Reginald Lawrence Private 27357 - 15th/17th Bn. West Yorkshire Regiment Killed in action on Friday 12th April 1918, age 27. No known grave but is remembered on Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium Reginald Lawrence was born at Gnosall Heath in the 2 nd  quarter of 1893 to Aaron and Elizabeth (nee Addison) Lawrence, both from Gnosall. In both 1901 and 1911 the family were living at Wharf Road, Gnosall Heath with Aaron working as a wood sawyer; by the later date Reginald was working as a gardener and his older brother John as a labourer. Reginald enlisted at Stafford into the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, no. 19849. He later transferred to the 15th/17th Bn. West Yorkshire Regiment Labour Corps, Nos. 447869 and 27357. He was killed in action on Friday 12th April 1918, age 27 and was awarded the Victory and British medals. He has no known grave but is remembered on Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium. The record states “Son of Mr and Mrs Aaron Lawrence of 6, Wharf Road, Gnosall Heath.”
Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium. Historical Information The Ploegsteert Memorial commemorates more than 11,000 servicemen of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in this sector during the First World War and have no known grave. The memorial serves the area from the line Caestre-Dranoutre- Warneton to the north, to Haverskerque-Estaires-Fournes to the south, including the towns of Hazebrouck, Merville, Bailleul and Armentieres, the Forest of Nieppe, and Ploegsteert Wood. The original intention had been to erect the memorial in Lille. Most of those commemorated by the memorial did not die in major offensives, such as those which took place around Ypres to the north, or Loos to the south. Most were killed in the course of the day-to-day trench warfare which characterised this part of the line, or in small scale set engagements, usually carried out in support of the major attacks taking place elsewhere. It does not include the names of officers and men of Canadian or Indian regiments (they are found on the Memorials at Vimy and Neuve-Chapelle) and those lost at the Battle of Aubers Ridge, 9 May 1915, who were involved in the Southern Pincer (the 1st, 2nd, Meerut and 47th Divisions - they are commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial). BERKS CEMETERY EXTENSION, in which the memorial stands, was begun in June 1916 and used continuously until September 1917. At the Armistice, the extension comprised Plot I only, but Plots II and III were added in 1930 when graves were brought in from Rosenberg Chateau Military Cemetery and Extension, about 1 Km to the north-west, when it was established that these sites could not be acquired in perpetuity. Rosenberg Chateau Military Cemetery was used by fighting units from November 1914 to August 1916. The extension was begun in May 1916 and used until March 1918. Together, the Rosenberg Chateau cemetery and extension were sometimes referred to as 'Red Lodge'. Berks Cemetery Extension now contains 876 First World War burials.