Geburtsdatum: 08/09/1897

Geburtsort: Saffron Walden, Essex, England, Vereinigtes Königreich

Beruf: Schwindler

Land: England, Vereinigtes Königreich

Truppe: British Expeditionary Force

Rang: Private

Dienstnummer: 21108

Einberufung ort: Saffron Walden, Essex, England, Vereinigtes Königreich

Einheiten:  —  East Surrey Regiment, 9th Bn.  (Letzte bekannte Einheit)

Sterbedatum: 03/08/1917

Sterbeort: Corner House, Belgien

Todesursache: Im Kampf gefallen

Alter: 19

British War Medal Medaille — 07/10/1920

Victory Medal Medaille — 07/10/1920

Private Albert Edward Bassett served in the East Surrey Regiment 9th Battalion, part of the 72nd Brigade, of the 24th Division.
The Battalion participated in the Battle of Pilckem Ridge (31 July – 2 August), the opening stage of the Third Battle of Ypres. At 8 p.m. on the 1st of August, HQ along with “C” and “D” Companies moved up to Old French Trench, two miles Southwest of Ypres. This was a preparatory step, as they 9th East Surrey’s were to relieve troops of the 72nd Brigade in the new frontline. The relief was carried out in the night of the 2nd and 3rd of August 1917.
“D” and “C” Companies took over the frontline. “A” Company was in support and “B” Company was in reserve. The weather conditions were abominable, heavy rain was falling for three consecutive days. The communication trenches were flooded. All movement had to go overland, as the communication trenches were over waist-deep in water and liquid mud. In addition, on arrival at the support line and further on the way to the front line, “C” Company got caught in a heavy rain of German shelling, suffering twenty casualties. Relief was completed by 1.30 a.m. on the 3rd of August 1917 and the Battalion would remain in the frontline for five days.
Private Albert Edward Bassett was probably killed in the early hours of the 3rd of August 1917, while going up the frontline near Shrewsbury Forest. It’s highly likely that Private Albert Edward Bassett was mortally wounded, when “C” Company got caught by German shellfire. Private Albert Edward Bassett was buried near Corner House, close to the Battalion’s HQ and near the support line of the East Surrey Regiment 9th Battalion. His remains were exhumed after the war and interred in Duhallow A.D.S. cemetery.

9 Battalion East Surrey Regiment , (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/2215/1). https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14303 Weitere Quellen

Pearse H.W. and Sloman H.S., History of the East Surrey Regiment 1917-1919, (London, The Medici Society LTD, 1924), pg. 75-76. Verwendete Quellen

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2935661

Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=9622030b-733b-441f-b7b0-fe65c192f374

Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/232458