Site Home
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you agree to accept cookies.
If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation.
Great War Home
Search
Add Stories & Photos
Library
Help & FAQs
Features
Allied Army
Day by Day
RFC & RAF
Prisoners of War
War at Sea
Training for War
The Battles
Those Who Served
Hospitals
Civilian Service
Women at War
The War Effort
Central Powers Army
Central Powers Navy
Imperial Air Service
Library
World War Two
Submissions
Add Stories & Photos
Time Capsule
Information
Help & FAQs
Glossary
Our Facebook Page
Volunteering
News
Events
Contact us
Great War Books
About
216763Rfmn. George Attley
British Army 1sr Btn. Royal Irish Rifles
from:Dublin
(d.9th May 1915)
George Attley, the son of William and Catherine Attley, of Rathcoole, Co. Dublin was killed in Flanders age 26. He is remembered on the Ploegsteert Memorial.
Update: In the 1911 census George was 21 and living with his parents. He was a general labourer in a paper mill. Also at home were his brothers Luke (19), John (17) Christopher (14) and sisters Anne (12) and Elizabeth (9).
George was killed at Rouge Bancs, Belgium. The winter of 1914/15 was terrible and the men suffered badly from frost bite, trench foot and trench fever in the muddy and flooded trenches. The 1st Battalion Royal Irish Rifles remained in that area throughout the winter and took part in their first major battle at Neuve Chappelle on 10th March 1915. The attack was a part of the overall strategy to capture Aubers Ridge and, thanks to intense and accurate artillery support, the village was captured and held. After three days heavy fighting, with 409 casualties (45% of the battalion), the cost in human terms was high.
The Rifles were held in reserve while they were being reinforced and, on 1st April 1915, back at full fighting strength, they returned to the Aubers Ridge sector to trenches near Fromelles. In another attempt to take the Ridge, the German held village of Rouge Bancs, was attacked by the Rifles on 9th May 1915. Although achieving the Battalions objectives, they could not hold and the order was given to retire to their old trenches. Once again casualties were very heavy, with 477 officers and men out of a total of 600 involved in the attack killed, wounded or missing.
Related Content:
Can you help us to add to our records?
The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them
Did your relative live through the Great War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial?
If so please let us know.
Do you know the location of a Great War "Roll of Honour?"We are very keen to track down these often forgotten documents and obtain photographs and transcriptions of the names recorded so that they will be available for all to remember.
Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice.
Celebrate your own Family History
Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Great War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc.
Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.
The free section of The Wartime Memories Project is run by volunteers.
This website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources and we currently have a huge backlog of submissions.
If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small to help with the costs of keeping the site running.
Hosted by:
Copyright MCMXCIX - MMXXIV
- All Rights Reserved -We do not permit the use of any content from this website for the training of LLMs or for use in Generative AI, it also may not be scraped for the purpose of creating other websites.