This gives a brief insight into the life of a World War One soldier.

It covers 28½ months in the life of Private 267061 Henry George Collett

of the 1^st Bucks Battalion of the Oxfordshire & Bucks Light Infantry.

Updated June 2012

His family details are provided in

Part 11 – The Welford-on-Avon Line (Ref. 11P63)

England	Enlisted at Wolstanton in Staffordshire, with his qualification date being 27^th July 1915	24-05-1915
England	Joined Royal Engineers as driver - No 173779, and by June 1916 he was based at the YMCA, Station Road in Aldershot, and the following month the Royal Engineers were at Stanhope Lines Camp in Aldershot	28-03-1916
France	2^nd/1^st Bucks Battalion Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and Private Collett No 5256 arrived in France	29-01-1917
France	Joined B Company of 1/1^st Bucks Battalion Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire as Private Collett No 267061 for duty in the field, where he was two days later at Camp 56 in Cappy. By 26^th February he was at Bois Achille	15-02-1917
France	The Battalion moved up to reserved positions at Herbecourt and by 3^rd March arrived at Marley Camp. There then followed a fortnight of movement between Herbecourt, Bois Achille and Camp 56 at Cappy	01-03-1917
France	The Battalion marched through No Mans Land and the village of Biaches. They crossed the Somme by a newly constructed pontoon bridge at Bazincourt and entered Peronne, which had been destroyed by the retreating Germans. Much of the town was still burning and the fronts of many houses had been blown off and stripped of furniture. The only buildings left intact were the Town Hall and the Castle. The British feared that these could be mined; however Battalion HQ was billeted in the Castle for the night and the remainder of the battalion in cellars to the north-west side of the square	20-03-1917
France	Admitted to 1/3^rd South Midland Field Ambulance with pyrexia of undiagnosed origin - def. pyrexia is an abnormal elevation of body temperature	24-03-1917
France	Transferred to No 48 Casualty Clearing Station - this could have been either Bandaghem, Mendinghem or Dozinghem as referred to cryptically by the troops	24-03-1917
France	Admitted to No 5 General Hospital in Rouen	25-03-1917
France	Evacuated to England on board the 410 bed hospital ship SS Gloucester Castle which was torpedoed on 30^th March 1917 during its journey between Le Havre and Southampton. Of the 402 passengers and crew only three lives were lost, the survivors being transferred to a rescue ship.	29-03-1917
England	There followed a period of convalescence, although no location is known
England	Embarked ship at Southampton for France	23-07-1917
France	Landed at Le Harve	24-07-1917
	Taken to No 55 Infantry Base Depot in Rouen, where he remained until 14^th August	25-07-1917
France	Released for duty	14-08-1917
Belgium	Travelling through Esquelbeque	16-08-1917
Belgium	Travelling through Houtkerque	17-08-1917
Belgium	Attended a musketry course at Mondicourt near Arras, but reported sick for two days	25-08-1917
Belgium	Resumed musketry course at Mondicourt	28-08-1917
Belgium	Rejoined B Company School Camp between Watou and St Jans ter Bizen, where they remained for two weeks	30-08-1917
Belgium	The Battalion entrained at Abeele, detraining at Audricq and marching to billets in Licques, Cahen, Lebreuil and Herbinghem. Training continued there including a Divisional Rifle Competition	16-09.1917
Belgium	The Battalion entrained at Audricq and arrived at the canal bank north of Ypres later that day, where they spent the next three days in reserve to the rest of the Brigade, who had taken over their former sector at St Julien	27-09-1917
Belgium	During the night the Battalion took over the frontline, relieving the 1^st/4^thOxfords. The line ran along Cemetery Trench in front of Quebec Farm, then turned due south. There was heavy German shelling at all times, particularly at night, when movement between the frontline and the Steenbeek became extremely difficult. However, it remained dry until the evening of 3^rd October when the 1^st/6^th and 1^st/7^th Warwicks came up to relieve the Battalion and prepare for an attack. Their objectives were, first: Tweed House, York, Winchester and Albatros farms and second: County Cross Roads, Vacher farm and Burns House.	30-09-1917
Belgium	The Battalion withdrew three companies to a camp about half a mile behind the canal bank. The remaining Company, probably B Company, stayed behind in outpost positions covering the deployment of the attacking troops. The attack was a success. The first objective (Tweed House, York, Winchester and Albatros farms) was taken by 8.30 am. Of the second objective only County Cross Roads was taken by 10.30 am. The Battalion later concentrated at Reigersberg Camp	03-10-1917
Belgium	The Battalion moved again to Dambre Camp. However, they had only been there for two hours when orders came for them to relieve the two Battalions of Warwicks, who had attacked on 4^th October. They travelled by motor busses as far as Wieltji, marching from there in platoons to take over the front line	07-10-1917
Belgium	At the front line the Battalion was positioned at Cemetery Trench 400 yards east of Winchester Farm and it was during that engagement when Private 267061 Henry George Collett received shrapnel wounds to his head and legs, and a fracture to his femur, and was taken in by 1^st/2^nd South Midland Field Ambulance	08-10-1917
Belgium	Admitted to No 4 Casualty Clearing Station referred to as “Dozinghem”, where he died of his injuries	09-10-1917
Belgium	He was buried at Dozinghem Military Cemetery, adjacent to the Casualty Clearing Station – Grave 10, Plot 9, Row J at Westvleteren in West-Vlaanderen

The inscription on his headstone reads:

267061 PRIVATE

HENRY GEORGE COLLETT

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE BATTN

OXFORD & BUCKS LIGHT INF

9^TH OCTOBER 1917

THY WILL BE DONE

The name of Henry George Collett also appears in the Book of Remembrance at St Andrew’s Church in Porthill, Wolstanton, Stoke-on-Trent.