HARRIS, Joseph

Joseph Harris was the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Harris of 16 Angel Street, Stourbridge. He enlisted in the Worcesters and joined the 1st Battalion in the 8th Division, probably in 1917. During the German Spring offensives of 1918 they were engaged in the long retreat across the Somme battlefield in March and in the defence of Villers-Bretonneux in April. After this long ordeal the battalion was sent to the quiet sector of the Aisne. However, the final German offensive fell on this sector late in May. The German assault composed 29 divisions against only 9 of the Allies and it started on the 27th May at 5 a.m. The Worcesters in the second line were forced into a rapid retreat. Any opportunity for holding a defensive line was denied by fresh German troops entering the battle and outflanking the British. The C.O., Major Cartland, was killed and the battalion reduced to isolated groups struggling to withdraw. They fell back to the Bouleuse Ridge where Brigadier General Grogan's defence earned him the Victoria Cross. The German advance eventually halted on the Montagne de Bligny on the 6th June, where on this final day Private Joseph Harris was killed in action. The casualties for the battalion amounted to 29 officers and 589 men. Joseph Harris was 29 years of age and is buried at Hermonville Military Cemetery (3 D 2) near Laon and commemorated on the Stourbridge and Methodist church Memorials. His brother, John, was killed on the 4th August 1917.