No.30016, Private, Osborne HALE
Aged 38
|
Osborne Hale was born in Cavendish (Sudbury Q3-1879 4A:629), son of Samuel and Sarah HALE (née CHINERY).
1881 census,,,Aged 1, he was at Chapel Street, Cavendish with his father D+Samuel HALE [36] butcher' his mother Sarah [37] born Foxearth, Essex; his aunt Sarah HALE [39]; sister Elizabeth [9]; brothers Frank [6] and Wilfred [5]. All except his mother were born in Cavendish.. 1891 census...Aged 11, he was still in Chapel Street with his parents, aunt SaraH; sister Elizabeth; brothers Frank (butcher's assistant) and Wilfred. 1901 census...Aged 21, a butcher, he was at Lower Street, Cavendish with his parents, aunt Sarah and brother Frank (butcher) Q4-1909 he married Ethel May AMBROSE (b.27-10-1885). 1911 census...Aged 32, a butcher, he was at Mott's Farm, Cavendish with his wife Ethel May [25] born Cavendish, with their son Lionel Patrisk [1] born Cavendish. His father had retired and a widower now, was living with his sister Sarah in Lower Street, Cavendish. The pension card has HALES. His widow was at Beckwith Farm, Great Holland, Essex, with the children Lional Patrick (b.17-3-1910) and Margaret Ethel (b.10-4-1912) |
|
He enlisted in Halstead.
The war diary says :- "PICK CAVE near MONCHY-le PREUX 11pm - This morning was extremely quiet but the enemy exhibited great activity in the air. At 4:55 pm our barrage opened on the German front line after a bombardment of the enemy's positions for six hours. The raiders filed out of their dugouts and up to their positions of assembly at zero minus 1 1/2 hours left our line and formed up under the barrage. At zero plus 4 minutes the barrage lifted and the raiders entered the enemy trenches. The line was being held very strongly but the Germans surrendered freely while others attempted to run.Our men could not be prevented from killing those that surrendered and it is estimated that at least 200 Germans were killed by the raiders while many dead were found as a result of our bombardment. The enemy's trenches were demolished and his wire non existent. Two dugouts were destroyed by the R.E. demolition party attached. The Battalion took 30 prisoners. At zero plus 30 minutes our raiding parties returned after reaching all their objectives and carrying out the various duties allotted to it. The enemy barrage was feeble and on the whole the casualties suffered by the Battalion were slight, though the number of officers hit was out of all proportion to the number of men. In addition to the 30 prisoners our men also brought back one light German machine gun and a fish tail mortar. On the return of our raiding parties the Battalion front was held by A and C Coys in front line, B and D in support in PICK CAVE and FORK TRENCH. There has been a certain amount of hostile shelling since the raid but it is gradually getting quieter Our casualties through the raid were as follows:-Officers killed 4 - died of wounds 1 - wounded 1; other ranks killed 17 - missing 11- died of wounds 1 - wounded 37." |
click here to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for full cemetery/memorial details