11th Bn. Sussex Regiment - April 1918

[alison300]

Would appreciate some advice on Pte. 17918 Frederick Moore, 11th Bn. Sussex Regiment whose death was presumed on 3 April 1918.  He's named on the Pozieres Memorial (near Albert).  When I looked at the Battalion War Diary for 3rd April it simply says the Bn. marched from Aumont to Amatre. 

First of all I can't find Amatre on a map but Aumont seems a long way from Albert.

Secondly, his death was presumed so I thought he would have died in battle and his body not found but according to the diary he would have died whilst on a march.  Would appreciate an expert's opinion.  Thank you.

[MaxD]

Checking with the Brigade diary, Amatre is actually Aumatre about 10 km to the west of Aumont.  39th Division to which 11 Sussex belonged was being withdrawn well out of the line to west of St Omer at the beginning of April to be reorganised in a different Corps.  The April diary records the withdrawal well.

The 11th Sussex had suffered some 300 killed, wounded and missing during heavy fighting at the end of March in the Somme battles of 1918.   The individual report of some of the fighting in the third/fourth week of March in the battalion diary gives a flavour.  The battalion was fighting in the area of Aubercourt about 55 miles to the east of the Aumont/Aumatre area.  In fact, after the withdrawal, only about half the battalion remained.

My belief is that the date was an "on or before" date and that he was actually one of the missing in the fighting at the end March .  I find no record of casualties during the withdrawal.

The fact that he is commemorated on the memorial at Pozieres is because the memorial is to those who fell primarily on the 1918 battles on the Somme.  Here is the CWGC detail which explains it better than I could.  https://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/87600/pozieres-memorial/

Hope that clarifies it?

MaxD

[alison300]

Fantastic - thanks MaxD