Current Information:

Enlisted-Stratford

Deir el Belah War Cemetery, Palestine

After the Western Front, the second largest theatre of war between 1914 and 1918 was Egypt and Palestine. Britain had long had a foothold in Egypt guarding the vitally important Suez Canal and when war was declared against Turkey (the Ottoman Empire) which controlled all of what is now known as the Middle East, British troops were sent to guard the canal from attacks from the north. For the first two years of the war the British forces were on the defensive as the Turks, backed by the Germans, made a number of attempts against the canal but an important victory in August 1916 at Rumani relieved the pressure and the British force was then able to move onto the offensive and advance north into Palestine. There followed two years of hard fighting as, in a series of battles, the Turkish Army was slowly pushed north out of Palestine.

By March 1917 they had concentrated at Rafah and were ready to attack the coastal town of Gaza and the fortifications running east from there to Beersheba. The attack was launched on 26th March, 1917 from the WadiGhazze, about eight miles south of Gaza and involved cavalry units, mainly Australian and New Zealanders, encircling the town whilst the infantry moved in from the south and south-east.

Alfred Gooderham died from unspecified causes on 18th August, 1917, while serving with the 8th Hampshire battalion in Palestine. 8th Hampshire were part of 163 Brigade, 54th Division that went to Gallipoli in 1915 and at the end of that campaign moved to Egypt and then Palestine. During August, 1917, they were away from the front line, training.