This was my great uncle, Arthur Digweed. He was a gardener, the son of Alfred Digweed, also a gardener. He volunteered in 1915 at the age of 19 along with my grandfather, George. When their mother found out that they had both volunteered & been accepted she went down &pulled George out as he was only 15 at the time. George had to wait until 1918 to serve, by which time it was all over & his elder brother was dead. I am not sure that George ever fully came to terms with this. W believe that Arthur served, as a runner, throughout the Middle East against the Turks, possibly starting with Gallipoli. He was involved in the liberation of Jerusalem & then in the vicious fighting around Christmas time that followed it. This fighting was so desperate that they were fighting the Turks off with shovels. He died during this battle on 27th December 1917.

Paul Digweed