Boulogne Eastern Cemetery.
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At the census of 1901, Wilfred, aged 9, was living at 3 Park St and had been born in Skelton.
His father, who worked in the Ironstone mine as a Deputy, came from Pinchinthorpe, N Yorks and
his mother from Bilsdale, N Yorks.
His older brother, Joseph, aged 18, was an apprentice watchmaker at the time and was killed in the war on the
8th September 1916, while serving in the Cheshire Regiment.
His other brother, Alfred, aged 13 was a stable boy.
The 14th (Service) Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry was formed at Newcastle in September 1914.
It was attached to 64th Brigade, 21st Division.
At the time of Wilfred's death the Division fought in the Battle of Loos, north of Lens in France.
Compared with the small-scale British efforts of Spring 1915, this attack of 6 Divisions was a mighty offensive
indeed - it was referred to as 'The Big Push'.
Taking place on ground not of their choosing and before stocks of ammunition and heavy artillery were sufficient,
the opening of the battle was noteworthy for the first use of poison gas by the British Army.
Despite heavy casualties, there was considerable success on the first day in breaking into the deep enemy positions
near Loos and Hulluch.
But the reserves had been held too far from the battle front to be able to exploit the successes and succeeding
days bogged down into attritional warfare for minor gains.
Wilfred must have been badly wounded either during or just after this action as he died at the base
hospital in Boulogne.
Boulogne, was one of the three base ports most extensively used by the Commonwealth armies on the Western
Front throughout the First World War.
Boulogne and Wimereux formed one of the chief hospital areas.
Until June 1918, the dead from the hospitals at Boulogne itself were buried in the Cimetiere de L'Est,
one of the town cemeteries, the Commonwealth graves forming a long, narrow strip along the right hand edge of
the cemetery.
