Current Information:

Born-Bromley-by-Bow

Bailleul Communal Cemetery, France

On 15th December, 1914, the 2nd Essex battalion of 12 Brigade, 4th Division moved into trenches near Le Touquet, a small hamlet near Ploegsteert, in Belgium. Alfred Rentcome died from wounds on 19th December but as yet there is no information as to when and where he was wounded. 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.