Pte
Albert Henry Clark
Information about birth
|
Year of birth: 1897 |
|
Place of birth: St George in the East, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom |
General information
|
Last known residence: 57 Anthony Street, St George in the East, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom |
|
Profession: Dock Labourer |
Army information
|
Country: Verenigd Koninkrijk |
|
Force: British Expeditionary Force |
|
Rank: Private |
|
Service number: 43338 |
|
Enlistment date: 20/11/1915 |
|
Enlistment place: Stepney, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom |
|
Units: — Royal Irish Fusiliers, 9th Bn. (County Armagh) (Last known unit) |
Information about death
|
Date of death: 16/08/1917 |
|
Place of death: Pommern Castle & Redoubt, Saint-Julien, Belgium |
|
Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
|
Age: 20 |
Cemetery
|
Tyne Cot Cemetery Plot: XV Row: F Grave: 3 |
Points of interest 4
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Last known residence | ||
| #3 | Enlistment place | ||
| #4 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Albert Henry Clark was born around 1897 in St George in the East, Middlesex. The young man worked as a dock worker. After a year of service in England, he was sent to the continent. On the Western Front, he served with the 9th Battalion (County Armagh) of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, part of the 108th Brigade within the 36th (Ulster) Division.
During the Battle of Passchendaele, on 16 August 1917, the 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers assembled in an old trench that ran from Pommern Redoubt — the battalion's headquarters — to Iberian Farm. Their objective: to advance towards the Zonnebeke–Langemark road, about 1.5 kilometres away.
Moments after advancing behind the barrage, the men were already held up at Hill 35. But despite persistent machine-gun fire from Somme and Gallipoli, the battalion managed to take Hill 35. Meanwhile, contact with the 7/8th Royal Irish Fusiliers was lost, while the artillery barrage continued, exposing the men increasingly to German fire.
One platoon stayed behind to consolidate Hill 35, while the attack continued. The Fusiliers advanced until they encountered a double line of barbed wire at Gallipoli, north of Hill 35. The wire had only been destroyed in one or two places, forcing the men to squeeze through. It was precisely at those bottlenecks that German machine guns opened fire — from dugouts in Gallipoli, Aisne Farm and Martha House north of Hill 35, and from Hill 37 to the east, along the Zonnebeke–Langemark road. The consequences were devastating.
Further advance proved impossible. The battalion was forced to retreat and consolidated its positions in a trench in front of Hill 35. But even there, persistent machine-gun fire from Hill 37 made the position untenable. They withdrew again, this time to a trench on the southern flank of Hill 35.
That position connected to the lines of the 16th (Irish) Division to their right. But when that division was also pushed back by German counterattacks, the Fusiliers’ right flank was exposed. From Iberian Farm, south of Hill 35, they were flanked by German machine-gun fire. With no cover remaining on their right side, the 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers were eventually forced to withdraw to their original lines. The attack was a complete failure.
Albert, barely 20 years old, was killed during the assault on Hill 35. He was initially buried in the field near Pommern Castle. After the war, he was given his final resting place at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Plot XV, Row F, Grave 3.
During the Battle of Passchendaele, on 16 August 1917, the 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers assembled in an old trench that ran from Pommern Redoubt — the battalion's headquarters — to Iberian Farm. Their objective: to advance towards the Zonnebeke–Langemark road, about 1.5 kilometres away.
Moments after advancing behind the barrage, the men were already held up at Hill 35. But despite persistent machine-gun fire from Somme and Gallipoli, the battalion managed to take Hill 35. Meanwhile, contact with the 7/8th Royal Irish Fusiliers was lost, while the artillery barrage continued, exposing the men increasingly to German fire.
One platoon stayed behind to consolidate Hill 35, while the attack continued. The Fusiliers advanced until they encountered a double line of barbed wire at Gallipoli, north of Hill 35. The wire had only been destroyed in one or two places, forcing the men to squeeze through. It was precisely at those bottlenecks that German machine guns opened fire — from dugouts in Gallipoli, Aisne Farm and Martha House north of Hill 35, and from Hill 37 to the east, along the Zonnebeke–Langemark road. The consequences were devastating.
Further advance proved impossible. The battalion was forced to retreat and consolidated its positions in a trench in front of Hill 35. But even there, persistent machine-gun fire from Hill 37 made the position untenable. They withdrew again, this time to a trench on the southern flank of Hill 35.
That position connected to the lines of the 16th (Irish) Division to their right. But when that division was also pushed back by German counterattacks, the Fusiliers’ right flank was exposed. From Iberian Farm, south of Hill 35, they were flanked by German machine-gun fire. With no cover remaining on their right side, the 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers were eventually forced to withdraw to their original lines. The attack was a complete failure.
Albert, barely 20 years old, was killed during the assault on Hill 35. He was initially buried in the field near Pommern Castle. After the war, he was given his final resting place at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Plot XV, Row F, Grave 3.
Sources 5
|
9 Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), WO 95/2505/2). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
|
Cunliffe, M., Passchendaele: The Royal Irish Fusiliers : 1793-1968. (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1970) 324-327. Sources used |
|
Harris, H., The Royal Irish Fusiliers (the 87th and 89th Regiments of Foot). (London, Leo Cooper, 1972) 100-103. Sources used |
|
McCarthy Chris., Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account (London, Unicorn Publishing Group, 2018) 52-55. Sources used |
|
War Office: Soldiers' Documents (The National Archives, Kew (TNA) WO 363). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
More information 3
|
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/462268 |
|
Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/817370 |
|
Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=49cf7309-ffd5-46ae-8c2c-ec97001ce2ec |