Saturday 21st October 1916

Billets in Poperinghe

A quiet day, with training continuing, especially in the use of the new small box respirators. There was again a sharp frost overnight 21^st-22^nd. 

Pte. Irvine Clark (see 11^th August) who had been wounded in July and had been under treatment at the Southern General Hospital in Bristol, was posted to 83^rd Training Reserve Battalion, based at Gateshead. Pte. Richard Butler, who had also been in England since July and had recently been absent without leave from the Regimental Depot at Halifax, (see 11^th October) was also posted to the same battalion.

A payment of £61 17s. 6d. was authorised, being the amount outstanding in pay and allowances to the late 2Lt. Isidore David Marks (see 19^th October) who had been killed near Contalmaison in July. 

2Lt. Isidore David Marks

Payments were also authorised in the cases of Pte. Richard Davies Ellison (see 28^th July) and Pte. Francis Herbert Maltby (see 29^th July), both of whom had also been killed in the fighting around Contalmaison. In Ellison’s case a payment of £4 18s. 2d. went to his mother, Margaret. For Maltby, there was a total amount of £5 13s. 1d., which was to be divided among his family; his mother, Sarah, received £3 7d. and his brothers, Robert, Thomas and Frederick, were each paid 15s. 2d., presumably as per Maltby’s instructions in his will.

Pte. Bert Maltby

The weekly edition of the Lancaster Guardian reported on the death of Pte. Joseph Edward Preston (see 6^th October),

We regret to announce the death of Corpl. (sic.) Jos. Preston, Duke of Wellington's, who was killed on the 4th October. The sad news was received from his cousin Hugh Robinson (see 4^th October) who was in the same regiment. On the morning of October 4th Hugh saw Corpl. Preston come into the front trench with a carrying party and told him they were going over the parapet to have a "do" at the Germans. That was the last he saw of him. He was told two days later that Corpl. Preston was struck by a shell and killed instantaneously. Corpl. Preston was 27 years of age and unmarried. He will be remembered in Caton as a chorister having been in the Church Choir from October, 1899, to April, 1912. During that time he took many solos, treble, alto and tenor. After leaving school he worked at the Brickworks, but afterwards went on the Midland Railway and for nearly two and a half years at Shipley and Keighley. He served for four years in the 5th King's Own (Territorials) and although his time had expired, he joined Kitchener's Army with his cousin, going to the Duke of Wellington's Regiment. Shortly afterwards his brother John, joined the same regiment, hoping to be with him but was placed in another regiment (sic. actually Battalion) and got to France first. He was gassed on his first visit to the trenches in May 1915.

 

Cpl. Joseph Preston