![]() In billets at La Clytte, the 2nd Battalion were resting after a period in the trenches at Vierstraat. On the 28th February 1915, the Corps Commander, General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien, visited the Battalion accompanied by Major-General Haldane and Brigadier-General Bowes, to view a new barbed wire entanglement which had been developed by Private Death in the previous weeks when they had been in the front line. The “Suffolk Death Trap” as the War Diary coined it, proved very popular with the visiting top brass and they all “expressed their highest approval of it.” Private Death joined the Suffolk Regiment in late August 1914, although he was most likely a Reservist called back to the Colours and possibly given his old number upon re-enlistment. He may very well have been at Le Cateau, and survived the battle or he may have come out afterwards as a replacement. He would be Mentioned-in-Dispatches in June 1915, for his part in the 2nd Battalion's attack on the German positions in front of the village of Hooge. His Platoon Commander, Lieutenant H.C.N. Trollope was wounded by shrapnel in the arm and leg during the same attack. As to what Death's or De'Ath's exact design was is unsure, but it was clear that the ethos had changed from one of offensive, to one of defensive. Comments are closed.
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Welcome to our online 'blog' charting the history of the many Battalions of the Suffolk Regiment and the part they played in the Great War.
Starting back in March 2014, we have recorded the events of 100 years ago on the centenary of their happening. Keep checking back to see how the Great War is progressing for the men of the Suffolk Regiment. Archives
December 2018
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