Current Information:

Age-39

Born-Mitcham

Brown's Copse Cemetery, Rouex, France

The Battle of Arras was a series of offensives by the British Army between 9th April 1917 and 16th May 1917. It had been planned in conjunction with the French who would attack in Artois and between them the Allies would force the Germans out of the large salient they had held since the line of trenches was first established. But the Germans had spoiled this plan by falling back to the new and very strong Hindenburg Line in January 1917 and the salient no longer existed.  For the want of an alternative plan the attack went ahead anyway. It all started well for the British who made substantial gains on the first two days but then the offensive ground to a halt and by the end their losses amounted to over 150,000.

At noon on 11th April, all three brigades of 4th Division attacked on the front north of the River Scarpe. The leading battalions of 10 Brigade, 1st Royal Irish Fusiliers and 2nd Seaforth Highlanders assembled in the Fampoux-Gavrelle road and the Hyderabad Redoubt where they were seen by enemy aircraft and subsequently heavily shelled. Their attack across open ground was pressed with extraordinary gallantry against withering fire from the chateau, the Chemical Works, the station and the embankment but little was gained. The support battalions of 10 Brigade, 1st Royal Warwickshire and the Household battalion moved up but the enemy fire was so heavy they did not even reach the 1st line. The brigade suffered many casualties during the course of the day one of them being Frank Henn of the 2nd Seaforth Highlanders.