Lance Corporal William Suthern

Lance Corporal William Suthern, 1/7th ( Territorial ) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers attached to 1/5th Battalion, Duke of Wellingtons ( West Riding ) Regiment which was part of the 147th Brigade of the 49th Division. He was killed in action on 3rd September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme, aged 23. He was the son of John and Barbara Suthern of Berry Burn, Ancroft, Berwick-Upon-Tweed and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France. He fell in the Battalion attack on the trench system forming South of the German positions of “Swaben Redoubt”, “Strassburg Trench” and “St Pierre Divion”. ( This was part of the general assault on the strong fortifications at Guillemont ). The attack gained the enemy positions but were unable to consolidate the gains and fell back to the original trench. Of the original 450 attackers there were 350 casualties. Only 2 Officers survived. The photographs show troops on the Somme and the colour image shows a peaceful Somme landscape today.