Arthur Stanley Athroll was born on 9th September 1891. He was twenty-two when war broke out, however, it was not until the 21st February 1916 that Arthur enlisted in the 6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Suffolk Regiment. The battalion had been raised in 1908 by William Tertius Pretty of Greylands, Melton, and during the war he was their commanding officer. Arthur served in the 6th Suffolks until 15th June 1917 when he was discharged, enabling him to re-enlist in the Royal Naval Division’s 4th Reserve Battalion as an Able Seaman. On the 29th July 1917, Arthur was posted to France to join the Hawke Battalion of the Royal Naval Division. In January 1918, he was back in England being treated for trench fever and an injury to his right hand probably from his time in the trenches during the Third Battle of Ypres.

On his discharge from the hospital, Arthur was given a week’s leave before returning to the 2nd Reserve Battalion in Aldershot. August 1918 saw Arthur posted back to France with one hundred and thirty-one other men.

On 21st August, Hawke Battalion were on the front line waiting for the start of what became the Second Battle of Baupaume. Arthur and his fellow reinforcements were pitched straight into the midst of the fighting when they arrived on the 23rd. The battalion continued fighting for another five days and although casualties were high, ground was taken from the German army. On the 28th August, Hawke Battalion was relieved. Arthur and the others marched to their billets at Miraumont. Their war diary says:

“Miraumont, 29th August: Battalion resting. Men made their own shelter in open field. Material found from Boche Dumps.”

The war had entered its final phase, the One Hundred Days Offensive, and, between 8th and 10th October 1918, the Second Battle of Cambrai took place. On the 7th, the Hawke Battalion was sent to Noyelles to prepare for an attack at 04:40 the next morning. A report of the events of the day were recorded in the war diary as follows.

“At Zero (04:40 hrs) the advance was commenced under cover of a heavy barrage, with tanks operating along the railway line on the left. Other tanks had been detailed to create a smoke barrage by the Faubourg de Paris, preventing observation from Cambrai. Despite heavy enemy barrage which opened up immediately, the Battalion reached its final objective and commenced consolidation at 07:15 hrs. Enemy shelling was slight, but there was considerable sniping during the work of consolidation.”

 During the offensive, four officers were killed and one wounded. Of the “Other Ranks”, eighteen were killed, eighty-eight wounded and ten missing. Arthur was one of those injured and he was taken to the 46th Casualty Clearing Station, based at Delsaux Farm near Beugny. On the 9th October, Arthur died of the wounds he received and was buried in the Delsaux Farm Cemetery. For his war service, Arthur’s family received the British War and Victory Medals.

Below: Arthur Athroll's service record. Note the "DISCHARGED DD" meaning "Discharged Dead"