Arthur John Saunders
Memorial: Kingswood - Holy Trinity Church
Regiment: Gloucestershire Regiment
Medals: 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Silver War Badge, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Private 10621
Parents: Richard Henry Edward and Annie Saunders
Home address: 4 Derrick Road, Kingswood, Bristol
Pre-war occupation: Inker in the boot trade
Date of birth: 1896
Date of death: 08/08/1915
Buried/Commemorated at: No known burial site but Commemorated at Helles Memorial, Turkey (including Gallipoli)
Age: 19
Further information:
Arthur was the son of a bootmaker and the second eldest of seven children with two brothers and four sisters. In 1911, both Arthur and his older brother were working alongside their father in the boot industry.
Arthur enlisted in the 7th Battalion, Glosters in 1914. His regiment moved to Turkey in June of 1915 and took part in amphibious landings in Suvla Bay on the Gallipoli peninsular. Arthur died during the Battles of Suvla (6th – 15th August) which were fought against the Ottoman Empire. He was originally listed as missing, then as a prisoner of war, but this was later changed to killed in action. The number of casualties at 21,000 were catastrophically high for these engagements, principally down to the commander who was an elderly incompetent British general and who was later dismissed.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
Kingswood Heritage Museum