TIBBETTS, Joseph

Joseph Tibbetts came from Blackheath and enlisted in the Worcesters. He was sent to the 2nd Battalion serving on the Western Front and in 1916 deeply involved in the Battle of the Somme. In the Spring of 1917 they left the Somme for Arras and went into the front line facing the German outposts of the Hindenburg Line. The Battle of Arras was the major Spring battle for the British army and two large offensives were launched on the 9th and 14th April against strong defences. Progress had been made but a third attack on the 23rd April was anticipated by the Germans who launched a counter-attack at the village of Croisilles. Four days of hard fighting and a month of sporadic attacks led to many casualties, including Private Joseph Tibbetts who was killed in action on the 27th May. He is buried in Croisilles Cemetery ( I B 7) and commemorated on the Blackheath and Halesowen Memorials.