Pte 21939 Alfred Taylor

• Age: 21
• From: Prescot, Lancs
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 17th Btn
• K.I.A Monday 10th July 1916
• Commemorated at: London Rd Cem Ext, Longueval
  Panel Ref: 4.F.28

Alfred Taylor, born in the June quarter of1896, was one of eleven children born to John Taylor, a coalminer, and his wife Hannah (nee Shifnel). His parents married in the September quarter of 1873.

In 1891 John and Hannah lived with their six children at 21 East View, Prescot.

The murderous fighting that went on inside Trones Wood rendered it impossible to put specific dates on some of the casualties which is why many of the 17^th Battalion losses have been bracketed as killed in action between 10^th – 12th July 1916. The conditions are best described in the following passage from Everard Wyrall’s book The History of The King’s Regiment (Liverpool) Volume II; 

The remembrance of Trones Wood in July 1916 to those who passed through it is of a noisome, horrible place, of a tangled mass of trees and undergrowth which had been tossed and flung about in frightful confusion by the shells of both sides. Of the ghastly dead which lay about in all directions, and of DEATH, lurking in every hole and corner with greedy hands ready to snatch the lives of the unwary. The place was Death trap, and although the attacks were made with great determination,   the presence of snipers who could not be detected and often fired into the backs of our men made the clearing of the wood impossible.

On 28th July 1916, the Prescot Reporter advised that Alfred was Missing:

'Runner Alfred Taylor, the son of Mr. John Taylor who resides at 31, Moss Street, Prescot, has been reported 'missing' but fears are entertained that a more serious fate has overtaken him.

Lieutenant Williams of the King's (Liverpool) Regiment, writing on Friday, said that although Taylor had been reported missing, they were certain that he had been killed. He was one of the company's runners and had rendered excellent and invaluable work. He had carried several messages and had returned with the answers and in every way he had proved himself highly plucky. He was, therefore, a great loss to the company. The young fellow, for whom deep and gravest fears are entertained, was only 20 years of age. He was a great favourite among his friends at Prescot, and admired by all with whom he came in contact.'

His parents placed a request for information in the Liverpool Echo on 07th August 1916:

ANXIOUS PARENTS

Private A Taylor of the "Pals" has been missing since July 10. His parents who reside at 31 Moss Street, Prescot will be grateful for any information about their boy.

A further notice was placed in the Social Gazette on 02nd September 1916

It was not until 1935 that Alfred's body was found. he was identified by his ID disc, and was then buried in London Cemetery and Extension in Longueval at 4.F.28 where his headstone bears the epitaph: 

"YEARS ROLL ON BUT MEMORIES LAST. LOVING BROTHERS AND SISTERS". 

High Wood was fiercely fought over during the Battle of the Somme until cleared by 47th (London) Division on 15 September 1916. It was lost during the German advance of April 1918, but retaken the following August.

The original London Cemetery at High Wood was begun when 47 men of the 47th Division were buried in a large shell hole on 18 and 21 September 1916. Other burials were added later, mainly of officers and men of the 47th Division who died on 15 September 1916, and at the Armistice the cemetery contained 101 graves. The cemetery was then greatly enlarged when remains were brought in from the surrounding battlefields, but the original battlefield cemetery is preserved intact within the larger cemetery, now known as the London Cemetery and Extension.

The cemetery, one of five in the immediate vicinity of Longueval which together contain more than 15,000 graves, is the third largest cemetery on the Somme with 3,873 First World War burials, 3,114 of them unidentified.

London Cemetery and Extension was used again in 1946 by the Army Graves Service for the reburial of Second World War casualties recovered from various temporary burial grounds, French military cemeteries, small communal cemeteries, churchyards and isolated graves, where permanent maintenance was not possible. These graves are in one central plot at the extreme end of the cemetery, behind the Cross of Sacrifice. Second World War burials number 165.

The original London Cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker, but the site was completely re-modelled after the Second World War by Austin Blomfield.

The CWGC records show that he was “the son of the late John and Hannah Taylor; brother of Herbert Taylor of 21 Liverpool Road, Prescot”.

Soldiers Effects to father John, Pension to mother Hannah.

His mother, Hannah, died in 1917 and presumably John also died between 1914 and 1920.

They were both still alive when the declaration of relatives for the purpose of pension, return of effects and medals was completed, for his family is listed as John & Hannah, 31 Moss Street; His brothers and sisters were recorded as; John, aged 41 living in Abergele; Herbert, 38, living Prescot; Thomas, 37, St Helens;  Isaac, 30, Warbreck Moor, Liverpool; Hannah, 28, 6 Eaton Street, Prescot; and Emma, 25, living with her parents.

Alfred earned his three medals and is commemorated on the United Reformed Church Memorial in Prescot which is sadly missing.

We currently have no further information on Alfred Taylor, If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.