On this day in 1918, Second Lieutentant Alfred James Wills died.

Second Lieutenant 87209
Alfred James Wills
182nd Royal Garrison Artillery
Died 18th October 1918

Age 23

Alfred James Wills was born on 3rd August 1895 at Middlewood in North Hill, one of the three sons and three daughters of James and Jessie Wills. He was baptised at St Torney’s church in North Hill on 2nd September 1895. His father was a bootmaker and the family moved from North Hill to South Petherwin and then to Venterdon, from where Alfred attended Stoke Climsland School. In the 1911 census, he seems to be working with his father as an apprentice bootmaker but this must ahve changed as his given occupation when he joined the army was farm hand/ horseman. In early 1918, before his posting abroad, Alfred married Ethel Annie Jones, also from North Hill, in Launceston Registry Office. Their time together was very short because, within a few months, Alfred was killed. His widow lived until 1990.

Alfred's headstone in the Highland Cemetery at Le Cateau

Alfred’s full Service Record survives and the salient points of Alfred’s military career can be summarised as follows. He was attested (technically enlisted) on 9th December 1915 and posted to the Army Reserve same date. This was a "Derby Scheme" enlistment and was quite normal. Effectively it meant that he had enlisted but his services are not immediately required. He was subsequently mobilised (called-up) on 29th May 1916 and posted to the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) depot in Bury St Edmunds. He was appointed as a bombardier on 28th September 1916 and posted to a reinforcements depot on 10th November 1916, making him available for overseas service. He joined the No 423 Siege Battery on 5th May 1917 and applied for a commission and posted to a cadet school in Aldershot in the same month.

After his officer training, on 20th January 1918, he was given a commission in the RGA and embarked for France (Folkestone to Le Havre) on 30th March 1918, where he joined the 182nd Siege Battery on 20th April 1918. The battery was equipped with 6 Ordnance BL 6 inch 26cwt howitzers - the qualifier "26cwt" refers to the weight of the barrel and breech together. These guns needed 10 crew and could fire a 40kg shell a distance of 10km. One source gives that guns of this type fired 22.4 million rounds during the Western Front campaign.



6 inch 26cwt Howitzer of the type used by the 182nd Siege Battery

Alfred’s unit was involved in the Battle of the Selle which started in thick mist at 5:20 a.m. on 17th October 1918. Behind a creeping barrage, the infantry and tanks moved forward on a ten mile long front, south of Le Cateau. Despite tenacious enemy resistance and much uncut wire, the River Selle was crossed during the first day and by nightfall Le Cateau had been captured. The fighting continued into the next day and it is likely that Alfred was killed at this time during enemy counter barrage fire. On the same day two other 182 men (Gunners J Waugh and W Harrison) also died. All three bodies were exhumed in 1920 from a grave location at the entrance to a sugar factory near Inchy, nearly three miles from Le Cateau, and reinterred together at the nearby Highland Cemetery in Le Cateau, a small town in Northern France about 19 kilometres south-east of Cambrai, quite close to the border with BelgiumAll three were identified by their clothes and identifying cross. The inscription on Alfred’s headstone, ‘A loving son, true and kind. A beautiful memory left behind. They will be done’, was chosen by his father, James. The charge levied for these 60 words was 19s 6p.

Alfred’s residual wage and War Gratuity amounted to £81 18s 10p but there is no record of who received these monies.

The official record of the effects left by Alfred Wills