Albert Fearn
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Albert Fearn was born in 1885 he was the son of John Francis a locomotive driver and Emma Fearn née Bradley of Balfour Street, Kirkby John Francis was born in 1863 at Ripley, Emma Bradley was born in 1861 at Swanwick, they were married C1880 and went on to have 16 children, sadly 8 died in infancy or early childhood. In 1911 his parents and siblings are living at Balfour Streeet, Kirkby with 4 of their children, John Francis is 48 yrs and a locomotive driver, he is living with his wife Emma 50 yrs . Albert married Annie Balderson in 1904 their marriage was recorded in the Basford registration district, they had 3 children, Alice Hilda born 17th May 1905, Doris born 24th September 1906 and Francis William born 19th January 1912. In 1911 the family were living at Wales near Sheffield, Albert 26 yrs is a coal miner fitter, he is living with his wife Annie 29 yrs and their children, Hilda 6 yrs and Doris 5 yrs. Commencing 29th January 1917 his widow was awarded a pension of 23 shillings a week. CWGC states husband of Annie Saxelby (formerly Fearn), of 14, George St., Waterloo, Sydney, Australia.
He enlisted at Kiveton Park Yorkshire and was killed on the first day of the Somme. Battalions attacking Ovillers on 1st July 1916 had to cross 'Mash Valley' one of the widest expanses of No Man's Land (750 yards) along the entire Somme front. Today, looking from Ovillers Cemetery (German front line) towards distant houses (British front line) across open fields offering little cover, the magnitude of their task is still evident. 11th Battalion Sherwood Foresters' War Diary recorded: 'Casualties along the whole line were very heavy and a general attempt was made to crawl forward under intense machine gun and shrapnel fire, any available cover being made use of.... Lt Colonel Watson, walking diagonally across the front collecting men as he went gave fresh impetus to the advance by his personal example... A third attempt, led by Captain C E Hudson*, to reach the German trenches by the sunken road on the right flank was made but... was brought to a standstill by heavy frontal and flank fire as they came over the brow of the hill in the last 80 yards. The casualties sustained by the battalion during the day amounted to 21 officers and 508 men. The strength of the battalion on entering the trenches on 26th June was 27 officers and 710 men.' 11th Bn Sherwood Foresters War Diary TNA WO95/21871(3). 125 men from 11th Battalion Sherwood Foresters were killed during the attack on Ovillers (CWGC Debt of Honour Register). *John Cotterill adds 'The man who brought the 11th Foresters out of action on 1 July and, one of the 6 unwounded officers, was Capt Edward Hudson who would go on to get a VC as CO of 11th Foresters on Asiago Plateau in Italy in 1918'. 2nd Battalion Middlesex Regiment suffered 264 fatalities during the same advance. Concerns of their CO Lieutenant Colonel Edward Thomas Falkiner Sandys DSO, a brave and well respected officer, that his battalion would be badly mauled crossing such an expanse of open ground with uncut wire an added hazard, did not impress his superiors. Sandys was wounded during the attack and evacuated to the UK. Depressed at the fate of so many men who had trusted him, Sandys shot himself in a London hotel room and died a few days later. 8th Division's Official History records a total of 5,121 casualties on 1st July 1916. Military Research by David Nunn
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