17797 Private Albert Leggett was
a patient at Beechlands in 1916. His entry in Nurse Oliver’s album reads:
Pte A Leggett 17797
1st Batt Northants Regt
Went through the Battle of Loos, Sept 25, in action twice in the
big push. Wounded at Pozieres Aug 20th.
Here’s to the ladies of the Empire’s broad lands
Who have come forward to help us with such willing hands,
Who have come forward to help us for the cause which we fight
And to do their duty and stand by the rights.
He shares this page in her album
with Private H Proctor of the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment.
Albert arrived in France
on 28th July 1915. The 1st Northamptonshire Regiment was
a regular battalion which had arrived in France on 13th August 1914 and formed part of the 2nd Brigade in
the 1st Division throughout the war.
As Leggett states, he fought at
the Battle of Loos and was wounded on the Somme at Pozieres in August 1916. His medal
index card at The National Archives lists him as having served with the Northamptonshire Regiment and also as a private with
the Royal Army Medical Corps, number 137689. My assumption is that after he recuperated
from his Pozieres wound, he joined the RAMC, but the date of his transfer is unclear.
He was discharged from the army on 11th March 1919.
In his book, The Somme - The Day by Day Account, author Chris McCarthy has this to say about the 1st Northamptons at Pozieres:
Sunday 20th August
III Corps - 1st Division
The 1st Northamptons
(2 Brigade) repelled two enemy counter-attacks between 2am and 4am, but retreated after a third
at 8am. Two companies of the Northamptons made two attempts
to recapture Switch Line, the second with two companies of 2nd Royal
Sussex; both were unsuccessful. The 2nd KRRC were engaged all day
but held their forward line.
Sources and Acknowledgements
· The
National Archives: Medal Index Card
· The
National Archives: British War and Victory Medal Roll: RAMC/101 B57 Page 4228: WO 329/2084
· The
National Archives: 1915 Star Medal Roll: RAMC 1C Page 77: WO 329/2917
· The
Somme – The Day by Day Account by Chris McCarthy
