Alfred Watson
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
Alfred lived at 2 Robin Hood Villas, Church Street, Arnold he was born in Arnold in 1897, his mother was Catherine Watson ,the family lived at Calverton Road, Arnold and on the 1911 Census he is shown living with his grandmother Eliza Sophia who is shown as the head of the family and his mother Catherine and a brother Leonard. His occupation is that of an apprentice bricklayer and he eventually worked at Gedling Colliery.
He enlisted in November 1914 at Newark, the headquarters of the 1/8th battalion, which had a company based in Arnold. He found himself serving with the battalion in France and Flanders. On the night of September 27/28th, the battalion marched to assembly trenches about 500 yards South West of Somerville Wood, and remained there the following day. At 3 am on the 29th September the battalion moved to forming up positions in Ascension Valley for the attack which formed part of a major operation against the Hindenburg Line at Bellingliese, east of the St Quentin Canal. The operation was entirely successful, the battalion gaining all its objectives and taking 300 prisoners. Casualties to the battalion amounted to 12 men killed, wounded and missing 112. Alfred was one of those men of the battalion wounded in this attack which has gone down in history as being the most magnificent attack and achievement of the 139th Brigade, 46th Division in the whole of the war. Alfred would have been attended to by the Regimental Medical Officer at the Regimental Aid Post before being sent back to a Dressing Station and then perhaps to a Field Hospital. Sadly he did not recover from his wounds and died on the 1st October 1918. He is buried in Brie British Cemetery, France Plot III. Row E. Grave 11.
He is buried in the Brie British Cemetery, France
