BARNETT, Joseph

Joseph Barnett was the son of Thomas and Marie Barnett of 38 Garrett Street, Harts Hill, and he attended Claughton School in Dudley. He was a railway worker in 1914 and volunteered for the South Staffords. He was sent to the 2nd Battalion who had suffered severely in the 1914 campaign and joined them on the Western Front on the 26th January. They were in poor trenches near Laventie in Artois and the winter conditions prevented any form of organized attack. On the 5th March they went into the front line in anticipation of the Battle of Neuve Chapelle but Private Joseph Barnett was killed two days later. This was possibly as a result of taking part in a patrol or of enemy shelling. He is commemorated on the Le Touret, Dudley and Woodside Memorials.