47076, Lance Corporal, Walter Chambers BULLING
Aged 27
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Walter Chambers BULLING was born in Bury St. Edmunds in 1889 (Bury St. Edmunds Q3-1889 4A:700 son of John and Sarah BULLING (née AUSTIN).
Chambers was the maiden name of his paternal grandmother
1891 census...Aged 1, he was at 6 Lower Baxter Street, Bury St. Edmunds with his father John BULLING [37] a draper born in Swaffham, Norfolk; his mother Sarah [33] born Birmingham; brothers Thomas Austin [8] and Alfred Blomfield [4]; sister Daisy Marian [4]. All the children were born in Bury St Edmunds. 1901 census...Aged 11, he was still at 6 Lower Baxter Street, Bury St. Edmunds with his parents and sisters Mary [9], Olive [6], Doris [4], Winifred [3] and Joanna [10 months]. All the sisters were born in Bury St. Edmunds. 1911 census...Aged 21, he was an assistant draper at 24-25 Castle Street, Brighton working for Chipperfield and Butler. In 1923 his father, at 9 Crown Street, Bury St Edmunds, completed the Army's living relatives form and all the siblings are named, Thomas Arthur [40], Alfred [36], Daisy [38], Mary [33], Olive [29], Doris [27] Winifred [25] and Joanna [23] apparently all still single |
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He enlisted as 3090 Rifleman Walter Chambers Bulling on 10th September 1914 at the Polytechnic, Regent Street, London, aged 25 years 1
month. 5 feet 8 inches (172.7 cm) tall, his expanded chest was 35 inches (88.9 cm). He was at the time residing in 3 West Street, Horsham. He embarked for France on 24th December 1914. Admitted to
hospital on 16th April 1915 with synovitis of the right knee, returning to duty on 21st April, but again admitted to hospital with synovitis
on 6th June 1915. This time he was back on duty after two days. At some time his regimental number was changed to 470768
He was appointed Lance Corporal on 12th March 1916. Wounded in action on 1st July 1916, he was posted missing and later accepted as dying on 1st July 1916. At some time the Army had his father's address as 25 Abbeygate Street, Bury St.Edmunds. His personal belongings were sent to his father at Friendly House, Bury St. Edmunds. The action at Gommecourt was set up as a diversion to try and draw the Germans away from the main atack further south. It apparently made no difference and many died more died as a result. On 1st July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, the Rangers were employed in the attack on Gommecourt on the left of the 108th Brigade with the 1st/4th London on the right, the battalion entered the German lines. Heavy fighting took place around Nameless Farm and they were forced to withdraw to Sailly au Bois. Casualties were put at 517. CWGC figures show 149 killed, of which only 49 have identified graves, the rest are named on the Thiepval memorial. Our reports state that the 12th Londons made two morning attacks, one at 7.30am and one at 8.15 am, between Gommecourt and Hebuterne, N. of Albert. An eye-witness says: “We were trying to take 3 lines of German trenches. We expected to find the first two practically unoccupied, as an officer had crawled over the night before and found them so, but they were all occupied and the Germans were holding them well with machine guns etc.” An officer says that it was above all the violent machine gun fire, added to the strength of the German wire, which checked the advance. We also hear that there was 'very heavy high explosive firing, and the ground was fairly torn up by it' Even the road to the Dressing Station in our reserve line was raked by barrage fire. In the 1st German trench which the battalion held for some hours, trench mortars, it seems, fell so thickly that as one officer says 'We couldn't get out at all either way' Finally our men withdrew to their own line about 400 yards away and the next day there was an armistice to bring in the wounded. |
Also commemorated in Trinity Methodist Church, Brentgovel Street, Bury St Edmunds.
click here to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for full cemetery/memorial details