Aubrey John Austin

A Private with 1st Bn. Aubrey died on 31st of October 1914 at the age of 26.

Aubrey was born at Hampstead, Middlesex, on 8 August 1886, a son of Annie Amy Austin and step-son of Charles William Bradfield. He was baptised at Saint Saviour's Church, Hampstead, on 29 August 1886. In 1888 his family lived at 27 Lismore Road, Hampstead, and by 1891 they were living at 32 Fleet Road, Hampstead. Aubrey attended Fleet Road School, Hampstead.  

Austin was living at 59 Fleet Road, Hampstead, and working as a groom, for Mr. Longest, of The Firs, Clay Hill, when he enlisted in the 3rd (Militia) Battalion The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) at London on 3 September 1904. He then joined the regular battalions of The Queen's, at Guildford, on 20 October 1904. In 1911 he was serving with the 1st Battalion at Warley, Essex. 

On 7 November 1911 Aubrey married Lilian Edith Tripp at Hampstead. For a time, in 1913, Aubrey worked as a stableman for the London Metropolitan Railway, at Chalk Farm, and later Aubrey and Lilian moved to Lowestoft and lived at 3 Gilpin Terrace, Rock Estate, Oulton Broad. Later Lilian remarried and lived at Lake View, Harbour Road, Oulton Broad.

Aubrey would have been mobilized when the war began and he arrived in France with the 1st Battalion on 12 August 1914. On 30 October 1914 the 1st Battalion held a line of entrenchments from the Menin Road to south-east of Gheluvelt and the line included two farms. At 7 p.m. on 30 October a German attack was made and repulsed and the Germans kept up sniping activities all through the night. At 9 a.m. on the morning of the 31st Captain Creek sent the following telegram to the Headquarters of the 1st Battalion:

Enemy are entrenching about 300 yards to our front along the line of farm buildings.

Could artillery fire on them?

All right here.

Please send more ammunition. 

The German attack came, along with a heavy bombardment, and men of the 1st were driven from their trenches by heavy enfilade fire.

During the battle the 1st lost 633 officers and men killed, wounded or missing. He was reported missing at Ypres on 31 October 1914 and concluded to have died on, or since, that date.    

Aubrey was mentioned in Sir John French's despatch (London Gazette 19 October 1914).