PEARSON, Albert

Albert Pearson was the son of John and Elizabeth Pearson of 7 Balds Lane, Wollescote, and attended Wollescote school. He was married to Gladys (later Smalley) of 12 Crosswalks, Lye. He enlisted in the Army Service Corps and was sent to the 272nd Mechanical Transport Company. By mid-1917 this unit was attached to the Heavy Artillery of the 1st Army for the Third Battle of Ypres. Heavy guns required a great deal of transport to function in battle. They were also vulnerable to enemy counter-battery shelling which the German forces performed accurately. Private Albert Pearson was seriously wounded at some point and taken to a Casualty Clearing Station near Poperinghe where he died on the 21st October 1917. He was 30 years of age and is buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery (XXV J 11). He is commemorated on the Lye and Wollescote, Lye church and Wollescote school Memorials.