207569 Pte. Sydney Crawford Booth British Army 18th Btn. Durham Light Infantry from:Houghton-le-Spring My father, Sydney Booth enlisted in 1914 and trained at Cochen Hall. He sailed for Egypt 1915 and the ship was fired on. Torpedoes were seen to pass missing their target. My father was at the Battle of the Somme, July 1st 1916. He never forgot his experiences and often told me of them. Men lying wounded who could not be helped because of enemy fire. In March 1917, near Arras, he was severely wounded with a shell splinter in his side. He told me he was saved by an American doctor who decided he would operate, as my father had been left as not treatable due to the number of causalities. I still have the shell splinter wrapped in bandage also a bullet which hit his rifle.
|