Born 2nd January 1896 in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, Harry was the second son of Robert and Margaret Laflin.  The 1901 census shows the family living at Woodhouse Farm, Bishop’s Stortford, where Robert worked as a Stud Groom. On 28th March 1904 Harry and his older brother, Bertram, joined the Boys School. The Register notes that they lived at Home Farm, Idlicote and had previously been educated at Bishop’s Stortford Boarding School. Harry left School on the 25th March 1910, when he was fourteen years old and by the outbreak of the war he was living in Bromyard, Worcestershire and joined up in Evesham. The 48th (South Midland) Division, including the 1st/8th Worcestershire (Territorial) Regiment, moved to France at the end March 1915.  As Harry did not arrive in France until the 25th June 1915 he is presumed to have been a replacement for men killed or wounded in the first three months of the Worcesters’ time in France. On the night of the 19th July 1916 the 1st/8th Battalion met with disaster on the Somme. After 3 days in divisional reserve, they received orders that all four companies would form a working party to dig a new communications trench up the main road, from La Boisselle to the position in front of Pozieres. The four Companies moved off at 9pm and were working before 11pm. At 11:10pm the enemy’s guns started to shell the road.  The troops continued their work noting that whilst some of the shells exploded, most didn’t. After a while a “funny stink” was commented on, but as it didn’t smell like gas the work continued.  All the while more shells fell near them. Eventually the sickly smell became overpowering and men started to vomit. The officer in charge decided that whilst it must be an unknown gas, the effects did not seem very serious and the work continued. Finally at nearly 2am, when the task practically accomplished, the four Companies made their way back. For the nature of the job, casualties were light with seven killed and seven wounded by the shellfire.  Thirty-six others were affected by the gas, and were taken to a nearby dressing station and then on to hospital. The four companies arrived back at their billets at about 5am and the exhausted men threw themselves down to sleep. The following day the effects of the gas were clear with men everywhere vomiting or helpless with pain, even those not physically being sick were unable to actually undertake any work.  Of the four fighting companies of the Battalion, only 18 men were not affected. Between the 20th and 25th July the men remained in billets, as one by one they collapsed. After a further 70 men had been admitted to hospital the Battalion was sent right back to the Houdencourt area.  Eventually over 400 men were sent home to recover. Harry’s condition would have been treated in an Advanced Dressing Station, and as it worsened he would have been ‘sent back’ and treated by Casualty Clearing Station, and finally back to one of the General or Stationary Hospitals on the coast at Etaples. The Evesham Journal of the 26th August 1916 reported: Mr. and Mrs. Laflin of Chilcombe Farm, Brede, Sussex, formerly of Idlicote, have lost their second son, Pte. H. Laflin, of the Worcesters, who has died of wounds. Pte. Laflin was twenty years of age and enlisted with the Worcesters in October 1914. He had been serving abroad for fifteen months and was wounded in the legs and hands last month; and has now succumbed to his wounds. Three weeks ago we published a photograph of Sergt W. R. Laflin, his brother who was killed on July 10. Sadly Harry was one of the seven men wounded on the night of the gas attack and he died on the 29th July 1916.  He is buried in the Etaples Military Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France, the largest British Cemetery in France.  He is remembered on the School Memorial.

Mike Wells