On the 25th June 1916, Private William Henry Alston of 79 Cromwell Road, Brentwood, a gas stoker, born in Chelmsford, son of Samuel Henry and Rachel Alston of Hutton, husband of Florence Alston and father of Hilda, William, Victor & Harold, wrote a letter to his mother.Dear Mother
I was very pleased to hear from you again. I received the parcel safely today. Glad to know all are well. I trust your cold is better by this time. Please convey my best thanks to Miss Newell for the two pair of socks he has kindly sent me. They are very good quality too. I am very pleased with them, they are thick, but as my feet never perspire it won’t matter so much, they will be better for marching on, just the thing for winter time, but I hope I shall not be here to want them then. We have had some cold nights recently (but its warmer now) and as they are large size, I can easily put them over another pair if needful. Thank Bertha too for the nice cake she made for me. I must write to her soon. She has not forgotten me although I have not written to her. Still I know she understands when I write home I am including her as well. Give my love to her, also Alice and remember me kindly to “Mr Tredget”. Is he likely to remain in his occupation? Tell him I should like a few lines from him if he can spare the time to write. We are not allowed to write anything about our movements out here, so there is not much to tell you. I am glad to tell you I am very well and going on as usual, and I hope I shall always be able to say so. The address is supposed to be put inside the letter if required, I think you know it pretty well, but I may as well put it this time. (9th Platoon, “C” Coy, 9th Essex, BE Forces, France). When you write, put the same as usual.
So poor old Herb [my great-grandfather, a conscientious objector working in the Labour Corps] is in France (nearly 3 weeks now) I wonder how he finds things. I should like to hear from him. Has he got my address? If so I am rather surprised I have not heard from him before now. But I expect he is busy writing to someone else instead, so I must make allowance for him and forgive him just now. If I had his address I would write to him. Glad to know he is well so far. You have heard from Em? So she is well. I wrote her a few days ago. I must write to Min. I was wondering if she was in London again. I am sorry for her being tired so much, it will make an old woman of her if it lasts much longer. I am very sorry to hear that Dr T is not likely to get any better. May he be prepared for a better home above. I trust that someone may be lead to convince him (if it has not already taken place) that he may find peace (while he is on his bed of sickness) and know the joy of sins forgiven through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ who died in our stead “the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God”. Death has no terror for the believer for he knows that the glory lies beyond it. Glad to know Nance is able to come to see you, for you must find it dull now Herb is gone. I heard from her a little while back and she told me Fred is exempted from military service. I heard from Jack a week or two ago. He said he had been down to see you and hoped to be able to from time to time. I am glad he is able to as most of us are away. I trust we shall all meet again very soon. I hear from Florrie that they are all fairly well at home, but she has had a lot of trouble with her teeth. I am afraid she will have to get them all taken out before the trouble is ended. I think this is all I have to say. So trusting this will find you and all quite well, I will close with much love to you from your affectionate son. Will x
On the 3rd July 1916, the third day of the Battle of the Somme, William was killed in battle. The circumstances around his death can only be guessed.
The attack was planned for 3:07am, that the 5th Berkshires and 7th Suffolks would lead the attack on Ovillers and the 9th Essex and 7th Norfolks would be held in reserve. William was in C Company in Furness St, circled on the map.
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Being aware of an attack the Germans brought down heavy artillery fire on the British assembly trenches, front line and communication trenches. An extract from the Essex Regiment war diary reads
I would like to point out that the handling and conduct of this Company from this point was most creditable especially as the Company was considerably shaken by the bombardment of our trenches just before the attack from which FURNESS STREET suffered badly.
There is a high probability that he was killed prior to his company leaving the trench, yet the war diary raises another possibility.
Owing to a mistake on the part of the Company commander C Company advanced from our support lines where it faces SE in front of the GRANGE, failing to correct their destination due E advanced in lines of platoons straight across MASH ALLEY striking the German lines about X13 (?) 9.6. The first and support lines were easily carried and after clearing these, the Company went through the village of LA BOISELLE in a SE direction coming into touch with the 19th division. Welsh fusiliers and Gloucestershires about X14 C 3.4 – who were advancing in a NE direction up the village.
As can be seen on the map above FURNESS ST faces south east, yet they needed to attack due east. In the pitch blackness and smoke, they were unaware of the direction of the village (probably also hampered by the fact the British had probably flattened it in the bombardment) and headed south east instead, crossing a far greater distance than the relatively small distance they would have had to cross if they went in the correct direction. It is not a great conclusion to make that the longer you are out in "No-mans land", the more likely you are to be killed. Despite this mistake, C Company managed to take another strongly fortified location called La Boisselle and took over 150 prisoners with the 8th Gloucesters and 9th Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
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| The battlefield - The British were attacking from the right to the left. It is strange to think that such peaceful farmland was once the sight of horrendous killing. |
On August 19th 1916, Alston, 23807, W. (Brentwood) was reported missing in action, along with many other men, in the local paper.
2 years later his body appears to have been found and was reported as Now reported killed in the local paper. The 9th Battalion lost 5 officers and 103 other ranks on 3rd July, only 27 have known graves. The rest are commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial of the Missing on the Somme.
The 1st July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, was the worst day in history for the British Army losing around 20,000 men on that day alone. The 3rd July 1916 was the date on which the 9th Battalion The Essex Regiment sustained the greatest number of casualties during The Great War. The Battle would rage on for another 4 months in which over 1,000,000 people on both sides were killed. The war would go on for another 2 years.
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This year I went to France to see the battlefield where he fell. It touched me that in the end he, and the vast majority or men, on both sides, were just gas stokers, bank clerks, welders, miners, farmers. I don't want to discuss whether The Great War was "right or wrong" in this blog post or to glorify, this post is just an act of commemoration. An understanding of the devastation that the war created. I think much of the time, the tragedy of the war is in the millions of young men who were killed before they got the chance to live. Regarding William, I feel the tragedy is different; he was 37 when he was killed, so he was one of the older men in the army, yet he left behind a wife and 4 children, a devastated family. His death was a tragedy to himself, but maybe immeasurably more so for his family, who now had to spend the rest of their lives without him.
When we went to France we brought some soil from Brentwood to bury with him. It seemed to be a good tribute to be able to bring a part of home to him, for he could never go home. Here he now rests in Brentwood soil.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
