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252539
Pte. Norman Hocking
British Army 1st Battalion Duke of Cornwalls Light Infantry
from:Falmouth
On the day that Norman Hocking landed in France on 1st May, the Germans mounted a gas attack on the sector of the line held by the DCLI. This was only a week after the very first gas attack on 22nd April 1915, so respirators, consisting merely of a pad of lint, impregnated with bicarbonate of soda and tied across the nose and mouth with a tape, were the only protection then available.
It is probable that Norman Hocking would have joined the 1st Battalion shortly after this gas attack when it was withdrawn for rest and reinforcement.
The 1st Battalion was fully involved in the various battles of Ypres, Arras and the Somme.