Name
Alfred John Welch
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
10/09/1916
28
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
5484
Hertfordshire Regiment
1st Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
KNIGHTSBRIDGE CEMETERY, MESNIL-MARTINSART
C. 47.
France
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
Stevenage Old Town Memorial,
St Nicholas' Church Memorial, Stevenage Old Town,
Holy Trinity Church Memorial Roll of Honour, Stevenage Old Town,
Hertfordshire Regimental Memorial, All Saints Church, Hertford,
Not on the Royston memorials
Pre War
Albert was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire on December 16th, 1887 to Alfred Thomas (born in Stevenage c1862) and Annie Alice*1 (born Wheathampstead, c1862) Welch (nee Carter) and baptised on February 5th, 1888.
Alfred (junior) and his siblings were all born in Stevenage, and were: Sarah (b Castle Dyke Bank, c1894), George W H (b Eastville, 1895), Ivy Lily (b New Leake c1903) and Edith Alice (b New Leake in 1907).
Alice (b c1886), Alfred (b 1887), Frederick Charles (b c1890), Mary (b c1893), Charles F W (b c1895), Nellie (believed Ellen Georgina, b c1896), Sarah Lavina (b c1898), James Ernest (b 1900) plus George Henry and Albert Thomas (b c1907). By 1911 two had died, believed to be Alice and Mary and Alfred’s parents had been married for 27 years.
In 1891 and 1901 the family were living in Back Lane, Stevenage where his father worked as an agricultural labourer and then as a hay carter / team master and in 1901 Alfred (junior) was working as an agricultural labourer. By 1911 the family were living at 2 Walkern Road, Stevenage, but Alfred (junior) is absent from the family home and at the time of writing has not been found in the census. It may be that he was simply working away.
He married Rosa Carter in the fourth quarter of 1913 and in 1915, when he enlisted, they were living at Mount Pleasant, Stevenage Herts. They had two children Dorothy May (b first quarter of 1915 in Hitchin) and Alfred John (b fourth quarter 1916 in Royston), which would be around or after the date of his father’s death.
Wartime Service
Alfred enlisted in August 1915 in Hertford and joined the Hertfordshire Regiment, was called for service on August 16th, 1915. At that time he was recorded as 27 years 6 months old, 5’ 5” tall. After training went to France on May 13th, 1916, joining he Battalion in the field on June 10th 1916 and was transferred to ‘D’ Company 13 days later.
The Unit War Diary describes the Battalion as being in the area North of the Ancre River, a hard fought area of the Somme battlefields, on the 3rd September 1916 but gives no indication of how Alfred became a casualty. The Battalion suffered two other casualties on this day and it can be reasonably assumed that all three were probably the victims of a shellfire incident.
He is buried in the Knightsbridge Cemetery, Mesnil-Martinsart, France.
Additional Information
By the date of Alfred’s death, his widow was recorded as living at 2 Rock Road, Royston. After Alfred’s death his pay owed was calculated as £1 16s 3d and authorised on January 12th 1917 to go to his widow Rose. Later his war gratuity was calculated as £3 10s and authorised to go to Rose on December 29th, 1919. She also received a pension, which was authorised on March 30th, 1917 to be paid from April 4th, 1917. The value was £18 6s, but subsequently increased to £22 11s on April 4th, 1917.
*1 recorded as Alice in the 1901 census.
Acknowledgments
Paul Johnson, Jonty Wild
