Richard Charley Gutteridge, born 1 December 1892 at 2 Priory Road, Dunstable, was the son of Richard William Gutteridge, a Straw Hat Manufacturer's Warehouseman and Annie Mary Beatrice Gutteridge (Nee Carver). He attended Dunstable Grammar School where he excelled in Maths, Experimental Science and Scripture.

On 12 November 1914 Richard enlisted at Kempton Park Racecourse with the 16th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment. Supported with a character reference from his old Headmaster Lionel Thring, he was commissioned to the 6th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry as a 2nd Lieutenant on 10 April 1915. A promotion to Lieutenant followed on 1 June 1916.

In early 1918 he was on home leave to marry Dorothy Alice Thorne at Colchester, Essex and set up home in Eaton Bray before returning to France.

On the evening of 26 May the Battalion were in reserve at Chalons-sur-Vergeur when intelligence was received of an impending enemy bombardment to start at 1am with a full scale attack to follow. The War Diary summarises the action.

"Promptly at 1am the barrage came down, it was such as had never been experienced by the Battalion before. The enemy flooded the whole area to a depth of about 3,000 yards with high explosive, shrapnel, and gas shells. At 4.50am a message was received stating that the enemy had attacked in force and had overwhelmed the forward posts. An enemy tank was also reported to be tearing up the wire.

The enemy was advancing rapidly, the Battalion was still under the barrage and the smoke made matters very difficult. Enemy machine guns were now firing from the rear, and it was realised that apart from about half-a-dozen orderlies who formed the remains of the Headquarters personnel, the Battalion had been practically annihilated."

During the action Richard was one of 15 officers and close to 400 other ranks wounded or missing. Richard's remains were found in December 1919, identified from his identity disc and reburied in a cemetery fit for purpose.

Robin Marriott