Current Information:

Born-Wandsworth

On 10th November, 1917, 11th Royal Fusiliers of 54 Brigade, 18th Division  moved into the front line near the Houlthulst Forest, on the northern edge of the Ypres salient. The fighting that had been raging around Ypres that summer and autumn, better known as the Battle of Passchendaele, had just finished but the rain kept falling, the mud was ubiquitous and the line that they took over was a series of wired shell holes rather than anything resembling a standard trench. Much of their time here was spent improving these positions but their efforts were hindered by the waterlogged ground and the extreme darkness at night. No movement was possible during daylight hours. Hostile artillery and machine-gun fire were an ever present danger and on 13th November, the day that they were relieved, thirteen men fell victim to gas shells. Christopher Matthews was killed on 13th November.