RUDD, William

William Rudd was the son of William Rudd, a metal dealer, and by 1911 was working for Rubery Owen and Co. of Wednesbury as a warehouseman. He volunteered in 1915 and joined the Suffolk Regiment. He served in the 2nd Battalion which was stationed in Flanders after the Second Battle of Ypres. They stayed there into the Autumn and were then part of the diversionary attack on the Bellewaerde Ridge to prevent German reinforcements for the Battle of Loos which opened on the 25th September. It was a considerable attack but the German response was equal to it. There were considerable casualties over several days and they included Private William Rudd who was killed in action on the 30th September. He was 25 years of age and is commemorated on the Menin Gate, Dudley and St. John's, Kates Hill, Memorials.