Gnr
Arthur Victor Sargent

Information about birth

Year of birth:
1897
Place of birth:
Tipton, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom

General information

Profession:
Clerk

Army information

Country:
England, United Kingdom
Force:
British Expeditionary Force
Rank:
Gunner
Service number:
101293
Enlistment place:
Tipton, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
Units:
 —  Royal Field Artillery, "C" Bty. 298th Bde.  (Last known unit)

Information about death

Date of death:
31/07/1917
Place of death:
Verbrandenmolen, Belgium
Cause of death:
Killed in action (K.I.A.)
Age:
20

Cemetery

Reninghelst New Military Cemetery
Plot: III
Row: C
Grave: 2

Distinctions and medals 2

British War Medal
Medal — 06/04/1920
Victory Medal
Medal — 06/04/1920

Points of interest 2

#1 Place of birth
#2 Enlistment place

My story

Arthur Victor Sargent was born in 1897 and was the youngest son of John Henry and Nancy Sargent, of Tipton, Staffordshire. Before the war, Arthur was employed as an office worker at Messrs J & C Holcroft Ltd. at Dudley Port Railway station. He enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery in October 1915, and was engaged in the Irish Uprising. By the summer of 1917 he served as a Gunner in “C” Battery of the 298th Army Field Artillery Brigade, which participated in the Battle of Passchendaele.

During the first week of July 1917 the 298th Army Brigade relieved the 26th Army Brigade and deployed it’s guns near the village of Voormezele. On the 22nd and 23rd of July the Brigade occupied new positions at the hamlet of Verbrandenmolen, targeting German positions in wake of the upcoming attack.

The offensive started in the early hours of the 31st of July 1917 and all Batteries of the 298th Army Brigade opened fire at 3.50 a.m. Throughout the day the men fired barrage after barrage in support of the attack of the 72nd Infantry Brigade, which was engaged roughly two kilometres east of Verbrandenmolen.

Arthur Victor Sargent was killed in action on 31 July 1917. The 20-year old Gunner possibly fell, due to German counter shelling, while supporting the infantry attack in Shrewsbury Forest. Arthur was buried in Reninghelst New Military Cemetery.

Files 1

Sources 5

"Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account", McCarthy C., London, Uniform, 2018, pg. 23-24.
Sources used
Ancestry
https://www.ancestry.com/
Further reference
CWGC
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/153033/sargent,-arthur-victor/
Sources used
The Long, Long Trail
http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/
Sources used
War Diary 298th Army Field Artillery Brigade
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Further reference