RUSSELL, Wilfred

Wilfrid Russell was the son of Mrs E. Russell of 21 Whitehall Road, Halesowen. He volunteered for the Worcester Territorials and joined the 2/7th Battalion who arrived on the Western Front in June 1916. In the following month they were in Artois but suffered badly at Fromelles in a diversionary attack for the Battle of the Somme. In 1917 they were in the Third Battle of Ypres, fighting on the Steenbeek in August. They moved to the Arras sector in September and were stationed in the trenches near Monchy-le-Preux. They were vulnerable to frequent enemy shelling and this was probably responsible for the serious injuries suffered by Private Wilfrid Russell. He was taken to the 8th Casualty Clearing Station at Duisans near Arras where he died of wounds. He is buried in Duisans Military Cemetery (V B 50) and commemorated on the Halesowen Memorial.