Pte
Albert Blaker
Information about birth
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Year of birth: 1883 |
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Place of birth: Hunslet, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Profession: Printers Assistant |
Army information
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Country: England, United Kingdom |
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Force: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Private |
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Service number: 3496 |
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Enlistment place: Bury, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom |
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Units: — The Prince of Wales’s Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment), 2nd Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 02/08/1917 |
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Place of death: Red Lodge, Westhoek, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 34 |
Cemetery
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Poelcapelle British Cemetery Plot: LX Row: D Grave: 13 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 2
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place |
My story
Private Albert Baker served in The Prince of Wales’s Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment) 2nd Battalion, part of the 75th Brigade, of the 25th Division. The Battalion had already participated in the Battle of Messines before they were to partake in the Third Battle of Ypres.
On the 1st of August 1917, the night after the battle commenced, the 2nd South Lancashires occupied positions at Westhoek Ridge, which had been taken the day before by the 8th Division. The 75th Brigade was to consolidate and hold the line on the ridge. The Germans having failed to retake the ridge with infantry counterattacks, tried to obliterate the defenders with heavy shell fire.
On top of the unrelenting shelling, it rained persistently. The Battalion had trouble digging in, due to state of the ground and the constant artillery fire. Conditions were very harsh for the 2nd South Lancashires. Uniforms, men, ammunition and rations alike were soaking wet and everything became caked with mud. While the enduring German shelling made it neigh to impossible to resupply the Battalion.
Shortly after midnight, in the early hours of the 2nd of August 1917, a party of about twenty men were sheltering on the Westerly side of the Battalion Headquarters dug-out. A German shell landed right in the middle of them, killing the whole party. The 2nd Battalion South Lancashires suffered a total of forty-four casualties on that day. One officer was killed, along with twenty other ranks, and twenty-three men were wounded.
The Battalion spent a total of six days on the position at Westhoek Ridge, during which it was reduced to little more than 200 men. Private Albert Baker didn’t survive the Battalion’s tour at Westhoek Ridge. He was killed in action on the 2nd of August 1917. He was one of the twenty men who were killed by a German shell at the Battalion Headquarters dug-out. Private Albert Baker was buried alongside his comrades (this is clearly visible on his Burial Return Sheet), close to where they fell. His remains were reburied later on at Poelcapelle British Cemetery.
On the 1st of August 1917, the night after the battle commenced, the 2nd South Lancashires occupied positions at Westhoek Ridge, which had been taken the day before by the 8th Division. The 75th Brigade was to consolidate and hold the line on the ridge. The Germans having failed to retake the ridge with infantry counterattacks, tried to obliterate the defenders with heavy shell fire.
On top of the unrelenting shelling, it rained persistently. The Battalion had trouble digging in, due to state of the ground and the constant artillery fire. Conditions were very harsh for the 2nd South Lancashires. Uniforms, men, ammunition and rations alike were soaking wet and everything became caked with mud. While the enduring German shelling made it neigh to impossible to resupply the Battalion.
Shortly after midnight, in the early hours of the 2nd of August 1917, a party of about twenty men were sheltering on the Westerly side of the Battalion Headquarters dug-out. A German shell landed right in the middle of them, killing the whole party. The 2nd Battalion South Lancashires suffered a total of forty-four casualties on that day. One officer was killed, along with twenty other ranks, and twenty-three men were wounded.
The Battalion spent a total of six days on the position at Westhoek Ridge, during which it was reduced to little more than 200 men. Private Albert Baker didn’t survive the Battalion’s tour at Westhoek Ridge. He was killed in action on the 2nd of August 1917. He was one of the twenty men who were killed by a German shell at the Battalion Headquarters dug-out. Private Albert Baker was buried alongside his comrades (this is clearly visible on his Burial Return Sheet), close to where they fell. His remains were reburied later on at Poelcapelle British Cemetery.
Sources 2
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2 Battalion South Lancashire Regiment , (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/2250/2 ). https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14303 Further reference |
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Whalley-Kelley H., "Ich Dien" The Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire) 1914-1934, (Aldershot, Gale & Polden LTD Wellington Works, 1935), pg. 44-45. Sources used |
More information 3
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/491201 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=374faa57-9a29-4bc9-80a1-35116253ee6e |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/378918 |