Current Information:

Age-25

18, Alston Road, Tooting

During the night of 13/14th April, 1915, the 3rd Royal Fusiliers battalion of 85 Brigade, 28th Division, moved into the front line at Broodseinde in the Ypres salient. They stayed here for 48 hours during which time there were over 70 casualties in the battalion. There were two reasons for these losses. The first was that, according to the battalion diary, the opposing trenches were only four yards apart and the second was the presence of a  large trench mortar employed by the enemy which did considerable damage and which the  British artillery were unable to silence. One of the casualties was Francis Baseley who was killed on 14th April.