Alfred and James Merrick
2 brothers who went to war
but did not come home

Researched and written by Gill Willner and Chris Graddon

Alfred Merrick
21 November 1893 – 13 October 1915

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The Merrick family can trace their family history back many generations.

James Merrick senior was born in 1870 at Austrey in North Warwickshire, mid-way between Tamworth in Staffordshire and Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire. James’ parents, Thomas Merrick and Harriett Riley, married at Austrey in Warwickshire on 16 October 1865. Tom, an agricultural labourer, was born in Sutton Cheney in Leicestershire. He and Harriett had five children, Alfred, James, Jane, Harriett and William.

Sarah Ann Johnson was born in Friezland Lane, Brownhills in 1871 to parents William and Rebecca Johnson. William was a coal miner and the 1911 census records that he was still working as a miner on Brownhills Common at the age of 63.

The 1891 census shows both families living in Friezland Lane, Brownhills, the Johnsons at number 86 and the Merrick family at number 89.

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James Merrick married Sarah Ann Johnson on the 22nd May 1893 at St. John’s Parish Church in Walsall Wood. Seven children followed: Alfred (21 November 1893), Mabel Ann (about April 1895), James (19 October 1896), Jane Ellen (about July 1898), William Charles (about January 1901), Ada (7 August 1902) and Ethel May (7 May 1907). Sadly, Jane Ellen Merrick died in 1899 a year after her birth. All the children were born in the Brownhills area of Staffordshire and would have been educated locally, in Brownhills, Norton Canes or Heath Hayes.

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The eldest son, Alfred, was born on 21 November 1893 and was baptised at the St. James’ Church, Brownhills with Ogley Hay, on 8 December 1893.

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In 1901, James Merrick senior was working as a coal hewer at a local colliery in Brownhills. A coal hewer is a miner who undercuts coal underground by using a hand-held pick, very dangerous hot work. Some colliery companies provided rented terraced houses for their employees. Life was very difficult, dangerous and stressful. Many miners moved from mine to mine when collieries closed or new mines opened. Better pay was the main incentive to work down the mines.

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In 1911, James Merrick and his family were living on the Hednesford Road in Norton Canes. He was working as a coal hewer. His eldest son, 17-year old Alfred, was also employed in the mines, as a coal hewer’s loader, as was his 14-year old second son James, who was a colliery labourer above ground. It is possible that they were working at one of the Conduit mines.

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Shortly thereafter, James and Sarah Ann moved their family to 34 Glover Street in the nearby village of Wimblebury. It had two local pits that were then owned and operated by the Cannock and Rugeley Colliery Company. The Wimblebury Colliery – which had opened in 1872 – was nearly exhausted by 1896. Nevertheless, the Cannock and Rugeley Colliery Company bought it and connected it to their Valley Pit – originally called Pool Pits when it was opened in 1874 – so they could bring coal to the surface there, rather than at the Valley Pit, thereby avoiding having to pay a subsidy to the Marquess of Anglesey.

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Part 1 – Alfred’s Story

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There was sniper fire all through the night of 4/5 April, the Germans training searchlights on both flanks of the Battalion line, hampering the efforts of the working parties. The Battalion came under fire again the following afternoon and heavy rain filled the trenches with water. The trenches dried up quickly during the morning of 6 April and damage to the breastwork was quickly repaired. The Battalion also made good progress on the improvements until they were relieved in the evening by the 1/6th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment and returned to Bulford Camp as the rain poured down once more. 

One man was wounded during the evening of 10 April when it was the 1/5th’s turn to relieve the 1/6th. The following day was reasonably quiet, notable mainly for an English aeroplane that drew heavy fire when it made a reconnaissance flight over the enemy trenches. Two men were killed {machine gunner 8346 Private William Charles Durrant and 114 Private Horace James Rock of C Company} and another was injured. The trenches came under heavy fire at 2 a.m. on 12 April, and again during the late afternoon when Wulverghem village was targeted once more. During the evening, heavy transport was heard moving behind the German lines. Another soldier from the 1/5th was killed that day {6943 Corporal George Howard of D Company} and another was wounded.  Five high explosive shells landed in the Battalion trenches just after noon on 13 April; one man was injured and 9088 Private George Herbert Benton, who was seriously wounded, died during the night; however, two men escaped unhurt when they were buried in the collapse of a dugout. Another man was wounded the following day and that evening the 1/5th swapped places once more with the 1/6th and returned again to Bulford Camp. This relief period saw the death on 16 April 1915 of the 1/5th’s 35-year old 8873 Private Joseph Darby. It allowed the men the luxury of taking a bath but, after drill, kit inspections and training in musketry and crossing barbed wire entanglements, the men were back in the front line during the night of 18 April; two men were injured that day, one during the relief and the other carrying rations to the troops in the front line.

At 2 a.m. on 22 April, Lieutenant Leslie Cozens and Private John Parry Thorne returned safely after exploding a grenade in a German listening post, and that evening the 1/5th swapped places once more with the 1/6th. They returned again to Bulford Camp where they were warned that they might receive short notice to board buses and move to another area. 

22 April 1915 was a day that would go down in history. It witnessed the new German weapon on the Western Front when they unleashed more than 150 tons of lethal chlorine gas shells at Allied forces at Ypres. Even though they were far to the south, men of the 1/5th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment experienced smarting of the eyes and sore throats from that first German gas attack.  

After a brief interlude – which allowed the men to bathe and clean up, and which also featured drill, a route march and working parties – the 1/5th were back in the line during the evening of 26 April, once again relieving the 1/6th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment.  There was heavy artillery fire all the next day, and two men from A Company were wounded by rifle fire; about 6 p.m. there was an aeroplane duel over Wulverghem. Also, on 27 April, 36-year old 8990 Sergeant John Sanders was killed while he was on attachment to the Royal Engineers at Dickebusch.

Two more men were injured the day after as the Battalion’s trenches came under shell fire and sniping from Messines Ridge continued. Then on 29 April, 19-year old 7936 Private William Martin of A Company was killed when a shell struck his trench, wounding 3 others including a captain from the North Midland Divisional Engineers. The last day of April 1915 was a quiet one, even so six shells fell on Wulverghem village in the afternoon, wounding a private from the Machine Gun Section. Altogether, the month of April had seen the deaths of 10 men from the ranks, 7 were killed outright, 2 died of their wounds and 1 died in hospital. In addition, 2 officers and 25 men from the ranks were wounded. 

Just before midnight on the 30 April, the Battalion was relieved by the 1/6th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment and returned to Bulford Camp where they spent the first three days of May in hutments before replacing the 1/6th once more in the trenches during the night of 4 May. On 5 May, the Germans began to target trench 8 and two men from the Battalion were wounded. The enemy resumed their barrage at 7.30 a.m. the following morning and – launching between 300 and 400 shells – sustained the onslaught until 3 p.m., causing considerable damage to the Battalion’s rifles and other equipment. After nightfall, the Germans directed rifle and machine gun fire at the gaps in the Battalion’s parapet, however this was silenced to some extent by shrapnel fire from the 115th Battery of the Royal Field Artillery. 8444 Private William Lowndes was killed that day and 7 men were wounded, including 9135 Private Thomas Garbett who died later from his wounds. 

The 1/5th were given additional respite at about 10 a.m. on 7 May when a Howitzer Battery from the 46th Division shelled the fortified house occupied by the Germans opposite the Battalion trenches. The enemy responded with 18 shells and unleashed 40 more the following day prior to the 1/5th swapping places again with the 1/6th, only to return once more on 12 May. On 13 May, German activity was observed on the parapet opposite the Battalion trenches; A Company opened fire and killed two enemy soldiers but 2 men from the Battalion were wounded and 9168 Private George Arnold Slater was killed in the action. 

This static trench warfare continued unabated as the days wore on, with the 1/5th and 1/6th relieving one another in the front line at regular intervals. Although the remainder of May was described as generally quiet, there was a steady toll of casualties, with the following men from the 1/5th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment losing their lives: 
            14 May 1915           105 Private William Benjamin Rusbadge Share
            15 May 1915           Lieutenant Hugh Wharton Myddleton Parr
            18 May 1915           9998 Private William Swancott
            25 May 1915           6108 Sergeant Edward Lloyd 
In addition, 3 officers and 21 men from the ranks were wounded in May 1915. 

The first three weeks of June passed much the same way with 4 men from the ranks killed and 12 more wounded. Those who died were:  
              7 June 1915           7749 Private Daniel Charles Seabury
              7 June 1915           8684 Private Thomas Oliver Jones
              8 June 1915           7867 Corporal John Henry Webster
            13 June 1915           9074 Private Harry Waltier 

Then, on 22 June, the 137th Infantry Brigade were relieved by the 149th Infantry Brigade, with the 5th and 6th Battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers taking over the positions held previously by the 1/5th and 1/6th Battalions of the South Staffordshire Regiment. After a brief stay at Bulford Camp, the 1/5th spent the remainder of June, and the first 4 days of July, supplying men for working parties; they had 6 men wounded during that period.

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On 5 July 1915, the Battalion were moved to the trenches in front of Armagh Wood and 9571 Private James Douglas Allen was killed in heavy shelling as the 1/5th relieved the 5th Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment. They were now east of Ypres, about one 1 mile east of Zillebeke.  

Next day – 6 July 1915 – three Germans on a bombing raid were fired on as they approached the Battalion line; only two were seen to return. A second party of enemy soldiers was also fired on as they attempted to reconnoitre the Battalion’s positions. Two men from the 1/5th were injured in these skirmishes. The day after – 7 July – a Battalion patrol exploited old communication trenches and got within 20 yards of the enemy redoubt, establishing that it was occupied. They also discovered that the enemy barbed wire was in poor condition. However, 7894 Private George Dyke was killed and two other men from the 1/5th were wounded that day. The German redoubt was targeted the following day, first by a bombing party and then by rifle grenade fire. That day, and the next two, enemy working parties were fired on and dispersed, the Germans responding with rifle fire and rifle grenades. 

On 11 July, an enemy shell burst over the Battalion support trench at about 10 a.m.  wounding 6 men. In response to British shelling of enemy positions, the Germans bombarded Sanctuary Wood. During the evening, the Germans fired 4 trench mortar shells but the Battalion trenches suffered only slight damage. The 1/5th replied with 16 rifle grenades, however 7 of these failed to explode. 7849 Private James Perry and 9014 Private Godfrey Fletcher were killed that day and, altogether, 9 men were wounded. 

The 5th Battalion Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment (Sherwood Foresters) relieved the 1/5th at 1.15 a.m. on 12 July but, after a brief period in bivouacs, the Battalion was once again back in the front line, this time on the south-west slopes of Hill 60. Their first day in the new positions – 18 July – was a quiet one, though the men did witness a German aeroplane descending rapidly behind enemy lines after it had been hit by British anti-aircraft fire. In the evening, the Howitzer Battery effectively targeted the enemy trenches on the Battalion’s left. 8536 Private Joseph Wilkinson was killed that day and another man was wounded. 

{Hill 60 – as it was referred to on the British military maps of the period – was about three miles south-east of Ypres. It was not a natural incline, it had been created in the 1850s from the earth extracted when the nearby cutting was constructed for the railway line between Ypres and Commines. Hill 60 acquired its name because it was 60 metres above sea level. Although no great height, its elevation within the Ypres Salient provided a distinct advantage for whichever side held it. It therefore became a prime target, changing hands several times during the course of the war.  

The Germans first captured it on 10 December 1914. The British responded by digging four main tunnels into the hill underneath the German positions. The tunnels, which had smaller tunnels running off them, were packed with high explosives. It took 4 months but eventually, on 17 April, the British were ready. The mines were detonated at 7.05 p.m. and blew the top off the hill, the wreckage flying 300 feet in the air. The devastating explosions were followed by allied artillery fire on the German positions. The British then attacked and overwhelmed the enemy lines; the surviving German defenders were so disorientated that the attacking infantry took only seven casualties in the assault. 

Digging in, the British 13th Infantry Brigade suffered heavy losses as they repelled 3 separate counter attacks on 18 April. However, the Germans were not to be denied and – using a combination of artillery, poison gas shells and intense machine gun fire – they eventually forced the British to retreat from the summit. But that was not the last action of the day as the British counter attacked and re-took the hill in the evening. At dawn the next day, 19 April, the 15th Infantry Brigade relieved the battered remnants of the 13th Infantry Brigade and the German counter-attack continued. By 22 April, nearly 1500 men of the 13th Brigade had been killed taking and then defending Hill 60. It was eventually recaptured by the Germans on 5 May, the 15th Infantry Brigade suffering heavy casualties in their attempt to defend it. 

In the summer of 1917, men from the Australian Tunnelling Company dug underneath German positions on the hill. Mines were again exploded, with the same devastating effect, after which Allied infantrymen stormed the hill and retook it. The British held Hill 60 until the 1918 German Spring Offensive, re-capturing it for the final time on 28 September 1918, six weeks before the Armistice. 

Hundreds of soldiers from both sides lost their lives fighting over that small area; those who perished underground were usually left where they died when tunnels caved in, or were blown apart by the enemy. Above ground, it was impossible to recover and identify all the casualties as the same ground was fought over repeatedly. To this day, the bodies of many soldiers remain buried on the site of Hill 60.}

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On 19 July, the Royal Engineers bored their way through to a large enemy mine in a gallery in front of one the three trenches occupied by the Battalion. Listeners reported that all was quiet and, during the day – with the Germans targeting shrapnel shells at an old communication trench – the Royal Engineers succeeded in extracting the explosives from the mine. The next day, one man was wounded as German shrapnel shells scored 2 direct hits on the Battalion parapet; meanwhile 1250 pounds of explosive material was brought back from the mine in the gallery. 21 July was an exceptionally quiet day and culminated in the 1/5th being relieved just before midnight by the 6th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment; however, six days later they returned to the south-west slope of Hill 60. 

A distinct earth tremor was felt at about quarter to eight in the morning of 28 July, as if a mine had exploded nearby. Meanwhile, the Germans responded to British rifle grenade fire with trench mortars targeting the Battalion positions; in the afternoon, the enemy resumed the shrapnel shelling of the 1/5th trenches. The next morning, the Germans fired 6 trench mortars into the railway cutting but these caused no damage to the Battalion sector. Later, in the evening, a high explosive shell was fired into one of the Battalion support trenches; despite this, it was described as another quiet day. 

At about 3.15 a.m. on 30 July, two mines exploded two miles away on the Battalion’s left flank. British artillery bombardment of Hooge began at the same time.  

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While the fighting was going on at Hooge on 30 July, the enemy field guns bombarded the 1/5th with high explosive shells, damaging the parapet of one trench. That day, and the next, the Battalion listening post reported renewed enemy activity in the vicinity of the mine gallery. The last day of July was relatively quiet but it began with white star shells and red flares, the prelude to an hour of shrapnel shell fire that damaged the parapets of two Battalion trenches. However, the British artillery countered this effectively. Two men – 9615 Private Samuel Cox and 8298 Lance Corporal William Sherwin – were killed on 31 July, and 9788 Private Joseph Billingham died later the same day from his injuries. 11 others were wounded, though three of these were only slightly injured and remained at their posts.  

Altogether in July 1915, the 1/5th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment lost 7 men from the ranks killed in action. 36 men from the ranks were wounded, 10 only slightly; however, 4 of the wounded died later from their wounds. 

As August began, British howitzers targeted Hill 60, with some success. The Battalion supported the bombardment, firing its 50-pound trench mortar twice towards Hill 60; it was damaged when it was fired the second time but, after a regimental repair, it was quickly back in action. Meanwhile, two German trench mortars caused no damage to the Battalion positions. On 2 August, a mine explosion was heard to the south west, in the vicinity of St Eloi. That day, before daylight, enemy rifle fire was much heavier than normal; later, Battalion positions suffered some damage as they were again targeted by German trench mortar and shrapnel shell fire. 8768 Private John Field was killed that day. Late in the evening the 1/5th was relieved by the 6th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment and went into the 137th Infantry Brigade Reserve in the Railway Dugouts where they spent a week supplying working parties for the Royal Engineers. 8935 Private Jack Gilbert Harker was killed during that time and 4 other men from the ranks were wounded. The 1/5th relieved the 6th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment on 10 August and over the next seven days the normal trench routine resumed, with signs of enemy underground mining detected but not pinpointed by Battalion listeners, enemy working parties spotted and disrupted, the Germans shrapnel shelling Battalion positions, and both sides firing trench mortars but with only limited impact. During this period, 14 men from the ranks were wounded, 3 only slightly and 1 accidentally.  

After another 5-day period in the Brigade Reserve, the 1/5th returned once more to the front line on 23 August, when 5594 Private David Knight was killed. Between midnight and 1 a.m. on 24 August, German soldiers kept shouting across to the Battalion lines but their words could not be made out. Then, at about noon, the Germans unleashed 20 high explosive shells which burst close to Battalion Headquarters. British field guns and howitzers replied until the enemy ceased firing. Three men were killed on 24 August: 9532 Private Bernard Harding, 9313 Private Samuel Oakley and 8407 Lance Corporal Charles Edwards; 6 other men were wounded, including 5281 Company Sergeant Major Aaron Moseley who remained at his post but was to die in action on 13 October 1915. 

9185 Corporal Herbert William Green was killed on 25 August, a quiet day with British and German aeroplanes busy overhead. The next day was also quiet, until 7 o’clock in the evening when the Germans unleashed 20 shrapnel and 12 high explosive shells, killing 6515 Company Sergeant Major Harry Gee and wounding two other men. The following day began quietly but at 1.30 p.m. the Germans began a 5-hour period of shrapnel shelling. The Germans began shelling at 9.30 a.m. on 29 August and two dugouts were blown in as 50 high explosive shells landed in the area around Battalion Headquarters, the Belgian 4th Artillery Regiment alone providing adequate supporting fire. Two men were killed – 7900 Private William Joseph Simmons and 9927 Private Robert Haselden – and 4 others were wounded. The day after was extremely quiet; at about 10.30 p.m., the Battalion was relieved by the 6th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment and returned once more to the 137th Infantry Brigade Reserve in the Railway Dugouts.

Altogether in August 1915, the 1/5th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment lost 10 men from the ranks killed in action. 1 officer and 25 men from the ranks were wounded, 7 not seriously; however, 4 of the wounded died from their wounds. 

On it went into September. The 1/5th remained in the Brigade Reserve until the evening of 6 September, losing 8981 Lance Corporal Albert Edward Mann, who died of his wounds on 2 September, and 8718 Lance Corporal Alfred Carpenter, who was killed by a shell on 3 September; of the 13 men who were injured during this period, 4 were only slightly wounded and remained at their posts. The Battalion returned once again to the trenches on the south-west slope of Hill 60, staying there for 6 days until the evening of 12 September. 9714 Private Thomas Blount died on 8 September when 10 German shells damaged the Battalion’s trench parapets and a sniper post, though 40 enemy trench mortar shells were less effective the day after. Although it was not heard, the tremor from a mine explosion was felt just after 1 a.m. on 10 September. Both sides exchanged trench mortar fire during the day and 8406 Private Joseph Astbury – from the mining section – was killed in a sap (a short trench dug from a front-line trench out into No-Man's Land). On 12 September, machine gun and artillery fire was turned on enemy transport using the roads about 2 miles south of Hill 60 near Hollebeke Chateau. In addition to the two men who died during this period in the front line, 11 men from the Battalion were wounded, 5 of whom stayed in their posts.

Another period in the Brigade Reserve ended late in the evening of 17 September when the 1/5th began an extended but generally quiet period in the trenches on the south-west slope of Hill 60. Aeroplanes from both sides were active overhead and, to the troops below, it appeared that the Allies had the upper hand. 23 September was the busiest day and began with the Belgian 4th Artillery Regiment damaging the parapet of an enemy trench facing the Battalion; the 1/5th trained their rifle fire on the gaps and bombed the trench at 2.20 a.m., 3.15 a.m. and 4.45 a.m. The German response was a single trench mortar shell, the British replying with a 45-minute artillery bombardment just after noon. The likely reason for the enemy’s apparent inactivity became clear at half past nine that evening when the Germans detonated a mine that left a crater close to one of the Battalion’s forward trenches; fortunately, the force of the explosion was largely dissipated. The enemy trench opposite was then seen to be packed with German soldiers and, fearing an imminent assault, the 1/5th opened rapid fire. By contrast, the day after – 24 September – was very quiet apart from some enemy trench mortar fire after dusk.

Little was achieved by the 4-day artillery bombardment that preceded the battle. Before sending in the infantry on the morning of 25 September 1915, the British released 140 tons of chlorine gas; it was the first time they had deployed poison gas, the Germans having already used it at Ypres in April 1915. It was expected that this would have a devastating effect on the Germans at Loos as they were equipped with only rudimentary gas masks. However, the wind changed direction and blew the chlorine back into the British trenches where the gas masks were equally inadequate; seven men died and 2,632 more were so debilitated by the gas that they had to be withdrawn from the attack. Initially, the chlorine did cause panic among the Germans and close to 600 of their soldiers were gassed. Despite the setbacks caused by the wind, some 75,000 British infantrymen poured from the trenches when the order came to advance.

On the first day of the battle there was great success in the southern area of the fighting. Under cover of smokescreens, the British took the village of Loos and Hill 70, then began to press on towards Lens. However, communication problems, a shortage of munitions and the late arrival of reinforcements combined to stall the advance, a delay that allowed the Germans to retake Hill 70. Further to the north the British faced the formidable defences of the Hohenzollern Redoubt, a vast complex of trenches, underground shelters and machine gun nests. Nevertheless, they managed to take part of the German front line in front of the redoubt. The German machine guns were particularly deadly for the British, killing 8,500 men in a single day, the greatest single loss of life recorded since the beginning of the war.  

In the afternoon of the second day, 26 September, the British launched another attack, this time without a preliminary artillery bombardment. However, by then enemy reinforcements had arrived in force and thousands of British infantry men were slaughtered, mowed down by the German machine guns. British attempts to continue the advance were repulsed and the British Army began to abandon the positions it had won the previous day. There was a lull in the fighting on 28 September, the British having retreated to their starting positions. However, the fighting continued for several days around the Hohenzollern Redoubt and, on 13 October, a second offensive there came to an equally disastrous end: in ten minutes the 46th Division lost 180 officers and 3,583 men as they attempted to take the Redoubt. Overall during the Battle of Loos, there were 48,367 British casualties in the main attack, 10,880 more in the subsidiary attack, a total of 59,247 losses out of a total of 285,107 British casualties on the Western Front throughout the whole of 1915. German losses were estimated at about 26,000.  

At the time, to the north of the British line, the 46th (North Midland) Division were holding the sector around Hill 60 in the Ypres Salient under the command of Major General Edward James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley. A few days later the 46th (North Midland) Division received orders to move south to participate in the Battle of Loos. Before they were relieved at Hill 60, several senior staff officers visited the units to wish them good luck on their journey south. The 46th (North Midland) Division would now be under the command of the 11th Army Corps. 

The 1/5th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment were relieved from their positions on the south-west slope of Hill 60 on 25 September, a day that began with Battalion positions coming under shrapnel and high explosive shell fire in the early hours. An enemy trench mortar was silenced by the Belgian 4th Artillery Regiment and the 1/5th countered the German bombardment with rifle grenades; the Germans responded with further trench mortar fire but this was again halted by the Belgian artillery. Thankfully there had been no deaths during this extended period in the front-line trenches. Only 7 men were wounded and 5 of these were able to remain at their posts as their injuries were not serious.

The Battalion’s final period in the railway dugouts of the Brigade Reserve began well enough but on 28 September the dugouts were bombarded with high explosive shrapnel and 8-inch armour piercing shells from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. This continued the next day and by 30 September many of the dugouts had been demolished, with considerable damage being done to rifles and equipment. In the afternoon, between 3 o’clock and half past five, the enemy fired 16 “crumps” (German 5.9-inch shells that made a loud thud) onto the dugouts and the woods behind the front-line trenches. The Germans then began a heavy bombardment of the area which lasted until half past nine in the evening. During this time, men from B Company were sent forward once more to support the front-line trenches; 8 of the men were wounded and 7931 Company Sergeant Major Arthur Thomas Harris was killed. During September, the 1/5th had also learned of the deaths of 7822 Private Leonard Morris and 9415 Private Walter Pearson, both of whom died on 30 August 1915 from the wounds that they sustained in action.  

On 1 October, the 17th Division took over in that section of the front, relieving the 137th Infantry Brigade, and – at half past eight that evening – the 1/5th at last left behind what remained of those dugouts and bivouacked at transport lines near Ouderdom. The men paraded at 11 o’clock the following morning and then marched 6 miles west to the Belgian village of Abele where, at half past four, they boarded trains for Fouquereuil in France, 25 miles to the south. They reached there at 6.15 p.m. and, after another 6-mile/6-hour march, the men finally arrived at billets in L’Eclème nears Lillers, where they stayed for 3 days before marching 8 miles south east to Vaudricourt just outside Béthune. On 12 October, after a 5-day stay, the 1/5th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment relieved the 3rd Guards Brigade and moved into the trenches as the 46th Division prepared for its assault on Hohenzollern Redoubt.

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Soon after their arrival in the area, senior officers from the 46th (North Midland) Division attended meetings at their Brigade Headquarters where they were informed that their objective was to attack and capture both the Hohenzollern Redoubt and the area immediately behind it. It was a formidable fortification and, being on a slight slope, the Redoubt gave the Germans the double advantage of excellent observation and clear fields of fire.

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The Redoubt protruded into No Man's Land and was linked to the German front line by two trenches, Big Willie and Little Willie; these were deep, well-fortified and contained several machine-guns. Big Willie trench was partially occupied by the British, with only a trench block separating the two sides. Two communication trenches, North Face and South Face, led to Fosse and Dump trenches, which were built in the shadow of a large slagheap known as the Dump. At the base of the slagheap was a mine, Fosse 8. There were also key German defensive strong points at the Fosse 8 engine house as well as at the ruined miners’ houses "Madagascar" cottages. The No-Man's Land between the British and German trenches was exposed to machine gun and rifle fire from these points as well as from the Redoubt itself. The position had been captured by the 9th (Scottish) Division on 25 September, the first day of the Battle of Loos, but had been recaptured by the Germans shortly afterwards. The 28th Division’s attempt to recapture the Redoubt had failed, so now the task fell to the North Midlanders.

A group of officers from the 1/6th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment visited the front line on 7th and 8th October to survey their objective for themselves using trench periscopes. The trenches, which had been badly damaged during the earlier fighting, were cut into chalky ground and the wet conditions made them very slippery. 

On the afternoon of 8 October, the Germans attacked the British-held sections of Big Willie trench. The 46th (North Midland) Division was immediately placed on standby to move up to the line in case there was a German breakthrough. Holding the position at the time, the 3rd Grenadier Guards were pressed hard, with two companies all but surrounded. The 3rd Coldstream Guards launched a counter-attack and the Germans were eventually beaten back but a large portion of Big Willie had been taken by the Germans. This forced the staff at 46th Division Headquarters to alter their plans for the assault, in particular where that assault would commence. While those plans were being redrawn, the troops undertook route marches and physical training near their billets, plus machine gun practice and training in throwing hand grenades. Hand grenades had become important in the close-quarter battles that took place in the trenches and the recently introduced Mills Bombs were considered to be the best available. The 46th (North Midland) Division were issued with this type of grenade and practised by carrying out attacks on dummy trenches that had been constructed by the Divisional Engineers near Fouquières-lés-Béthune. As well as digging the practice trenches, the Royal Engineers of 46th (North Midland) Division also went into the front line to carry out repairs and improvements there.  

A model of the Hohenzollern Redoubt and the surrounding area was constructed in a field outside Divisional Headquarters at Gosnay and all ranks were encouraged to visit the model to familiarise themselves with the area prior to the attack. 

When they had the opportunity, most soldiers wrote letters home and, for many, their thoughts were focused on the impending attack: 

“I am writing with very mixed feelings. I cannot say what may happen but whatever comes I shall not budge. If I do not return from the attack think of me as doing my duty - not a slacker.”

 Divisional Headquarters issued Operational Orders on 10 October. The original plan had been to deploy the 137th Infantry Brigade in the forward line to the east of Big Willie. However, the complicated layout of the trenches and the fighting that had taken place on 8 October made that impossible. Major General Edward James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley,General Officer Commanding the 46th (North Midland) Division, had suggested a bombing attack but he was overruled and ordered by his Corps commander, General Richard Haking, to launch a frontal attack. The 137th (Staffordshire) and 138th (Lincoln and Leicester) Infantry Brigades were chosen to carry out the attack. Stuart-Wortley had also been in favour of mounting a sequential attack on the trenches around the Hohenzollern Redoubt, capturing and securing one position at a time before moving forward to take another. Once again, 11th Army Corps Headquarters overruled his suggestion. The 46th (North Midland) Division's assault was to be launched from the old front line, the position where 9th Division had made their assault on 25 September. On their right, the 137th Infantry Brigade was to link up with 12th (Eastern) Division who were detailed to capture the neighbouring Quarries position.

Picture 26

On the evening of 10 October, the commander of the 11th Army Corps addressed the officers of the 46th (North Midland) Division in the courtyard of the chateau at Gosnay. In his speech, which was intended to reassure and encourage them, he told them to expect little resistance from the German machine gun positions around Hohenzollern Redoubt; he added that gas would almost certainly be used in support of the British attack, provided the wind was in the right direction. He also told the assembled group that the Division's attack would be supported by the largest concentration of artillery fire yet committed by the British Army. 

In addition to three heavy artillery groups under the command of the 11th Army Corps, there was one group of Divisional Artillery which was directed by the 28th Division and included the 46th (North Midland) Division's artillery. The 22nd Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery was to provide direct support for the 137th Infantry Brigade. The artillery, including detachments from the 1st North Midland Field Brigade, were also to provide a smoke screen in front of the trenches to allow the infantry to form up under cover before they made their advance.  

The Divisional Engineers were also committed to the operation. The 1/2nd North Midland Field Company, under Major Christopher Hatton, was ordered to provide two sections that would be attached to the forward companies of the 1/6th South Staffords and 1/6th North Staffords, whilst two sections of the 1/1st North Midland Field Company were to support the 138th Brigade. These sections were to form trench-blocking parties and were also to assist in consolidating the captured ground with barbed wire entanglements. 

On the morning of 12th October, the Staffords paraded ready to enter the battle. Each man was issued with three days' rations, 220 rounds of ammunition and three empty sandbags. In addition to this, each man had to carry two "smoke helmets". Operational Orders stipulated that, prior to the release of gas in the front line, all troops were to wear their "Hypo" helmets, a primitive hood-shaped gas mask worn over the head, made of cotton impregnated with chemicals that reduced the effects of chlorine gas, with a fragile rectangular celluloid window that enabled the soldier to see. The troops had also recently been issued with the more advanced "Phenate" helmet, officially called the “Tube Helmet”, which was to be kept in a satchel as a spare. The men also carried their greatcoats on their back instead of packs. It would take the Staffords until the next morning to reach the forward trenches where they were to launch their assault, which was scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

Picture 29

The 1/5th South Staffordshire Regiment and 1/5th North Staffordshire Regiment were to form the first line of attack for the 137th Infantry Brigade, with the 1/6th South Staffords and the 1/6th North Staffords in support. The 1/5th North Staffords would be positioned on the left and would advance closest to the Redoubt. Major-General Montagu-Stuart-Wortley delayed the attack by the 137th Infantry Brigade by five minutes to allow the 138th Infantry Brigade to attack the West Face of Hohenzollern Redoubt; he hoped that would distract the defenders’ attention and provide an advantage for the frontal assault by the 137th Infantry Brigade, which was now to begin at five minutes past two. 

Two sections each from the 1/1st and 1/2nd North Midland Field Companies had already moved forward into the front line, in preparation for the arrival of the main body from the 46th (North Midland) Division. The 1/1st North Midland Field Company lost four men killed and one wounded while they were carrying out work in the trenches that the men from the 138th Infantry Brigade were to occupy. Dumps of supplies – ammunition, grenades, barbed wire and tools – had already been established to the rear of the front line and, during the night, parties of Royal Engineers went over the parapet of the British front line to cut gaps in the barbed wire ready for the infantry advance.  

It was a torturously slow journey to the “jumping off point” and the battalions were forced to halt several times as they struggled up the congested trenches to the forward positions where they were to start their attack. Indeed, it took the Staffords until the morning of the 13th October to reach the assembly trenches; there they took over responsibility for the line from the Guards Brigade. The assembly trenches were now crowded with troops and strict orders were issued to keep out of sight so as not to alert the Germans. There were no dugouts in which the men could shelter, and the trenches themselves had been badly damaged during the earlier fighting.  

The 187th Special Company, Royal Engineers – a unit that had been formed for the specific purpose of conducting chemical warfare – brought the cylinders of chlorine up to the forward positions ready for the gas attack that would precede the assault by the 46th (North Midland) Division. The direction of the wind was also noted, a gentle breeze blowing from the south-west, and this was closely monitored prior to the scheduled time for the gas attack.   

The British artillery bombardment commenced at mid-day; it was impressive but, sadly, it was ineffective. The key positions in front of the 137th Brigade – Big Willie, Dump Trench and the South Face of the Redoubt – were subjected to a heavy barrage but the machine gun emplacements located there were not destroyed, nor were those in the fortified ruins of the buildings around the Dump. Half an hour into the British bombardment, the German artillery began a counter-barrage. 

The British artillery continued with their bombardment and at 1.00 p.m. the Divisional Artillery commenced firing the rounds for the smoke screen in front of the forward trenches. The 187th Special Company sappers also began to release the chlorine gas. The infantry in the trenches pulled their gas masks down over their heads and tucked them into the collars of their tunics. The yellowish-green cloud began to rise and drift towards the German lines but, despite favourable winds, much of the gas settled in shell craters and did little more than warn the Germans that an attack was coming.   

The 11th Army Corps commander had been confident that there would be little enemy resistance but it soon became evident to the men waiting to attack that the artillery bombardment had failed to eliminate the German machine guns and these now began to rake the parapets of the British trenches. 

“We thought that there wouldn't be a German left alive. But would you believe it, about five minutes before we charged they opened up a murderous machine-gun fire, simply sweeping our parapets.” 

As "zero hour" crept ever closer, the officers moved along the assembly trenches, encouraging their men and checking that they were ready to attack. Scaling ladders were placed against the sandbagged walls of the trenches and bayonets were fixed. Nervous eyes looked at their watches, counting down the minutes and seconds until the officers blew their whistles to signal for the troops to climb over the parapet. 

At 2.00 p.m., the leading battalions of the 138th Brigade began their assault on the west face of the Hohenzollern Redoubt. At the same time, the bombing parties, together with the first wave of assault infantry from the 1/5th North Staffords, scaled the trench ladders and climbed over the parapet. They moved through the gaps that had been cut in the barbed wire in front of their trenches and then out into “No Man's Land”, where the officers ordered them to lie down. At 2.05 p.m., the order to advance was given, the men shouting "Potters For Ever!" as they scrambled up to begin the attack. The line then attempted to move forward in rushes but, as they did so, a hail of machine gun and rifle fire swept through the ranks. Only a handful of men were able to carry on forward and this small group ran towards a communication trench and jumped over it, before again lying down on the other side. No other troops could be seen in the vicinity, so they raced forward to another trench and jumped down into it. This communications trench, which had been dug by the 9th Division during their brief occupation of Hohenzollern Redoubt, contained several men from the bombing parties of the South and North Staffords who were engaged in the attack on Big Willie, to which their trench was connected.  

The second wave of 1/5th North Staffords followed the initial assault after a few moments and the first thing that met their eyes were the dead and wounded from the first wave. The advance of the second wave met a similar barrage of German fire and suffered the same fate as the first, the remnants reaching no further than the communications trench, where they remained.    

Two companies of the 1/5th South Staffords, together with bombing parties from the battalion, were located in the communications trench to the east of Big Willie. The two companies had orders that they were to wait for the first line of the 1/5th North Staffords to reach their position then advance forward with them. The commander of C Company observed that the advance by the 1/5th North Staffords had been checked, so ordered his men to remain in the trench, but the officer commanding B Company was unable to see the developing situation and therefore endeavoured to carry out his orders. B Company climbed out from the trench and lay in front of it. Several men were hit by machine-gun fire from the Redoubt as they moved out into the open through the gaps in the barbed wire, and the German artillery began to shell the trench. Having suffered heavy casualties in their exposed position, the survivors were compelled to scramble back into the communications trench. 

The second attack wave of the 1/5th South Staffords was positioned in the old British front line between Hulluch Alley and Border Alley. At 2.10 p.m., they attempted to cross over towards Big Willie to link up with the remainder of their battalion. None of the officers and only a handful of men managed to reach their comrades in the forward trench, most of the survivors retiring back to the trenches from where the attack had begun. 

It was now the turn of the third assault wave, men from the 1/6th South Staffords and 1/6th North Staffords. These troops were also to suffer heavy casualties from artillery and machine gun fire as they tried to move forward on ground that was devoid of cover. However, about seventy men from the two forward companies of the 1/6th South Staffords did manage to link up with the remnants of the 1/5th South Staffords.   

Although a few men from the forward companies had managed to reach the communications trench connected to Big Willie, the majority of the survivors were compelled to return to the trenches from where the attack had started.  

Two sections from the 1/2nd North Midland Field Company had also advanced with the third attack wave of the 137th Brigade. They were meant to be carrying out engineering tasks and consolidating captured positions but these sappers now found themselves mixed up in the chaotic conditions: 

“When one of our chaps got hit, me and another chap bandaged him up as well as we could under rifle fire and shells, and we carried him into a trench, where he died. Just then a little bit of shrapnel hit me in the head, and then a shell came and knocked the parapet over me and scarred my face.”  

The troops in the 137th Brigade's fourth assault wave – men from the 1/6th South Staffords and 1/6th North Staffords – were ordered to move from their assembly trench to the front line, as originally planned. Unfortunately, the communication trenches were already clogged with the dead and wounded from the previous attacks so the men were compelled to advance across the open, suffering heavy casualties in their attempt to reach the forward trenches. On arriving at the front line, which they found in a state of utter confusion, the remaining troops of the fourth wave were ordered to remain in that position to defend it against German counter-attacks.  

The Brigade's eight bombing parties were heavily committed throughout the attack and consequently suffered heavy casualties. No. 5 Bombing Party of the 1/6th North Staffords began their attack up Big Willie at 2 o'clock and – in an attempt to link up with the 138th Brigade – managed to advance approximately thirty yards up that trench. The party got as far as a second trench block but, facing a fierce German counter-attack and with casualties starting to mount up, the survivors were forced to withdraw back to the barricade from where they had started.  

A second attempt to advance up Big Willie was then made by a bombing party from the 1/5th South Staffords. At about 2.30 p.m., the Germans mounted a counter-attack against the trench block in Big Willie and C Company of the 1/5th South Staffords was involved in a ferocious struggle to hold their position, both sides using bayonets and throwing grenades. Faced with this determined defence, and having taken several casualties, the Germans were forced to fall back. The second trench block was reached eventually, and the 1/5th South Staffords began to consolidate, frantically pulling down the trench’s battered parapet to improve their barricade. A bombing party from the 1/6th South Staffords also reached Big Willie and stoutly defended their position until virtually all of them became casualties. After a brief lull, and with no Allied support arriving, the Germans took the initiative in Big Willie at about 4 p.m., attacking now from three directions.   

While the actions in Big Willie were taking place, carrying parties tried to bring up additional supplies of small arms ammunition and grenades, but were hampered by the narrow communication trenches being clogged with casualties. There was a shortage of Mills Bombs at the supply dumps and a wide variety of alternatives – rifle grenades and bombs without detonators or fuses – were sent up to the units of the 46th Division. Most of these proved to be of little use. 

The fighting on the front attacked by the 137th Brigade had virtually ceased by 4 o'clock as both sides opted for an artillery duel over the area. The 137th Brigade had been decimated within the first ten minutes of the assault, and the remnants of the Staffordshire battalions had failed to make any significant progress against the defenders of the Hohenzollern Redoubt. The ground in front of the first line trenches was littered with dead, dying and wounded men and several soldiers tried to rescue their wounded comrades. 

“It was a case of several men throwing their lives away trying to save the wounded. But it was murder to go.” 

Pictures 30 and 31

The walking wounded were able to make their own way to the first aid post in Bart's Alley, including Alfred Merrick, but those who were more seriously injured had to wait in agony until they could be taken to the Collecting Station. 

“I walked along the trench. I witnessed a terrible sight of men killed and wounded and no stretcher bearers to be found. Men were in awful pain. Them that could not walk had to lie in the trench in awful pain for twelve to eighteen hours or more.”  

Dusk had now begun to descend over the battlefield. Sadly, for some of the wounded their rescue arrived too late. 

Staffordshire men were also involved in the attack that the 138th Brigade made on the West Face of the Redoubt. A detachment drawn from 1/3rd North Midland Field Brigade had been operating one of the 95mm mortars that had been laying down smoke cover for the advancing infantry of the 1/5th Lincolns. Seeing that the infantry had suffered heavy casualties, the gunners were led forward in support, several becoming casualties themselves. 

The 138th Brigade's attack did meet with some success and managed to gain a foothold in the Redoubt. However, their position became vulnerable as the Staffords failed to make any significant progress in their assault on the Redoubt, and heavy fighting continued there for the next two days. At 4.45 p.m., two sections from the 1/1st North Midland Field Company climbed over the parapet with the 1/1st Monmouths. Their task was to consolidate the positions taken by the 138th Brigade but the sections came under machine gun fire as they crossed the open ground and two officers were killed along with one sapper; a further four men were wounded before the sections reached the infantry at the Redoubt, and two men from the Company suffered gas poisoning. At 7.00 p.m., the remainder of the Company began to dig a link trench to connect the assault trenches to the West Face of the Redoubt. A telephone cable was then laid along the trench, allowing communication to be established with the troops who had made it to the Redoubt.  

Working under the command of Divisional Headquarters, men from the 2/1st North Midland Field Company were given the task of using a wagon-mounted searchlight to illuminate German counter-attacks. Having manhandled the wagon into position, the operating detachment was in position by 4.00 p.m. and awaited further orders. These came an hour later and from 5.05 p.m. the searchlight was switched on at five-minute intervals, each time for a minute's duration. Inevitably, the beam drew heavy machine gun fire from the Germans. The rest of the Company formed working parties, carrying petrol cans filled with drinking water up to the firing line; records show that the sappers took some 40 gallons of water to the men in the front line.  

During that first night of 13/14 October, a platoon from the 1/6th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment helped to bring in wounded men from No Man’s land. Captain Patrick Welchman of the 1/2nd North Midland Field Company later received the Military Cross for rescuing wounded men lying out in front of the trenches. His citation reads:  

“Throughout the night and during the morning mist he worked continuously under difficult and dangerous circumstances, collecting and bringing in wounded from in front of our trenches. This is not the first time that Captain Welchman's name has been brought to notice for similar gallantry.”  

Some remnants from the 137th Brigade were in the communications trench near Big Willie and were forced to spend the night there under trench mortar and machine-gun fire. The remainder of the Brigade remained in the first-line trench – where they had begun their attack – throughout the night and the following day. Meanwhile, efforts were made to reorganise defensive positions in anticipation of a German counter-attack. 

“It was an awful night, foggy and damp. The enemy tried a counter-attack but were repulsed. At daybreak they continued to shell us. All day long we stuck to the trench expecting a counter-attack, but it was an artillery duel all day long.”  

On the morning of 14th October, the 137th Brigade was informed that the 3rd Guards Division would relieve them that night, however this did not happen until very early the following morning. As the men of the Guards Division filed into the trenches, the shattered remnants of 137th Brigade withdrew. 

“I shall never forget that Saturday morning when we left the trenches. The spectacle presented was that of a true battlefield. In a tangle of torn barbed wire were to be seen the scattered bodies of the slain – many of them being held up more or less in an upright position.”  

The surviving men of the 1/6th North Staffords reached Vermelles later the same day and were transported to billets near Sailly-Labourse by London Omnibus. 

“They took us to a place the other side of Vermelles. We halted and had breakfast in a farmyard. Here we were visited by the General and the Prince of Wales. He said he was proud of us. We had done all that was expected of us.” 

The 1/5th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment was relieved at midnight on 14/15 October by the 3rd Guards Brigade and spent the remainder of October 1915 in “rest billets” at Allouagne and Fouquières-lés-Béthune. 

According to the Official History of the War: Military Operations in France and Flanders – 1915, Volume Two (HMSO, 1928), page 388:  

“The fighting on the 13th-14th October had not improved the general situation in any way and had brought nothing but useless slaughter of infantry.”

Picture 32

The 137th Brigade captured none of its objectives. A combination of concentrated artillery and machine gun fire halted its attack almost as soon as it began. The 138th Brigade did manage to take and secure part of the Redoubt but this limited success was achieved at a very high cost.  

Several factors contributed to the failure of the attack by the 137th Brigade. The artillery bombardment did not remove German resistance in the sector, in particular the machine gun emplacements located in the Redoubt and in the ruins around the Fosse 8 mine. The short supply of grenades was also a significant factor in the failure to hold those sections of the German line that were captured. The grenade was considered the best weapon for use in close-quarter fighting, particularly when attacking along trenches or defending gains against counter-attacks. Although assurances had been given that the Division's bombing parties would be fully equipped with Mills bombs, these were in short supply, so other types of grenade – often without detonators – were sent up to the forward troops. As a result, when German bombing attacks overwhelmed 138th Brigade defences, the men were compelled to withdraw from those sections of the Redoubt that had been captured. The 137th Brigade also suffered from a shortage of grenades, but the major reason why it failed to secure its objectives was the high number of casualties suffered by its bombers, that and the lack of reinforcements to consolidate the gains that were made in Big Willie.  

Major General Montagu-Stuart-Wortley must surely have reflected that the attack would have been more successful if his preferred choice of a sequential attack – capturing and consolidating each objective, trench by trench – had not been rejected by superior officers. Instead, the troops were ordered to charge in short bursts across ground that was devoid of cover, in wave after wave; this had proved extremely costly, especially as their objectives were hundreds of yards away.  

Whatever the reasons for the failure of the attack, the Staffordshire Brigade certainly experienced devastating losses in this assault, its first major action. When the remnants of the battalions returned to their billets behind the lines, the grim task began of compiling the casualty reports.  

“It was a sad duty to perform when the battalion mustered for roll-call next day and we missed the lads who had been such good comrades for many months.”  

As a whole, the 46th Division reported 180 officers and 3,583 other ranks killed, wounded or missing in the period 13 – 15 October. The 1/5th North Staffords, which recruited from the Potteries, suffered the heaviest casualties of all the units in the 46th Division. About 700 of its officers and men entered the line on the night of 12 October. Barely 200 marched out of the trenches when the battalion was relieved. The toll was also heavy among the units of the Division that recruited in Staffordshire. The 1/2nd North Midland Field Company had two sections supporting the 137th Brigade during the assault and suffered casualties of two officers and 27 other ranks killed, wounded or missing. The attack on the Hohenzollern Redoubt was to prove the bloodiest action that the 1/2nd North Midland Field Company was to experience during the entire war.  

The slow process of rebuilding the shattered battalions began within days of the Brigade's relief. Several survivors were promoted to take the places of senior ranks and large numbers were sent from the third-line battalions based in England to replace the casualties.  

On 16 October, General Haig, the commander of the 1st Army, visited the units of the 137th Brigade at their billets. Indeed, in the days that followed the attack, the survivors saw a succession of Staff Officers offering both praise and sympathy, including Major General Montagu-Stuart-Wortley: 

“The General Officer Commanding addressed the men, and in a few simple words expressed his appreciation of the splendid way in which every man had faced the rain of bullets and said he was very proud to be in command of such a body of men. He expressed his regret for the gallant men who had fallen, and said they must remember that it was inevitable in this war. Every man must keep smiling, as we were going to win.”

Pictures 33 and 34

Many soldiers took on the harrowing task of informing the family back home about the loss of a comrade who had been killed in the attack. The writers would often soften the circumstances of the man's death to shield the family from the brutal reality.  

The wounded men were evacuated. However, several died on reaching the Advanced Dressing Station and more died after reaching Casualty Clearing Stations further down the chain. On Sunday 17 October the units attended Church Parade where they solemnly remembered their fallen comrades.

For the period 12 noon on 13 October to 12 midnight on 14/15 October, the War Diary for the 1/5th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment records the following casualties:

As the tragic news filtered home, the newspapers paid tribute to the men’s heroism but chose to gloss over the details of the attack so as not to undermine the war effort:

Picture 35

It was during the attack on the Hohenzollern Redoubt at Loos on 13th October 1915 that Alfred Merrick died. He was only 21 and did not receive a formal burial which is why his name is commemorated on the Loos Memorial to the Missing at the Dud Corner Cemetery. According to the extract below – from page 159 of Andrew Thornton’s book “South Staffords at War: August 1914 – December 1915, Volume 2” – Alfred was severely wounded during the attempt to advance from “Big Willie” trench. Although he managed to make his way unaided to the First Aid Post at “Bart’s Alley”, he died shortly thereafter. In a letter home to the family, Alfred’s comrade 6405 Sergeant Harry Willis (who came from Cannock) wrote: 

“You will have the pleasure of knowing that he received his wound charging the enemy. He lingered on for 24 hours, and he received every care and attention. Everything was done that could be done to relieve his suffering. I can assure you that nobody deplores his loss more than I do. He was one of the most cheery men in my section, and his loss is also deeply felt by his comrades. He got his wound on the 13th, but I am sorry I cannot give you full details.”

Picture 36

Picture 38

The death of Alfred Merrick was covered in a local newspaper of the time.

Alfred Merrick served with A Company of the 1/5th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment. He is commemorated on panels 73 to 76 of the Loos Memorial to the Missing at the Dud Corner Cemetery which is located about 1 kilometre west of the village of Loos-en-Gohelle in France.

Picture 41

Picture 42

Alfred’s name, and that of his brother James, are inscribed on the Cenotaph War Memorial at Hednesford; they are also recorded on the War Memorial in Wimblebury though there the surname is given, mistakenly, as Merricks.

Picture 51

The second part of this biography,
the story of Alfred’s younger brother James,
can be found here
James Merrick 1896 - 1918

Reference, item and source 

1.        Extract relating to Alfred Merrick from Walsall and District: The Roll of the Great War 1914 – 1918 © copy held by Burntwood Family History Group
2.        Extract relating to James Merrick from Walsall and District: The Roll of the Great War 1914 – 1918 © copy held by Burntwood Family History Group
3.        1891 Census entry for James and Sarah Ann Merrick © Ancestry
4.        Photograph of St. John’s Church, Walsall Wood © Gary S. Cruchley and flickr website
5.        Copy of the birth certificate for Alfred Merrick © General Register Office
6.        1891 Census entry for James and Sarah Ann Merrick © Ancestry
7.        1891 Census entry for James and Sarah Ann Merrick © Ancestry
8.        Postcard showing Wimblebury from Heath Hayes © Wendy Jones and the Old UK Photos website http://www.oldukphotos.com/staffordshire-wimblebury.htm
9.        Photograph of Lieutenant Colonel William Burnett D.S.O. © Hazelslade website http://www.hazelslade.org.uk/other-famous-faces/4539933266
10.      Photograph of S.S. Empress Queen © http://www.imuseum.im/
11.      Photograph of the Imperial Service Clasp © https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_Force_Imperial_Service_Badge
12.      Photograph of a World War I Mills Bomb © Arundel Militaria http://www.deactivated-guns.co.uk
13.      How a Bomber Throws a Mills Grenade © Canada at War website http://www.canadaatwar.ca
14.      Extract from the 1:20,000, 1916 trench map 28 SW, edition 3D, showing the area between Messines and Wulverghem {with the trenches corrected to 22 June 1916} © The National Library of Scotland
15.      Photograph of the cross section of a shrapnel shell on display in the Hooge Crater Museum in Ypres, Belgium © http://www.battledetective.com/
16.      Extract from the 1:10,000, 1916 trench map 28 parts of NW4 and NE3, edition 3B, showing the area south-east of Ypres {with the trenches corrected to 15 March 1916} © Chasseaud Collection, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada
17.      “The Defence of Hill 60” by Frederick Roe © The Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment website http://www.armytigers.com/
18.      First World War German flamethrower © www.AllPosters.com website
19.      Hooge crater 1915 © World War 1 Battlefields website, www.ww1battlefields.co.uk/
20.      Dugouts at Hooge Crater © World War 1 Battlefields website, www.ww1battlefields.co.uk/
21.      Postcard showing Hollebeke Chateau before the Great War © In Flanders Fields Museum website http://www.inflandersfields.be/
22.      Photograph showing Hollebeke Chateau in March 1916 © Imperial War Museum
23.      The memorial to the 46th (North Midland) Division at Vermelles © The Long, Long Trail website
24.      Photograph of Hohenzollern Redoubt © Imperial War Museum (Q64051)
25.      Map showing the trenches close to Hohenzollern Redoubt © Pierre’s Photo Impressions of the Western Front 1914-1918 website
26.      Map showing the deployment of forces at Hohenzollern Redoubt © webmatters.net website
27.      Hypo anti-gas helmet © Imperial War Museum
28.      Phenate anti-gas helmet © The Illustrated London News (11 December 1915)
29.      Photograph of a British machine-gun crew wearing phenate ant-gas helmets © Imperial War Museum
30.      Photograph showing the British attack on Hohenzollern Redoubt during the battle of Loos © www.historyofwar.org website
31.      Photograph of the 46th (North Midland) Division attacking Hohenzollern Redoubt during the Battle of Loos © Catalogue number Q 29001 (Royal Engineers Collection) Imperial War Museum
32.      Wounded British troops returning through Vermelles after the attack on Hohenzollern Redoubt, 13th October 1915 © Imperial War Museum
33.      Page 1 of the extract from the 1/5th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment War Diary detailing the Battalion’s part in the attack that began on 13 October 1915 on the Hohenzollern Redoubt © The National Archives
34.      Page 2 of the extract from the 1/5th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment War Diary detailing the Battalion’s part in the attack that began on 13 October 1915 on the Hohenzollern Redoubt © The National Archives
35.      Extract from the 23 October 1915 edition of the Walsall Observer and South Staffordshire Chronicle about the attack on 13 October 1915 © Walsall Local History Centre
36.      Extract from page 159 of Andrew Thornton’s book “South Staffords at War: August 1914 – December 1915, Volume 2” © Andrew Thornton
37.      1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal © Ghillie Mòr website
38.      Alfred Merrick’s medal card © Ancestry
39.      Extract from the 30 October 1915 edition of the Cannock Advertiser about the death of Alfred Merrick © Cannock Library
40.      Extract from the 20 November 1915 edition of the Cannock Advertiser about the death of Alfred Merrick © Cannock Library
41.      Photograph of the Loos Memorial to the Missing at the Dud Corner Cemetery, Loos-en-Gohelle, France © Wartime Garden Project website https://worldwarzoogardener1939.wordpress.com/2015/09/26/gardeners-and-zoo-staff-lost-at-the-battle-of-loos-25-september-1915/
42.      Photograph of the Loos Memorial to the Missing at the Dud Corner Cemetery, Loos-en-Gohelle, France © https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loos_Memorial website
43.      Photograph of the dedication of the Chapel of St Michael in Lichfield Cathedral © Burntwood Family History Group
44.      Photograph of the unveiling and dedication of the South Staffordshire Regimental War Memorial at Whittington Barracks on 30 September 1922 © The Staffordshire Regiment Museum
45.      Photograph of the unveiling and dedication of the war memorials at Whittington Barracks on 30 September 1922. On the left is the memorial to the North Staffordshire Regiment (surmounted by a Chinese Dragon); on the right is the memorial to the South Staffordshire Regiment (surmounted by a Sphinx) 1922 © The Staffordshire Regiment Museum
46.      The two Staffordshire Regimental War Memorials at Whittington Barracks, the North Staffs on the left, the South Staffs on the right © The Staffordshire Regiment Museum
47.      Photograph of Hednesford War Memorial, Rugeley Road, Hednesford © MilitaryImages website https://www.militaryimages.net/media/hednesford-war-memorial-staffordshire.74525/
48.      Photograph of the panel recording the names of Alfred Merrick and his brother James on the Hednesford War Memorial, Rugeley Road, Hednesford © MilitaryImages website https://www.militaryimages.net/media/hednesford-war-memorial-staffordshire.74532/
49.      Photograph of Wimblebury War Memorial, Acacia Grove, off John Street, Wimblebury © Burntwood Family History Group
50.      Photograph of the panel recording the names of Alfred Merrick and his brother James on the Wimblebury War Memorial, Acacia Grove, off John Street, Wimblebury © Burntwood Family History Group
51.      Certificate in memory of Alfred Merrick © Commonwealth War Graves Commission