Roger's Great Uncle. Sergeant - South Staffordshire Regiment

Killed in Action Battle of the Ancre, 13–18 November 1916

The Battle of the Ancre was the last big British operation of the year. The Fifth (formerly Reserve) Army attacked the Ancre valley to exploit German exhaustion after the Battle of the Ancre Heights and gain ground ready for a resumption of the offensive in 1917. The battle began with another mine being detonated beneath Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt. The attack on Serre failed. South of Serre, Beaumont Hamel and Beaucourt-sur-l'Ancre were captured. Until January 1917 a lull occurred, as both sides concentrated on enduring the weather.