Year of birth: 1898

Place of birth: Stockport, Cheshire, England, United Kingdom

Last known residence: Manchester, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom

Country: England, United Kingdom

Force: British Expeditionary Force

Rank: Private

Service number: 243372

Enlistment place: Stockport, Cheshire, England, United Kingdom

Units:  —  Lancashire Fusiliers, 2/5th Bn.  (Last known unit)

Date of death: 20/09/1917

Place of death: Schüler Galleries, Belgium

Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.)

Age: 19

British War Medal Medal

Victory Medal Medal

Arthur Darlington was born around 1898 in Stockport, Cheshire. He was the son of Samuel and Hannah Darlington. Before the war, he lived in Manchester, Lancashire. He enlisted in Stockport, Cheshire, and was assigned to the 2nd/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers (164th Brigade, 55th (West Lancashire) Division).

Arthur was killed in action on 20 September 1917 during the Battle of the Menin Road, part of the Battle of Passchendaele. On the evening of 14 September 1917, the 2nd/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers arrived in the vicinity of Ieper. Until 17 September, the battalion remained in the rear areas before departing in the evening towards the front line south of Sint-Juliaan. On 19 September, the attacking companies were moved to their starting positions northwest of Hindu Cottage. The attack on 20 September was to be carried out in four waves. The first two waves each consisted of two platoons from “C” and “D” Company. Their objective was the capture of Schüler Galleries and Cross Cottages. The third and fourth waves each consisted of two platoons from “A” and “B” Company, with the objective of Green House, Road House, and several dug-outs along the present-day Zonnebekestraat.

At 5:40 a.m., the attack began. German troops at Schüler Galleries immediately opened machine-gun fire. The enemy fire was so intense that before Schüler Galleries were reached, 50% of the battalion became casualties. Eventually, Schüler Galleries were captured together with the 1/8th (Irish) Battalion, King's (Liverpool) Regiment. This battalion also came under heavy fire during their attack, and both battalions only succeeded in capturing Schüler Galleries after fierce fighting. After the capture of Schüler, elements of the 2nd/5th Battalion managed to take the remaining objectives, but were unable to hold them. At various moments between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., German counterattacks were launched, but these were repelled by artillery fire and machine-gun fire from Schüler Galleries. Around 5:00 p.m., the men of the 2nd/5th Battalion attempted another attack from Schüler Galleries, but this was repelled by enemy artillery fire. After this, the battalion undertook no further actions that day. The 2nd/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers suffered 347 casualties that day: 40 killed, 226 wounded, and 81 missing.

Arthur Darlington was killed at the age of 19. After the war, his body was recovered near Schüler Galleries. His remains were reinterred at Tyne Cot Cemetery.

164 Infantry Brigade: Headquarters (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/2921/1). http://nationalarchives.gov.uk Sources used

2/5 Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/2923/2). http://nationalarchives.gov.uk Sources used

Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911 (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), RG14). https://nationalarchives.gov.uk Sources used

McCarthy, Chris. Passchendaele: The Day by Day Account (Londen: Arms & Armour Press, 1995), p 84-85. Sources used

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/462481

Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/1096540

Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=703f600b-31c6-44d6-8251-420be9615458

A Street Near You https://astreetnearyou.org/person/462481/