John, I am not aware of the precise circumstances of your death, nor what caused it, but, as a former soldier in the 1st Lincolns and the 1st and the 7th Warwicks myself, doing my National Service in 1950-51, though sad to read of your sacrifice, I am pleased to be given this opportunity to salute you as a brave soldier in the Bedfordshire Regiment who lost his life in the service of his country in the severe fighting in this sector of the Western Front in the Pas de Calais. Some units of the Bedfordshire Regiment had been involved on the Western Front since 1917, for example the 8th Battalion was involved in the Battle of Cambrai, fighting with the 3rd Brigade in the 6th Division, and you could well have been with them.   More specifically, we read that on the 21st March 1918 the enemy had launched an offensive on the Western Front and that our troops were carrying out a tactical withdrawal while at the same time fighting day and night to resist this attack south of the Scarpe near St Quentin and the old Somme battlefield. It was during this time that, sad to relate, you were blown to smithereens by the German artillery bombardment. Your remains were not recovered from the field of battle, so you were commemorated on the Arras Memorial to the Missing. I can but quote the memorial hymn again, “All you had hoped for, all you had you gave to save mankind – yourself you scorned to save.” But you are also remembered every year at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance, when the parade is at the attention while the Queen’s Colour and the National Standard are dipped in salute as the Last Post is sounded. I know that you were also commemorated on your home town war memorial in London Colney. I offer my sympathy to your relatives and friends who mourned your sacrifice.  Rest in Peace.  Harry.

Henry Harrison