Name
Augustus Harold Clark
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
01/09/1917
22
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
266528
Hertfordshire Regiment
1st Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
Not Yet Researched
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
HARLEBEKE NEW BRITISH CEMETERY
I. B. 4.
Belgium
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
Hertfordshire Regimental Memorial, All Saints Church, Hertford, Not on the Sandon memorials*1
Pre War
Son of Harold William and Alice Louisa Clark, of Payne End, Sandon, Royston, Herts.
Wartime Service
Harold received a leg injury sustained on July 31st. 1917 at the Battle of Pilckem Ridge north-east of Ypres in Belgium. (1st day of the Battle of Passchendaele) Taken prisoner.
From ‘Passchendaele Day by Day’ by Chris McCarthy:
“Tuesday July 31st 1917. Temperature 69 F. Rainfall 21.7mm.
Fifth Army. XVIII Corps. 39th. Div. 118 Brigade.
The brigade set out at 8am. with the 1/6 Cheshires, 1/1 Hertfordshires, and 4/5 Black Watch with the 1/1 Cambridgeshires in support. The Black Watch on the left advanced with little difficulty through Kitchener’s Wood and across the Steenbeck river. On the right, the Cheshires passed through St. Julien. The Hertfordshires however were cut down by machine-gun fire. The heavens opened and the rain fell in torrents: the worst weather in Belgium for 75 years. The battlefield turned into a swamp.
The brigade advanced on the right as far as Von Tirpitz Farm . However the 55th. Div. on the right, had not come up and the flank was exposed to enfilade fire. The 118th. Brigade thus suffered from heavy counter attacks forcing them to withdraw from St Julien to the east bank of the Steenbeek. They were then withdrawn to Divisional Reserve and the line from St. Julien to the culvert was held by the 116th. and 117th Brigades where they linked with the 51st. Division.”
According to a “Crow” newspaper report, Augustus was taken prisoner on July 31st 1917 and nothing more was heard of him until Feb. 19th. 1919 when his mother heard from the Herts . Reg. Prisoners of War Committee that her son had died in a field hospital at Bonshequi on May 11th 1918. Yet the C.W.G.C. has his date of death as Sept. 1st. 1917. He is buried in Harlebeke New British Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. I.B.4.
Additional Information
*1 Harold is also commemorated on the family headstone in Standon (St. Mary) Churchyard unfortunately we cannot read his inscription in current image available.
Acknowledgments
Jonty Wild, Jean Handley
