Name
Arthur Bygrave
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
30/10/1914
25
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Corporal
9374
Bedfordshire Regiment
2nd Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
1914 (Mons) Star (with Clasp & Roses), British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
THIEPVAL MEMORIAL
Panel/Pier 2C.
France
UK & Other Memorials
Stevenage Old Town Memorial
St Nicholas' Church Memorial, Stevenage Old Town
Holy Trinity Church Memorial Roll of Honour, Stevenage Old Town
Pre War
Arthur was the son of Arthur & Susan Bygrave of Symonds Green, Stevenage. He was a professional soldier who had been drafted to the BEF from South Africa at the outbreak of the war. The battalion arrived at Zeebrugge on the 7th October 1914 and were soon in action.
Wartime Service
It is believed he was killed during the First Battle of Ypres when the battalion withdrew from Zandevoorde. On the morning of the 30th October 1914 they came under very heavy shell fire from German artillery. At this point in the war the trenches had not been dug and troops had to take cover in ditches. They found themselves out in the open where they were an easy target for the German guns. His body was never found, and he was not confirmed as killed until August 1915. Arthur has no known grave and his name is recorded on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium.
Additional Information
www.stevenageatwar.com
Acknowledgments
Paul Johnson
