Oliver James Ayres was only 19 when he died in a temporary hospital in Sheffield on 1st Jan 1919. He died of gunshot wounds to the back, arm and legs, and of exhaustion. Serving with 2/4th Royal Berkshire (the Biscuit Boys) he was possibly wounded near Artres in France on either the 25th or 26th of October 1918 during the crossing of the Rhonelle. The number of bullet wounds suggests a machine gun. His mother Elizabeth travelled to Sheffield by train and returned with his body for burial at St Peter Everleigh. He was born at Everleigh on 2 Oct 1899 and buried there on 6th Jan 1919. His brother Albert Edward had been killed at Gallipoli in 1915.

Geoffrey Ayres