Private Herbert Tom May

Herbert was born in Battersea in 1897. His mother was named Edith Harriett, while his father was Albert May, a House Decorator. the 1901 census shows the family living at 117 Latchmere Road, Battersea. Albert was 3 years old, and his other siblings were Rosina 8, Margaret 6 and William aged 10 months.

By 1911 the family had moved to 20 Denison Road, Colliers Wood and the family had grown to include Charles aged 2. Herbert was now aged 14 and was employed as a Grocer’s Assistant.

Herbert enlisted at Kingston and joined the Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regiment, initially with the 1st and 6th battalion, and finally with the 8th Battalion. The 6th, and 8th Service Battalions were made up of mainly Kitchener Volunteers. All of them served on the Western Front with distinction. The 8th lost heavily on the Western Front, particularly at the Somme and in the Third Battle of Ypres.

Third Battle of Ypres (also known as the Battle of Passchendaele) began on 31 July. The rain began on the first day of the battle. The battlefield had been churned up by the Allied artillery bombardment, destroying the ditches that acted as a drainage system.

The rain continued for three weeks. Soldiers struggled through heavy, sticky mud that reached up to their waists. Men, horses, tanks and other vehicles literally drowned in the mud. It was almost impossible to manoeuvre artillery into new positions, and aerial reconnaissance was grounded by the poor visibility.

The Allies suffered over 250,000 casualties - soldiers killed wounded or missing - during the Battle and more than half have no known graves. Sadly, Herbert was killed on the 2nd day of the Battle and is commemorated like so many others on the Ypres Menin Gate, Belgium.

Herbert’s mother Edith received his final pay of £6.3.7 plus the War Gratuity of £12.00. Herbert is commemorated locally on the Mitcham War Memorial.