MEAD, Bertie


No.22416, Private Bertie MEAD
Aged 21


7th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment
Killed in Action on 3rd July 1916


Bertie Mead was born in Great Welnetham (2nd qtr 1895 Thingoe 4a: 785), son of Robert and Emily MEAD(née STURGEON)

1901 census...Aged 6, Bertie and his twin brother Archibald were at 2 Cock's Green Cottages, Great Welnetham with their father Robert MEAD [39] farm labourer born Stanningfield; their mother Emily [36] born Hawstead; brothers Willie [9], Ivan [8] and Thomas [5]; sister Elsie [2]. All the children were born in Great Welnetham.

1911 census...Aged 16, a farm labourer, he was at Cock's Green still with his parents, sister Elsie; brothers Ivan Arthur, Algie Robert, Archie and Thomas (all farm labourers),Hubert Claud [9] and John Albert [7]. His mother had lost 2 of her 11 children.

On the pension card his mother was at Great Welnetham.



His brother Ivan was killed the same day, in the same operation see here


He enlisted in Bury St.Edmunds. The Bury Free Press 2nd September 1916 has his brother Ivan as missing, nothing said about Bertie.


The battalion war diary has :-
At 3:15 am the battalion made a frontal attack on OVILLERS on a frontage of 200 yards. The disposition was as follows:- D Coy on right, C Coy on left, supported by B Coy on right and A Coy on left. On the right of the battalion were the 5th Royal Berks and on the left the 37th Brigade, the 36th Brigade being in Reserve. Two companies of the Essex Regt were in support to each Battalion, the Norfolks being in Reserve.
Zero was 3:15 pm (sic), ten minutes before zero the leading waves advanced under cover of the bombardment and at the hour of zero the battalion assaulted in 8 successive waves. The first four waves (D and C Coy) penetrated to the enemy's third line and portions of them into the village itself, but owing to the darkness touch was lost with succeeding waves and with the 5th Royal Berks on the right so that the leading waves were not supported closely enough, thus allowing the Germans to get between the waves and cut off the leading ones at the 3rd line of resistance. It was at this 3rd German line that the chief casualties occurred and the assault was brought to s standstill. The two companies of the Essex Regt moving up in support were too far behind and were practically annihilated by machine gun fire during their advance across the open. The casualties in the battalion were 21 Officers and 458 OR killed, wounded or missing, although some of those missing eventually re-joined the battalion the following night.






Bertie Mead is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme pier/face 1C/2A

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


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