Graham George Long

Memorial: Staple Hill - Page Park

Regiment: The Welsh Regiment

Medals: British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal

Rank and number: Private 48239

Parents: Isaac and Rose Long (nee Bracey)

Marital status: Single

Home address: Park Road, Staple Hill, Bristol

Pre-war occupation: General Labourer

Date of birth: 1892

Place of birth: Stapleton, Bristol

Date of death: 18/09/1918

Buried/Commemorated at: Doiran Military Cemetery (Ref. V. F. 32.), Greece

Age: 26

Further information:

Graham Long was the third oldest of twelve children born to Isaac and Rose Long. Enlisting at Cross Keys, Monmouthshire in May 1916 he served in the 11th (Service) Battalion (Cardiff Pals) Welsh Regiment. His Battalion was part of an army that was assembled to provide military assistance to the Serbs who had recently been attacked by combined German, Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian armies. The intervention came too late to save Serbia and, after a brief winter campaign in severe weather conditions on the Serbian frontier, the Anglo-French forces found themselves back at Salonika. At this point the British advised that the troops be withdrawn. However, the French – with Russian, Italian and Serbian backing – still believed something of strategic importance could be gained in the Balkans. After preparing the port of Salonika for defence, the troops moved up country. During 1916, further Allied contingents of Serbian, Italian and Russian troops arrived and offensive operations began. These culminated in the fall of Monastir to Franco-Serb forces during November. A second offensive during the spring of 1917, the British part of which was the First Battle of Doiran (24th-25th April and 8th-9th May), made little impression on the Bulgarian defences. The front line remained more or less static until September 1918, when a third offensive was launched. The Welsh attacked at Doiran for a second time (18th-19th September) and it was during this assault that Private Graham George Long was killed. With a breakthrough by Serbian forces west of the River Vardar the Bulgarian army was forced into a general retreat. The campaign concluded with the surrender of Bulgaria on 30 September 1918

The Register of Soldiers' Effects shows that Graham Long possessed £29.4s.11d which was sent to his father on 22nd April 1919. This sum included a War Gratuity of £10.0s.0d which indicates he enlisted in the month from 19th May 1916

By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):

Forces War Records, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Register of Soldiers' Effects, UK Censuses, World War 1 Service Medal and Award Rolls, Soldiers Died In The Great War, FreeBMD, David Blackmore – Mangotsfield Residents Association.