Cecil Harry Ashford

A Lance Corporal with the 9th Battalion, Cecil died on 9th of October 1915 at the age of 33.

Cecil was born at Framlingham in 1882, a son of Sutton and Louisa Mary Ashford. In 1891 his family lived at Pound Street, Halesworth. By 1901 they were living at 8 London Road, Halesworth, and Cecil was a printer’s apprentice. In 1911 Cecil lived at 13 Tennyson Road, Lowestoft, and he worked as a printer compositor. Later his parents lived at 36 Rotterdam Road, Lowestoft. 

Cecil worked for Flood and Sons, Borough Press, Beach Road, Lowestoft, for 13 years.  

Cecil volunteered and enlisted in the Army at Lowestoft. He joined the Suffolk Regiment and was posted to the 9th Battalion. Cecil arrived in France with the 9th Battalion on 31 August 1915. 

Colonel Murphy’s ‘The History of the Suffolk Regiment 1914-1927’ has the following account of the 9th Battalion’s involvement in the Battle of Loos from 25 to 27 September 1915, pages 121-122:

At 8 p.m. on 25 September the 9th Battalion moved off and began to wend its way, in a double line of platoons, across the battlefield of Loos. A steady advance – not towards the 9th Division as originally intended, but in the direction of Vendin-le-Vieil – was maintained, the battalion passing in turn over its own support line, its own front line, the German front line, and the German support line. About midnight the advance was held up, the battalion digging themselves in between that hour and dawn, with the German support line still behind them. At 5 a.m. they were ordered back to that line.
During the forenoon of the 26th an order was received for an attack at 11 a.m. with the 9th Battalion to support the 72nd Brigade, following some 600 yards behind. Unfortunately, however, this order was not received until 11.25 a.m., whereupon Lieutenant-Colonel, passing a message down the line, ordered the battalion to advance immediately. Without hesitation each section mounted the parapet and began pushing forward under heavy artillery fire towards the objective of the previous evening. 
The advance continued until the leading line reached a point about two hundred yards or so beyond the Hulluch-Lens Road where it was definitely checked. At 5 p.m. the right flank began to give way. For three hours the centre held on to the road, and during that time the flanks advanced and retired twice. Then the left flank, coming under a heavy machine-gun fire from the direction of Hulluch, was forced back. Here most of the 9th Battalion’s casualties occurred.
About 2 a.m. on the 27th the battalion was relieved.

The Battalion’s casualties were: 
Officers, one killed, six wounded
Other ranks, nine killed, two died of wounds, 81 wounded, 45 missing

Local newspapers carried conflicting accounts of what had happened to Cecil. The Ipswich Star of 15 November 1915 reported that he had been killed at Loos during the night of 26 September, and that he was buried, with military honours, on 27 September. However, the Halesworth Times, 7 December 1915, reported that he had been wounded on 26 September and died of wounds on 9 October.

All official military records give his date of death as 9 October.