Bobby Marsh was my great uncle. I have many details about him including his date of death on 28th February 1917 (one month before his 18th birthday). However, try as I might, I have not been able to discover where he died. He was in the King's (Liverpool) Regiment and is buried at Y Farm Military Cemetery , Bois-Grenier. I had a look at the regimental diaries but could find no mention of him apart from a notation of 2 soldiers being found dead on this date. I would be grateful if anyone might have an idea of what happened and whereabouts. Thanks. Liz
Hi Liz and welcome ! In Memory of Private R W MARSH 266174, 2nd/7th Bn., The King's (Liverpool Regiment) who died on 28 February 1917 Remembered with honour Y FARM MILITARY CEMETERY, BOIS-GRENIER This is the description of the cemetery from the CWGC .... and I read recently that the CWGC maybe able to tell you where the soldier fell from their records - as he may have been buried at a temporary burial site - then moved after the Armistice ... might be worth a shot to get onto the CWGC site and simply hit on the 'contact us' and fill in all the details you know .... theres a possibility they maybe able to give you coordinates on a map ! .... no harm in trying is there ? http://www.cwgc.org/ Let us know what happens ....... in the meantime I'll keep looking ! Annie
Thanks Annie I'll certainly give it a try. I find it a bit strange that in the regimental diaries everyone who is killed or injured get mentioned by name except the two soldiers who were killed in the early hours of 28th. From what I can gather they were posted sentry and found later. I'm fairly certain that Bobby was one of these two. Its terribly sad when I think that he sent a letter to his mother telling her that they would be going to France but she wasn't to worry because they wouldn't be anywhere near the frontline and a few weeks later the poor boy is dead. Liz
Hi Liz ! Usually the war diaries don't mention the OR's ( ordinary ranks ) by name .... it's usually the officers or the men who were awarded medals later for gallantry ! So many boys died after sending letters home telling their families not to worry ... tragic ! I'll keep looking for your Bobby ! - can you tell us a little more about him ? do you have a photo you could post .... it just seems so much more meaningful to get to know the soldier not just a name on a headstone or memorial ! Annie
