BAYLISS, Benjamin

William Bayliss lived at 62 Union Street, Netherton, and volunteered for the Worcester Territorials. He joined the 2/7th Battalion in the 61st Division which went to the Western Front in May 1916. They were soon involved in front-line action in Artois in the same trenches as the 2nd Battalion in the Spring of 1915. This position was maintained during the Battle of the Somme until November when they moved to one of the worst parts of the Somme sector near Grandcourt. Fighting had continued here and the Worcesters found themselves holding Regina trench. In the December conditions there were no battles but shelling and raids continued sporadically. On the 5th December Private Benjamin Bayliss was killed in action. He was 19 years of age and is commemorated on the Thiepval and Dudley Memorials.