The_Poppy_March_2012.pdf - The Western Front Association

Dedications
As a mark of respect to all those who perished during the Great War, the following meetings will be dedicated to the memory of local men serving with the
Royal Berkshire Regiment who died on that date during 1914–1918. If during your travels you happen to be near to where any of these soldiers are buried or
commemorated, kindly pay a visit.
26th April
The dedication this month is to
Richard Brombley, a Private
with the 8th Bn. Royal Berkshire
Regiment, from Easthampstead.
Richard Brombley was born at
Easthamstead, near Bracknell in
the spring of 1896, the son of Edwin
Pte. Richard Brombley,
Brombley, a farm cart worker and 8th Bn.Royal Berkshire
Regiment
his wife Mary Ann, of Nine Mile
Ride, Easthampstead. The family
had a total of 13 children, six sons and seven daughters,
including Richard and his twin sister Winifred. By 1911,
Richard, now age 15, was working, locally, as a domestic
gardener.
In September 1914, Richard, age 18, enlisted at
Wokingham and in October 1914, commenced training with
the 8th Royal Berks, attached to 26th Division, at Codford
Camp on Salisbury Plain. During November 1914, the
battalion returned to Reading to be housed in billets until
May 1915 when, now at full strength, it was sent to Sutton
Veny, near Warminster for further training. Embarkation
orders were received at the end of July 1915 and the 8th Royal
Berks set sail from Southampton at 6.00 pm on 7th August
1915 on RMS Viper, to land at Le Havre about seven hours
later on 8th August 1915 at 12.45 am. The battalion, together
with the 10th Gloucesters, was now transferred to 1st Bde.,
1st. Division, to replace two Guards battalions that had joined
the newly-formed Guards Division. Two days later, the 8th
Royal Berks marched to Arques for a few days rest, before
marching again to arrive at Béthune on 16th August 1915.
The battalion quickly went into the trenches around Béthune
on 17th August 1915, in preparation for their part at the
Battle of Loos on 25th September 1915. The 8th Royal Berks
fought in the battle for three days in the front line, in the La
Haie and Bois Carré sector, until it was withdrawn to reserve
on 28th September 1918. The battalion fought again in the
battle from 12th-13th October 1915 before being withdrawn
to an area around Lillers. The Battle of Loos ended on 18th
October 1915 but the 8th Royal Berks remained there, in and
out of the trenches and holding the line, in the Maroc sector
until June 1916, when the division moved to the Somme.
During this relatively safe eight month period of the war, the
battalion lost a further 65 men killed or dying of wounds,
mainly due to occasional shelling and sniping. Sadly, one
of these casualties was 14393 Pte. Richard Brombley, age
4
19, who was killed in action on
Wednesday 26th April 1916, the only
man from the 8th Royal Berks to die
that day.
Pte. Richard Brombley has no
known grave and is commemorated
on the Arras Memorial, Bay 7,
Avenue du Mémorial des Fusillés,
Pte. owen Brombley,
62000 Arras, Pas de Calais, France. (sic) 8th Bn.Royal
Berkshire Regiment
A further tragedy struck the
Brombley family later in the war when the youngest son,
45838 Pte. Owen Brombley, also serving with the 8th Royal
Berks, was killed in action, together with 17 other ranks,
during an attack on German positions between Ronssoy and
Lempire on Friday 20th September 1918.
Pte. Owen Brombley has no known grave and is
commemorated on the Vis-en-Artois Memorial, Bay 7, 1
Route Nationale, 62156 Haucourt, Pas de Calais, France.
31st May
The dedication this month is to Harry Alfred Hiscock,
a Lance Sergeant with the 2nd/4th Bn. Royal Berkshire
Regiment, from Wokingham.