PLANT, Daniel

Daniel Plant was the son of James Plant of Brierley Hill. He volunteered for the South Staffords and joined the 7th (Service) Battalion. They were sent to Gallipoli in 1915 as reinforcements to the main expeditionary force and landed at Suvla Bay on the 6th August. They were not successful in reaching the vital ridge on the peninsula and after much difficult fighting in the wooded gullies of the peninsula were evacuated in January 1916. They stayed in Egypt until August and then moved to the Western Front to take part in the Battle of the Somme. They took over trenches in the Thiepval-Ovillers sector and then fought in the 26th September battle for Thiepval. It had been a long struggle since the first day of the Somme but the ruined village was finally taken. Among the many casualties was Private Daniel Plant who is buried in Lonsdale Cemetery, Authuille (VIII G 1), and commemorated on the Brierley Hill and Brierley Hill church Memorials and the Delph District Roll of Honour.