1914-15 trio, 3rd battalion Royal Fusiliers, wounded and died of wounds 16th March 1915.

1914-15 trio, 3rd battalion Royal Fusiliers, wounded and died of wounds 16th March 1915. 1914-15 Star, 6758 Pte H. Lewis. R. Fus.; British War and Victory Medals, GS-6758 Pte H. Lewis. R. Fus. Henry Lewis, from Croft Lane, Blairgowrie , Perth & Kinross. Landed France 23rd February 1915. Died of Wounds received in Action whilst serving in the 3rd battalion. Treated at Locre 7th Field Ambulance but died on the 16th March 1915. He is buried at Loker Churchyard. Pension card, medal rolls etc available on Ancestry and CWGC Condition – GVF The 3rd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers served on the Western Front as part of the 85th Brigade, 28th Division. Deployed in the notoriously perilous Ypres Salient in Flanders, the battalion endured some of the most severe early trench warfare of World War I. In late February, the battalion’s primary duty involved trench rotation in the sector near St. Eloi, south of Ypres. Conditions were appalling. The soldiers faced freezing temperatures, waterlogged trenches that induced widespread trench foot, persistent enemy sniping, and relentless artillery bombardment from German forces occupying the higher ground. Despite these brutal environmental and combat pressures, the 3rd Royal Fusiliers held the line, conducting essential nightly repair work on barbed wire defenses and repairing collapsed parapets under constant threat. The defining crisis of this period occurred during the Action of St. Eloi (14–15 March 1915). On the afternoon of 14th March, German forces detonated a heavy mine beneath British positions at the “Mound”—an artificial hillock providing key observation over the area—and launched a sudden, violent infantry attack that captured the Mound and surrounding trenches. The 85th Brigade was immediately ordered to counter-attack to stabilize the shattered front line and prevent a wider breakthrough. Moving into action under heavy German artillery barrages, elements of the 3rd Royal Fusiliers engaged in desperate, close-quarters hand-to-hand fighting in deep mud and pitch darkness. Over the next 48 hours, through intense shellfire and localized night assaults, the battalion helped stem the German advance and consolidate a defensive perimeter. By 16th March 1915, the immediate German offensive at St. Eloi had been checked and the line stabilized, though at a heavy cost in casualties. The period highlighted the resilience and endurance of the 3rd Battalion under extreme physical hardship and high-intensity warfare. NOTE: Sorry we cannot accept payment by PayPal for this item, We can accept payment by Credit / Debit Card, Bank Transfer or Cheque.