Current Information:

Age-17

97, Gassiot Road, Tooting

Ferme Buterne Military Cemetery, Houplines, France

During the evening of 12th March, 1915, A Company of the 2nd London battalion, then part of 17 Brigade, 6th Division, moved up to the front line at Chapelle d’Armentières to support the 1st North Staffordshire battalion that had lost heavily during the action of L’Epinette. This had been launched to divert enemy troops away from Neuve Chapelle, a few miles to the south, where the British and Indians were attacking. The following night B Company replaced A Company and sustained a number of casualties from enemy machine-gun fire as they did so. One of those killed was Alfred Gibson.

The attrition rate among British soldiers on the Western Front was on average 300 each day and 60% of these were as a result of shellfire. When not involved in an actual battle it was either shell fire or a sniper’s bullet that caused most deaths and injuries.