OLIVER, Frederick S

Frederick Oliver came from Blackheath and enlisted in the Grenadier Guards. He joined the 1st Battalion which fought on the Western Front from October 1914 to the final campaign of 1918. Frederick Oliver joined them at some point and by late September they had reached the formidable Hindenburg Line and the Canal du Nord. It was the climax of the war. Both were taken in the attack of the 26-27 September, leaving one final obstacle, the River Selle. It was bridged with some difficulty under fire but on the 20th October in a night attack following a creeping barrage the Grenadiers led the advance over the river and German opposition faded away. It was probably in this action that Private Frederick Oliver received wounds that sent him to a Casualty Clearing Station and where he died on the 1st November. He was 25 years of age and is buried at Awoingt British Cemetery (II A 23) and commemorated on the Blackheath and Halesowen Memorials.