Current Information:

Age-27

28, Brookfield Road, Hackney

After the opening battles of the war at Mons on 23rd August, 1914 and Le Cateau on 26th August, the British Army (BEF), in conjunction with the French Army, began a retreat that took them all the way back to the River Marne, 200 miles to the south. With the Germans in hot pursuit they were forced to fight a series of rear guard actions as they fell back in extremely hot weather. The Great Retreat, as it became known, came to an end on 5th September, 1914 when the allied forces attacked along the River Marne and drove the Germans back to the River Aisne.

Samuel Spong, who served with the Royal Field Artillery ammunition train of the 4th Division was killed in action on 1st September 1914 as 4th Division, along with the rest of the BEF, were retreating south in the face of a far larger German force.