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“If you think, have a kindly thought, If you speak, speak generously, Of those who as heroes fought And died to keep you free”
Set up by the Black Country Society. Our aim is to highlight local men who died in the Great War and how they have been commemorated on war memorials. Its scope covers the whole of the present Dudley Municipal Borough and therefore includes the places which have come within its bounds since 1914.
There are over fifty memorials and the number of names exceeds three thousand. Research on the names has been extensive but inevitably errors and omissions occur. We would like to hear about them concentrated on life and work before 1914, involvement in military campaigns and where each man is buried or commemorated.
William Heath lived at 131 Spring Lane, Cradley, and before 1914 became a regular soldier with the 4th Worcesters. He was transferred to the 3rd Battalion which was part of the British Expeditionary Force and was engaged in the dramatic campaign of 1914 which prevented a quick German victory. Early in 1915 the Worcesters moved to St. Eloi near the contested Vimy Ridge. They marched into the city of Ypres in June to take part in the final contest of the second battle of Ypres. On the 16th they moved out along the Menin Road to attack the Germans in the village of Bellewaerde. The enemy defences, however, were too strong and their artillery was devastating. The troops retired after heavy losses including Private William Heath who was killed in action on this day. He was 23 years of age and is commemorated on the Menin Gate, Cradley and Halesowen Memorials. His brother, Alfred, was in the same battalion and died in November 1914.
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Town Hall, Priory Street, Dudley
