1456 PRIVATE ROBERT BEAUMONT BIRD
‘C’ COMPANY, 1/4TH BN SUFFOLK REGIMENT (T.F.)
DIED OF WOUNDS
11TH MARCH 1915
AGE 23 YEARS
Christened Robert Beaumont Bird he was the only boy of five children born to Robert and Susan (née Wright). Up until sometime in the early 1900s the family lived in the village of Westhall where Susan had given birth to Robert junior during the second quarter of 1892. By 1911 the family were now living at No. 9 London Road after Robert senior had obtained the position of caretaker at the town’s cemetery. On completing his education in 1906 young Robert eventually found regular employment with Z Sones and Son boot and shoe manufacturers at their premises in the Thoroughfare. Sometime in 1912 he had enlisted into the Halesworth Territorials, prior to that he had been a very keen member of the Congregational Church Young Man’s Bible Class and their football team where he had a fine reputation as a right winger of exceptional ability. At the outbreak of the Great War Robert was still serving in the Territorials although he had not signed the Imperial Service Pledge to serve overseas. However, possibly due to his sense of patriotism or peer pressure from his Halesworth chums he crossed to France with his Battalion, landing on the 8th November 1914. Here over the next few months they received more training particularly with the new service rifle that had been issued to them on their arrival at Le Havre on the French coast.
Over the following three months the battalion continued training with each of the 4th Suffolks companies spending brief periods in the front line attached to Regular troops and gaining much needed experience. During these early months away from home his mother kept up regular correspondence with Robert to which he replied mainly by the use of Field Service Cards. On the 10th February 1915 he sent a card thanking his mother for a letter he had received on the 4th, see below. On the 10th March, the 4th Suffolks with their Brigade marched to Vielle Chapelle in readiness to take part in the forthcoming battle of Neuve Chapelle. On the 11th the attack began at noon where over the next few hours the Germans gave very little ground. As darkness fell the battalion was ordered to withdraw to its original start point, here after a few hours rest and shortly before dawn they were once again ordered to advance over the ground that they had withdrawn over the previous evening. This time although suffering casualties from the German artillery the battalion with other units of their Brigade established positions in the German front line before eventually driving the enemy back to their reserve line. This was later described as the first occasion during the war when British troops had driven out the enemy from well-established positions in a trench-to-trench attack on such a large scale.
Sadly, the cost in casualties lost to the 4th Suffolks had been very high with a total of two hundred and seventeen Officers and Men not answering the roll call over the following few days. Of these over forty were confirmed as Killed in Action or as was the case for poor Robert who succumbed to his wounds whilst being treated by the 26th Field Ambulance later that day. As well as Robert, another Halesworth Territorial, Private Edward Thomas would also make the ultimate sacrifice during the battle. The first information that Robert and Susan had received about their son had been reported in the Halesworth Times on the 27th April 1915 some six weeks after the battle, this had been written by an Officer from his battalion to the effect that Robert had been wounded and had been transported to a Field Hospital. Another six weeks would pass before they finally received the news that in fact he had died within hours of being taken into the care of the Field Ambulance and had been laid to rest on 13th March in the Estaires Communal Cemetery Extension, Belgium. This Commonwealth War Graves burial ground had been built adjacent to the town cemetery.
On the confirmation of Robert’s death his mother was entitled to claim a small pension that amounted to 5s 0d (25p) per week, followed in September 1919 the final payment of a War Gratuity that amounted to £10 17s 2d (£10.81p).
For his service in the Great War Robert’s parents could claim his 1914 Star Medal Trio, Memorial Scroll and his Memorial plaque which is now in a private collection.
The location of these medals and scroll is unknown.
Although having been christened Robert Beaumont Bird and listed on the Suffolk Roll of Honour for the Halesworth War Memorial as Robert B, all of his remaining military records, including those of the C.W.G.C., list him minus his middle initial or name.