Current Information:

Age-21

46 Ballance Road, Homerton

Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Belgium

Second attack on Bellewarde

With the aim of diverting German troops away from Loos when the British attack went in there on 25th September 1915, there were three subsidiary attacks by the British, the largest being the Second attack on Bellewaarde in the Ypres salient.

42 Brigade of 14th Division attacked on the left with 5th Shropshire Light Infantry, 5th Oxford & Bucks Light Infantry and 9th Rifle Brigade in front. The German front line was taken at three separate points across the Bellewaarde ridge, but Bellewaarde Farm was not captured. There followed a number of attempts to bomb the enemy out of the intervening stretches of their front line but the inferiority of British grenades at this stage of the war meant that these were unsuccessful. Again in the afternoon  a strong German counter attack developed which fell hardest on 9th Rifle Brigade near Railway Wood. 9th King’s Royal Rifle Corps, also of 42 Brigade moved up in support but both battalions were driven back to their own line. However they did manage to keep possession of the new mine crater.  Eventually 5th Shropshire Light Infantry and 5th Oxford & Bucks Light Infantry, further south, were forced to withdraw. No ground was gained and the casualty list was long. Rifleman Butfield died of wounds on 26th September, 1915, and it is likely he was one of the many wounded during this action.