stationed at Aldershot. He sailed from Southampton and embarked with his battalion, 2nd Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment, for France on 12/08/1914. They fought on the Aisne and in the Ypres salient until November 1914 when trench warfare set in. Carrol (Carnell) transferred to the 8th Battalion and was involved in the attack on the Quadrangle Support Trench during the Battle of the Somme on 10/07/1916. The battalion managed to occupy part of the trench and its garrison was captured but the men were unsupported on their flanks and therefore forced to fall back having sustained 219 casualties. One of those was John Carrol who was killed in action.

His body was never recovered but his name was commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.