Great War Dead of Addlestone Surrey

George Herbert Gosden was born in Addlestone, Surrey, the son of Mr. & Mrs. H Gosden of 27 Chapel Avenue. Early in the war George went to Guildford and enlisted in the 8^th Battalion (Btn) of the Kings Royal Rifle Corp (KRRC) as Rifleman, number R/10441 and was sent to join the fighting in France.

The war diary for the KRRC states that on 27^th June 1916, the 8^th Btn (part of the 14^th Division) relieved the 7^th Btn, KRRC, in the K2 sector at Roclincourt. On 28^th June, a Tunneling Company reported a German mine being dug under the KRRC trenches, "somewhere about the junction of trenches 113 and 114", which is where George was. The Tunneling Company went on to report that there was no immediate danger and predicted the mine wouldn't go up for about a fortnight. As a precaution however, the area was cleared for 50 yards in each direction and reinforced with sandbags. On the 29^th and 30^th June, apart from receiving heavy fire from shrapnel, with one man killed and two wounded, nothing much else was reported. On the 1^st July, the following comprehensive entry was made:

“Fine day, fairly quiet until 10-50pm when the enemy exploded a mine under trenches No 113 and 114, K2 Sector, and at the same time opened a heavy artillery fire with 5.9, 4.2 guns and 77mm trench mortar and bombs etc, on the front and communications trenches, the enemy came out of his trenches, and also a party came close to our trench on the rt side, at the same time another party of enemy entered trench No 115- and bombed two dugouts, which were empty. This party was turned out by bombers. A party of bombers under 2^nd Lieut Cooke was sent out to the Rt side of the crater and at the same time CAPTAIN RIXON took another party to the left side and turned out the enemy. 2^nd Lieut COOKE then worked his way towards the far lip and was reinforced by another party of bombers, and held the far lip. Captain RIXON then sent up a a lewis gun, under 2^nd Lieut. C. E. SCOTT to assist 2^nd Lieut COOKE. Working parties were then organised to open communication with the crater and breastwork was built for the men holding it, and by daylight, these parties had made the position possible to hold. Much credit is due to the prompt way reinforcements were bought up with shovels and sandbags. The work was done under heavy fire from machine guns and trench mortars.....”

Although there is no mention of casualties for the 1^st of July 1916, this is when George Gosden was killed; he was 21 years old. George is now buried in Tilloy British Cemetery, Tilloy-Les-Mofflaines, France.

For his part in the Great War, like so many other men, George was posthumously awarded the 1914/15 Star Medal, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. These medals were sent to his next of kin after the war, along with a bronze memorial plaque bearing his name. In 2007 George's medals were sold on a well known internet auction site for a sum in excess of £600.

   George Gosden's actual medals - the ones he didn't live to see