8th Battalion Royal Fusiliers

[ajsmith]

My great uncle Pte (Gabriel) Martin Canovan died on 20/10/1915 aged 16 or 17 whilst serving with the 8th Battalion Royal Fusiliers(12th Eastern Division) in the Loos area. He is commemorated on the Loos Memorial. I realise that to all intents and purposes the main battle was over by this time and that there is much further research for me to do but I wondered if anyone had any information about where that battalion might have been around those dates, and what they were doing. I've looked up all the basic information CWGC,SWD and his obit in the local paper. As an aside the local paper says he was serving with the 3rd Hussars whilst SWD says he was formerly a member of that regiment.

all info/ideas greatly appreciated

Tony Smith

[bmac]

The 8/RF were involved in the latter stages of a small action near the Quarries at Hulloch. On the 18th October a German trench was captured in an attack by men of the Essex Regt and the 9/RF. The following day the trench came under bombardment and heavy fire in the mid-afternoon. The line of the 9/RF was then attacked and the 8/RF sent up 32 bombers under 2nd Lts Oliver and Barrow to assist. Oliver was killed and Barrow wounded and your great uncle and four other men were killed. Lt Col A C Annesley of the 8/RF was also wounded further back. The attack was beaten off.

[ajsmith]

Bill

thanks very much for that, presumably this information comes from the battalion war diary?

all the best

Tony Smith

[bmac]

The Royal Fusiliers in the Great War by H C O'Neill.