NORMAN, Albert




No. 26289, Private, Albert NORMAN
Aged 25


6th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment
Killed in Action on Sunday 29th April 1917

Born in Fulbourn, Q4-1891 [Chesterton 3b:468], the eldest son of George Richard and Eliza Anne NORMAN (née COY) of Balsham Road, Fulbourn.

1901 census...Albert [9] was at 2 Jockey Club Cottages, Exning, with his father George R [37] horsekeeper on farm, born Rampton, his mother Eliza A [33] born Stretham and his brother Cecil [1] born Exning and sisters Mary E [10] born Rampton and Mabel [6] born Exning.

1911 census...The family were at Southfield Farm, Exning, Albert [19] was a farm labourer, sister Mary Ellen was a housemaid. There were two new children, Ethel [8] and Reginald [4], both born in Burwell. It is recorded that 2 other children were born but had died,

The illuminated roll of honour in St Martin's Church gives his Christian name as Alfred and has his address as South Field Farm. Both CWGC and "Soldiers Died" give the date of his death as 29th April.
It would seem that Albert Norman enlisted under the Derby Scheme. Lord Derby's solution to recruitment was the so-called 'Derby Scheme'. This encouraged men to voluntarily register their name on the principle that once registered they would be called up for service only when necessary. As an added incentive married men were advised that they would only be called up once the supply of single men was exhausted. Announced in a fanfare of publicity the scheme proved unsuccessful however, and was abandoned in December the same year. Excluding men exempted from military service on account of their occupation (e.g. munitions workers) just 350,000 men had volunteered under the Derby Scheme. In its stead the government - now led by David Lloyd George - introduced the Military Service Act of January 1916, which set down terms for mandatory military service - that is, conscription.


The date and battalion of his death suggest he died as a result of the battalion’s costly assault on Greenland Hill, when just 58 of the battalion were left. This was a 3rd stage in the Battle of Arras when the battalion were engaged in capturing Arleux-en-Gohelle.
The death toll for the 6th Bedfords that day was 28, but the 4th lost a further 34 killed.


Albert's entry in "Our Exning Heroes" reads as follows:

Norman, A.   5th Bedfords
Alfred Norman, of Southfield Farm, joined the Army on February 9th, 1915. After three months' training at Felixstowe he went to France in the following June. He was killed between April 23rd and 29th, 1917; it has not been possible to ascertain the exact day. A sergeant-major writes as follows;
"He was employed as a stretcher bearer, and was at the time digging out some of his mates who were buried by a shell just before the one came that killed him. He has been greatly missed in his duties at rescuing wounded comrades. He was buried in the vicinity of where the action was taking place at the time."
He was twenty-six when he was killed. Before the war he first worked at Lord Durham's Portland Farm and afterwards at Mr. Dale's Brewery, Cambridge.






No Known Grave
Albert is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France Ref: bay 5

click here to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for full cemetery/memorial details


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