Gordon John Branton was born in Wickham Market, Suffolk, at the beginning of 1885. His parents were John Branton and Sarah (née Plant) and they had two other children; Arthur, born in 1883 and Sarah Jane, born in 1888, who sadly died with her mother at birth. In 1891, John married for a second time, to Eliza Mills, and they had two more children; Stanley, born 1893, and Alec, born 1896. In 1911, Gordon was employed as a carpenter and, later that year, he married Emma Almeda Sibbons in Wickham Market.

Conscripted into the services in June 1916, Gordon initially joined the Royal Engineers, before being transferred to the 20th (Tyneside Scottish) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers, where he was assigned to “C” Company. (It is not known when exactly Gordon joined the 20th Northumberland Fusiliers, but in June 1917 they were based near Fampoux near Arras.) On the 5th June 1917, the battalion was ordered to attack the western slope of an area of high ground known as Greenland Hill. Gordon’s battalion was to the right of the formation, with the 21st Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers in the centre, the 22nd Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers on the left and the 24th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers in reserve.

Zero hour was set for 20:00 and, at the allotted time, the 20th Battalion attacked with “A” Company on the right, “B” Company in the middle and “C” Company on the left, as planned.

The battalion war diary reported:

“Part of “A” Coy reached the first objective (COD TRENCH), and part of “C” Coy reached the first Objective (CURLY TRENCH), but “B” Coy failed to reach even the first objective owing to a strong resistance by the enemy. “Themen of “A” and “C” Companies who had been successful at once got in touch with our own troops on the right and left flanks respectively, consolidated their positions and protected their exposed flanks by forming blocks in the line. An attempt during the night to bomb the enemy out of the remainder of the position failed.”

About seventy men were killed during the attack, one of whom was Gordon Branton. His body, along with many others who also died in the fighting, was not recovered for burial. Gordon is remembered on the Arras Memorial, and the War Memorials in Wickham Market and St Andrew’s Church, Melton. For his war service, Gordon’s family received his British War and Victory Medals. In 1923, Gordon’s widow, Emma, married William Rumsey of Woodbridge.