A British War Medal and Victory Medal pair, together...
A British War Medal and Victory Medal pair, together with Memorial Plaque, to a Battle of Cambrai casualty of the 9th (Service) Battalion Essex Regiment.
A poignant pair of medals together with Memorial Plaque to a soldier of the 9th (Service) Battalion of the Essex Regiment from East Barnet who, although married
and with five children (with a sixth on the way), volunteered for military service and
later died of wounds received at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917, whilst a prisoner of war of the Germans.
British War Medal and Victory Medal pair, named to 30738 Pte A C Herbert Suff R (Suffolk Regiment); Memorial Plaque named to : Alfred Charles Herbert. The medals and plaque are in Extremely Fine (EF) condition; the BWM dark toned, the plaque in original wallet and with scroll in very good condition; together with short lengths of original silk ribbons, (flattened) boxes and packets of issue and some
ephemera, including two Suffolk Regiment brass shoulder titles, a Soldiers’ Christian Association Bible with inscription, four Barnet & District Table Tennis League medallions, family certificates, copy research documentation including Medal Index Card, CWGC documentation and census records and a biographical note on Alfred Charles Herbert.
Alfred Charles HERBERT
Alfred Charles Herbert was born in Islington in 1881, the son of Alfred James Herbert, who was a Bootmaker by profession. In due course he became a boot and shoe salesman, presumably working for his father. On 20 August 1899 he married Maud Violet Jones (1878-1951) and the 1911 census
records them living at an address in Dalston (Hackney), together with their four children (Violet, Joy, Alfred and Ruby). Also living with them at the same address were Maud Herbert’s sister, Ethel Hall, and her two daughters Rosy and Maud. A fifth child, Ida May, was born to the Herbert's in 1913, followed by a sixth, Iris, in 1917. The census records Alfred Herbert’s profession at this time as ‘warehouseman, boot and shoe’. At some time in late 1915 or early 1916 Alfred Herbert enlisted in the Army, at Westminster. Although conscription was introduced on 1 January 1916, this only applied to single men (aged between 18 and 41) and so he, as a married man with five children, would have been exempt. Nevertheless, he volunteered to serve,
presumably from a sense of duty, the belief that the war was a just cause, a desire for adventure and the bonds of friendship, or for other personal reasons. He enlisted initially into the Suffolk Regiment, as 30730 Pte A C Herbert Suff R, and was posted to France, probably in early 1916. It is not known in which battalion of the Suffolk Regiment Herbert served, but during 1916 or 1917 he was transferred to the 9th (Service) Battalion of the Essex
Regiment. This may have been for one of a number of reasons, but the medal roll indicates that a contingent of Suffolk Regiment men transferred to the 9/Essex, so it may be that their parent battalion had suffered heavy casualties (possibly at the Battle of the Somme) resulting in an amalgamation of Battalions. Whatever the circumstances, Alfred Herbert was serving with 9/Essex as 40865 Pte A C Herbert Essex R during the Battle of Cambrai, which took place from 20th November to 7th December 1917, and during which the battalion formed part of 35th Brigade of the 12th (Eastern) Division. In great secrecy, and under the cover of darkness, British and allied forces consisting of around 476 tanks, 1,000 guns, eight infantry and five cavalry divisions were massed for the attack. The German front line was quickly overrun and the British tanks continued on, punching deep into the
German defences. An advance of some five miles was made, an achievement not seen since the early stages of the war and church bells were rung in Britain in
celebration. However, on 30 November, the Germans counter-attacked and many of the hard won British gains were lost and British units suffered heavy losses fighting desperately to hold back the German onslaught. On 6 December, the battle was brought to a close, both sides exhausted by the ferocity of the fighting. More than 80,000 servicemen from both sides were wounded, missing or killed. Private Alfred Herbert was severely wounded during the battle, receiving a gunshot wound to the eye, and was taken prisoner by the Germans. He later died of his wound on 9 December 1917, aged 36, and was buried by the Germans in the Premont Communal German Extension cemetery. Commonwealth War Grave
Commission records show that his body was exhumed by the CWGC from the German cemetery in 1922 and re-buried in the St Souplet British Cemetery, grave
number : III D 21.
For his service, Pte Alfred Herbert was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal (named to the Suffolk Regiment with whom he first qualified for the medals) and these, together with the Memorial Plaque, would have been issued to his widow in the early 1920s. Alfred Herbert’s wife, Maud Herbert, gave birth to their sixth child, a daughter named Iris, on 18 June 1917. It is not known whether Alfred Herbert would have had the opportunity to see his new daughter before his death. As his widow, Maud Herbert, then living at East Barnet, Hertfordshire was awarded a widow’s pension of 37/11 (£1-17s and 11d, equivalent to £1-90p) per week for herself and her five children under 16 years old, on 2 September 1918, the death of her husband not having been confirmed until 19 March 1918. Maud Violet Herbert re-married in October 1919, to Albert Alfred Langdale, a builder’s labourer, and lived for the rest of her life in East Barnet until her death in October 1951 at the age of 73.
Footnote: As referred to above, Alfred Herbert’s profession before enlisting was ‘warehouseman, boot and shoe.’ The German graves registration report for Alfred Herbert records his regiment as ‘3/Boot Repairers’ (later corrected to 9/Essex)! Whilst barely credible, it appears to be the case that Alfred Herbert retained either his sense of humour or his dedication to duty, or both, as he lay dying, in refusing to give his German captors his true unit identity and offering a jocular alternative which they appear to have accepted. Te deum laudamus. Written by A. Saunders.
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A British War Medal and Victory Medal pair, together with Memorial Plaque, to a Battle of Cambrai casualty of the 9th (Service) Battalion Essex Regiment.
A poignant pair of medals together with Memorial Plaque to a soldier of the 9th (Service) Battalion of the Essex Regiment from East Barnet who, although married
and with five children (with a sixth on the way), volunteered for military service and
later died of wounds received at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917, whilst a prisoner of war of the Germans.
British War Medal and Victory Medal pair, named to 30738 Pte A C Herbert Suff R (Suffolk Regiment); Memorial Plaque named to : Alfred Charles Herbert. The medals and plaque are in Extremely Fine (EF) condition; the BWM dark toned, the plaque in original wallet and with scroll in very good condition; together with short lengths of original silk ribbons, (flattened) boxes and packets of issue and some
ephemera, including two Suffolk Regiment brass shoulder titles, a Soldiers’ Christian Association Bible with inscription, four Barnet & District Table Tennis League medallions, family certificates, copy research documentation including Medal Index Card, CWGC documentation and census records and a biographical note on Alfred Charles Herbert.
Alfred Charles HERBERT
Alfred Charles Herbert was born in Islington in 1881, the son of Alfred James Herbert, who was a Bootmaker by profession. In due course he became a boot and shoe salesman, presumably working for his father. On 20 August 1899 he married Maud Violet Jones (1878-1951) and the 1911 census
records them living at an address in Dalston (Hackney), together with their four children (Violet, Joy, Alfred and Ruby). Also living with them at the same address were Maud Herbert’s sister, Ethel Hall, and her two daughters Rosy and Maud. A fifth child, Ida May, was born to the Herbert's in 1913, followed by a sixth, Iris, in 1917. The census records Alfred Herbert’s profession at this time as ‘warehouseman, boot and shoe’. At some time in late 1915 or early 1916 Alfred Herbert enlisted in the Army, at Westminster. Although conscription was introduced on 1 January 1916, this only applied to single men (aged between 18 and 41) and so he, as a married man with five children, would have been exempt. Nevertheless, he volunteered to serve,
presumably from a sense of duty, the belief that the war was a just cause, a desire for adventure and the bonds of friendship, or for other personal reasons. He enlisted initially into the Suffolk Regiment, as 30730 Pte A C Herbert Suff R, and was posted to France, probably in early 1916. It is not known in which battalion of the Suffolk Regiment Herbert served, but during 1916 or 1917 he was transferred to the 9th (Service) Battalion of the Essex
Regiment. This may have been for one of a number of reasons, but the medal roll indicates that a contingent of Suffolk Regiment men transferred to the 9/Essex, so it may be that their parent battalion had suffered heavy casualties (possibly at the Battle of the Somme) resulting in an amalgamation of Battalions. Whatever the circumstances, Alfred Herbert was serving with 9/Essex as 40865 Pte A C Herbert Essex R during the Battle of Cambrai, which took place from 20th November to 7th December 1917, and during which the battalion formed part of 35th Brigade of the 12th (Eastern) Division. In great secrecy, and under the cover of darkness, British and allied forces consisting of around 476 tanks, 1,000 guns, eight infantry and five cavalry divisions were massed for the attack. The German front line was quickly overrun and the British tanks continued on, punching deep into the
German defences. An advance of some five miles was made, an achievement not seen since the early stages of the war and church bells were rung in Britain in
celebration. However, on 30 November, the Germans counter-attacked and many of the hard won British gains were lost and British units suffered heavy losses fighting desperately to hold back the German onslaught. On 6 December, the battle was brought to a close, both sides exhausted by the ferocity of the fighting. More than 80,000 servicemen from both sides were wounded, missing or killed. Private Alfred Herbert was severely wounded during the battle, receiving a gunshot wound to the eye, and was taken prisoner by the Germans. He later died of his wound on 9 December 1917, aged 36, and was buried by the Germans in the Premont Communal German Extension cemetery. Commonwealth War Grave
Commission records show that his body was exhumed by the CWGC from the German cemetery in 1922 and re-buried in the St Souplet British Cemetery, grave
number : III D 21.
For his service, Pte Alfred Herbert was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal (named to the Suffolk Regiment with whom he first qualified for the medals) and these, together with the Memorial Plaque, would have been issued to his widow in the early 1920s. Alfred Herbert’s wife, Maud Herbert, gave birth to their sixth child, a daughter named Iris, on 18 June 1917. It is not known whether Alfred Herbert would have had the opportunity to see his new daughter before his death. As his widow, Maud Herbert, then living at East Barnet, Hertfordshire was awarded a widow’s pension of 37/11 (£1-17s and 11d, equivalent to £1-90p) per week for herself and her five children under 16 years old, on 2 September 1918, the death of her husband not having been confirmed until 19 March 1918. Maud Violet Herbert re-married in October 1919, to Albert Alfred Langdale, a builder’s labourer, and lived for the rest of her life in East Barnet until her death in October 1951 at the age of 73.
Footnote: As referred to above, Alfred Herbert’s profession before enlisting was ‘warehouseman, boot and shoe.’ The German graves registration report for Alfred Herbert records his regiment as ‘3/Boot Repairers’ (later corrected to 9/Essex)! Whilst barely credible, it appears to be the case that Alfred Herbert retained either his sense of humour or his dedication to duty, or both, as he lay dying, in refusing to give his German captors his true unit identity and offering a jocular alternative which they appear to have accepted. Te deum laudamus. Written by A. Saunders.
