BILL, John

John Bill lived at 10 Stafford Street, Dudley and enlisted in the Worcesters. He probably served in the Territorials but in 1916 he was with the 10th Battalion in the 19th Division. From the start of the 1916 Battle of the Somme to the Third Battle of Ypres they had been in the heart of battle. By early 1918 the Worcesters were facing the Hindenburg Line near Cambrai and anticipating what became the German Spring offensives. They were in the reserve position when the huge attack came on the 21st March and did not suffer on the first day of the German advance. Early on the 22nd the 'grey avalanche' attacked again and, despite local successes, the Worcesters were driven back with heavy losses. These included Private John Bill who was killed in action on this day and is commemorated on the Arras and Dudley Memorials.