Longuenesse (St Omer) Souvenir Cemetery.

The 4th Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment were formed in August 1914 in Northallerton.
They became part of the 150th Brigade, 50th (Northumbrian) Division.
After landing at Boulogne on the 14th May 1915, the Division took part in most of the actions on the Western Front.
St. Omer, where Private Cripps was buried, is a large town 45 kilometres south-east of Calais.
Longuenesse is a commune on the southern outskirts of St. Omer.
The Cemetery is approximately 3 kilometres from St Omer, beside the Wizernes (Abbeville) road (the D928), at its junction with the Rue des Bruyeres.
William died of wounds. St Omer is some way behind the Front and was used as a casualty clearing station.
By the beginning of 1918 the Germans had a superiority in numbers on the Western Front, having moved Divisions from the Eastern Front after Russia's withdrawal from the war.
They had attempted a breakthrough in the Somme area where the 50th Division was deployed and presumably William Cripps was badly wounded around this time.