Bmdr
David Bradley Cross
Information about birth
|
Date of birth: 08/08/1891 |
|
Place of birth: Edgware, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom |
General information
|
Profession: Painter |
Army information
|
Country: England, United Kingdom |
|
Force: British Expeditionary Force |
|
Rank: Bombardier |
|
Service number: 22307 |
|
Enlistment place: Edgware, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom |
|
Units: — Royal Field Artillery, "C" Bty. 74th Bde. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
|
Date of death: 06/06/1917 |
|
Place of death: Wulvergem, Belgium |
|
Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
|
Age: 25 |
Cemetery
|
Kandahar Farm Cemetery Plot: II Row: A Grave: 37 |
Distinctions and medals 3
|
1914-15 Star Medal |
|
British War Medal Medal |
|
Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Bombardier David Bradley Cross, was a 25-year-old painter from Edgware, Middlesex who was killed in action on the 6th of June 1917. At the time of his death David served with “C” Battery, of the 74th Brigade Royal Field Artillery, which was part of the Divisional artillery of the Guards Division.
On 25 May 1917 the Brigade was attached to the 25th Division. It prepared positions to the north of Wulvergem in anticipation of the upcoming attack on the Messines Ridge. The first days of June were spent enhancing gun. Headquarters were established in a farm building near Destroyed Mill.
The positions of the 74th Brigade Royal Field Artillery were frequently shelled. On June 6, a day before the opening of offensive, “C” Battery was targeted by the German artillery.
David’s commanding officer Major Macdonald later wrote Cross’ family to tell the bombardier had been struck by a shell whilst sided by his gun. David was one of the three men of the 74th Royal Filed Artillery who were killed in the period from 1-8 June. He was buried in the nearby Kandahar Farm Cemetery.
On 25 May 1917 the Brigade was attached to the 25th Division. It prepared positions to the north of Wulvergem in anticipation of the upcoming attack on the Messines Ridge. The first days of June were spent enhancing gun. Headquarters were established in a farm building near Destroyed Mill.
The positions of the 74th Brigade Royal Field Artillery were frequently shelled. On June 6, a day before the opening of offensive, “C” Battery was targeted by the German artillery.
David’s commanding officer Major Macdonald later wrote Cross’ family to tell the bombardier had been struck by a shell whilst sided by his gun. David was one of the three men of the 74th Royal Filed Artillery who were killed in the period from 1-8 June. He was buried in the nearby Kandahar Farm Cemetery.
Sources 5
|
"History of the Guards Division in the Great War : 1915-1918", Headlam C., London: the Naval and Military Press, 1924, dl 1, pg. 218-220. Sources used |
|
Ancestry https://ancestry.com/ Sources used |
|
CWGC https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/443802/cross,-david-bradley/ Sources used |
|
Naval and Military Archives http://www.nmarchive.com/ Sources used |
|
The Long Long Trail http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/order-of-battle-of-divisions/guards-division/ Sources used |