Private 25115 Alfred Blower

Killed in Action on Monday, 17th July 1916, age 35.
Commemorated on Pier and Face 10 C 10 D and 11 A of Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France.

15th Bn., Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regt.). 105th Brigade of 35th Division.

Husband of Alice Maria Morris (formerly Blower), of 26, Tudor St., Tipton, Staffs.
Born: Tipton, Enlisted: Tipton, Resident: Tipton.

First landed France & Flanders, post 31st December 1915.
Medal entitlement: British War Medal, Victory Medal.
Soldier's Papers at National Archives did not survive.

Commemorated on the Tipton Library, and Park Chapel memorials.
Commemorated here because he appears on a Tipton memorial.

Link to Commonwealth War Graves Site: www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/766288/

Genealogical Data

Birth of Albert Blower registered March quarter 1892 at Dudley. This registration is certainly 'Alfred' (mother's maiden name confirms); on all records (except the 1891 census) he is referred to as Alfred.

1901 Census
10 Dunns Place, Tipton, Staffs.
John Jewkes (72, Stepfather, born Tipton) and Maria Jewkes (61, Mother, born Tipton), Alfred Blower (19, Labourer at Ironworks, born Tipton).
John Jewkes and Maria Blower had married September qtr 1885.

Marriage of Alfred Blower and Alice Maria Whitehouse registered in September quarter 1902 at Dudley. By 1916, they had 5 children.

1911 Census - used his step-father's surname.
26 Tudor Street, Tipton, Staffs.
Alfred Jewkes (28, Boatman, born Tipton), his wife Alice (28, born Tipton), and their 4 surviving children of 5: Dora (6, School, born Tipton), John (4, born Tipton), Albert (2, born Tipton), and Florrie (4 months, born Tipton). Florrie sadly died in 1912; two further children were born: Maggie on 3rd December 1912, and Mary on 2nd July 1914.

Personal Data

The 15th Battalion Sherwood Foresters was initially a Bantam Battalion for men less than the minimum height requirement of 5' 3'' for other infantry Battalions. By the end of 1916 the quality of Bantam replacements had declined; from then on reinforcements into Bantam Battalions were average conscripts. As Alfred Blower died in 1916, it can be assumed that he was a Bantam by height.

Alfred was an early recruit into the 15th Sherwod Foresters, enlisting in about April 1915. It is almost certain that he would have been with his battalion when they departed from Folkestone, landing in Boulogne of 1st February 1916. Their first taste of front-line duty was near Laventie in March and April 1916. The Tipton Herald (see below) reported that Alfred had been wounded and hospitalised in April, and only returned to his unit two days before he was killed.

After Alfred's death, his outstanding army pay and allowances amounted to £3/10/6d (3 pounds, 10 shillings and 6 pence); this was paid to his widow, Alice M. Blower, in November 1916. His War Gratuity was £5/0/0d (5 pounds exactly), this was also paid to Alice in October 1919. The value of the War Gratuity suggests that Alferd had enlisted in approximately April 1915.

Alice was granted a Widow’s Pension of £1/4/6d (1 pound, 4 shillings and 6 pence) per week for herself and her 5 children, effective from 12th February 1917. Alice also received a one-off Pension Grant in August 1917, but its value is not recorded.

Alice married Thomas Morris (a widower with 3 children) on 13th March 1917. Alice's Widow's Pension, which had only commenced in the previous month, would then ceased, but she was compensated by the payment of a lump sum 'Re-marriage Gratuity', of £51/5/9d (51 pounds, 5 shillings and 9 pence). The pension allowance for her 5 children would continue until their respective 16th birthdays.

Alice was widowed again in the 1930s, and she married for the third time in 1938, to Thomas Carpenter.

Action resulting in his death

When the Battle of the Somme commenced on 1st July 1916, the 15th Sherwood Foresters had been in Reserve near Arras. During the first week of July, they began their circuitous route towards their introduction into the Battle of the Somme.

On the night of the 16th/17th July 1916, the 15th Sherwood Foresters left their bivouacs in Bois de Billon for front line trenches to the south-east of Trones Wood, near Guillemont. This was in preparation for an attack on Maltz Horn Farm and Arrow Head Copse on 20th July. Heavy rain turned the ground into a sea of clinging mud; it toook 8 hours for the relief to be completed. To add to their discomfort, enemy artillery bombarded them all the way to the trenches.

"The Blast of War" by Maurice Bacon and David Langley contains a description of this journey to the trenches by Pte James Taylor:-
"When going into the trenches I saw one of the dead British soldiers leaning over the parapet, and on his shoulders were the badges of his regiment, the 'Buffs'. It was a rough journey. The smell was awful, and every now and then we trod on a dead 'Buff'."

The intense German bombardment which had welcomed them continued for the next two days. This included tear gas and chlorine gas shells which forced them to wear their gas masks almost continuously. The enemy bombardment also prevented supplies, including rations and water, from getting to the front line, leaving the men of the 15th Sherwood Foresters cold, hungry, strained and in some cases nearing exhaustion.

The War Diary records "Rather heavilly bombed, subjected to tear and gas shells". The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records that the 15th Sherwood Foresters had 83 men killed in that period: on 17th July - 39, 18th July - 6, 19th July - 6, and on 20th July - 32. The build-up to the Maltz Horn action was more costly than the action itself.

Alfred Blower was killed on 17th July, either during this relief, or during the next day whilst in the front line. He has no known grave, and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme.

Newspaper Cuttings

Tipton Herald 26 August 1916
ANOTHER TIPTON SOLDIER KILLED
Pte. Alfred Blower, late of 26 Tudor Street, Coneygre, Dudley Port, was killed in France during the great advance on July 17th. He was 36 years of age and leaves a wife and 5 small children to mourn his loss. A brother-in-law of the deceased soldier is serving in Egypt, while another brother-in-law is a German prisoner; a nephew had also recently joined the colours. The deceased soldier was in April wounded in action and went into hospital. He had only been back in the trenches two days before he was killed. Prior to joining the Army the late Private Blower worked for Mr Geo. Ellement as a boat loader. He is spoken of as a man of excellent character, and was a good father and husband.