Harold Albert Arden Spring

Second Lieutenant Harold Albert Arden Spring, 10th Battalion Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), he landed in France on 21st July 1915 and was killed in action on 15th September 1916. He is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. He was formerly with the King's Royal Rifle Corps

Connection with Hucknall through his father who was a bank manager Article published 19th August 1915 in the Hucknall Dispatch :- “ANOTHER HONOUR FOR HUCKNALL. “A further honour has just been bestowed upon Hucknall in the appointment of one of its soldiers to a second-lieutenancy, namely, H. A. A. Spring, the son of Mr. W. A. Spring, the manager of the Union of London and Smiths Bank. Limited. “He enlisted first in the King's Royal Rifles, and in the course of a few days he was raised to the rank of Lance-Corporal. After a few months' training he went out to France in the middle of July, and was sent to take part in the defence of the British lines at Hooge, arriving at the time when the Germans, in football parlance, were “pressing hard” to break through to their goal (Calais). “This was no light experience for a soldier fresh into the country, but it is very satisfactory to state that young Spring came out of the ordeal without a scratch. He had some narrow escapes, nevertheless. On one occasion the sight of his rifle was taken off; on the second attempt that instrument of warfare was shot out of his hands a comrade on his left was killed; whilst on the third occasion he was buried in a dug-out. “Then he received the news that he had obtained a commission in the 12th Reserve Battalion of the Scottish Rifles (Cameronians), and was allowed to come home. He duly arrived at Hucknall last Thursday morning, and today he leaves for Roxburgh (Scotland) to take up his new appointment, accompanied with the best wishes of his many friends, who have congratulated him upon surviving such a hot baptism of fire as he encountered at Hooge.”Above article is courtesy of Jim Grundy and his facebook pages Small Town Great War Hucknall 1914-1918