No. 7759, Private, Augustus Samuel BARFORD
Aged 20
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Born in Newmarket in Q2-1896 [Newmarket 3b:522] to Frank and Caroline BARFORD (née RUSE) of 3 Turf Terrace, Lower Station Road,(now All Saints Road) Newmarket. 1901 census...At 3 Turf Terrace were Augustus S[4]; his father Frank [27], a journeyman tailor, born Luton; his mother Caroline [25], born Newmarket, and sister Gladys F [2] born Newmarket. 1911 census...Now at 27 Warrington Street, Newmarket, Augustus [14] was an errand boy, living with his parents, sister Gladys Hilda and new brother George Frank [8] born in Newmarket. On the pension card (1919) his parents were at Turf Tavern, Granby Street, but his father did not become landlord there until about 1933. At the time there were dwellings in the Turf Yard. |
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He enlisted in Norwich. The PD on his medal index card will be for "Presumed Dead". His battalion was known as the 3rd Public School Battalion.
The attack on High Wood on the 20th of July was undertaken by, among other units, the 1st Cameronians, 5th Scottish Rifles and the 20th Royal Fusiliers. To the south-east of High Wood, leading towards Longueval, is a sunken track that can be walked today. This was known as Wood Lane, and a German trench located her was an important part of the front line as they held grimly onto High Wood. On the 20th of July, men of the 2nd Gordon Highlanders and 8th Devons attacked Wood Lane. The infantry crept as close as they could to the Wood and the German lines whilst the artillery bombardment raged, but when they advanced to attack they met with little success, in Wood Lane or in High Wood itself. Men did enter the wood, but German machine gun emplacements in several places within the wood caused losses. The Switch Line was another strongly held line from which the defenders resisted. Fighting continued, and by the time dawn broke the British held half of High Wood. The 2nd Gordon Highlanders and 8th Devons had to retire from Wood Lane however. When the Germans counterattacked from the west of the wood many troops retired, congregating at Crucifix Corner which being hidden from view from the German positions must have seemed safer. The 2nd Royal Welch Fusiliers were in reserve, they fought well, and with the remnants of the other battalions overan the strongpoint in the western part of the wood, and took more or less the whole wood. However, they faced great opposition from the Switch Line outside the wood, and also urgently needed reinforcements that did not arrive. They and other troops held the wood for a few hours, but the Germans bombarded them and followed up with an infantry attack that retook the Switch Line within the wood, and the western part of the wood. The remaining troops were relieved at 1 a.m. on the 21st of July by the 1st Queens and 16th Kings Royal Rifle Corps. The wood had been taken, but not held, the 20th Royal Fusiliers, also known as the Public Schools Battalion, having suffered 397 casualties.Of these 149 were killed with only 39 having identified graves. There was originally a timber cross erected by High Wood as a memorial to these men; it is no longer there, but in 1988 an oak tree was planted with a small plaque commemorating the 20th Royal Fusiliers at its base. This is at the edge of High Wood bordered by the Martinpuich road, walking right from the London Cemetery, and is easy to miss amongst the other trees. It is just before the 47th (London) Division memorial. |
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