GENNARD, Lewis

Lewis Gennard was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Gennard, of 3 Potter Street, Brierley Hill, and his wife was Harriett Raker (formerly Gennard), of 27 Bott Lane, Lye, Stourbridge,. He joined the 4th Battalion and went out to Gallipoli in the campaign to defeat Turkey. After stalemate had been reached, the troops were evacuated in January 1916 and ordered to the Western Front. They were in the front line for the first day of the Battle of the Somme on the 1st July and remained at Beaumont-Hamel for some time. In October they were engaged in the advance inthe southern sector of the Somme battlefield and were successful in the capture of the fortified village of Gueudecourt. However, among the killed in action was Sergeant Lewis Gennard. He was 22 years of age and was buried originally in Cloudy Trench Cemetery, now in Bancourt British Cemetery (XI B 17) and commemorated on the Brierley Hill and Brierley Hill church Memorials.