Lance Corporal Archibald Lockhart

Lance Corporal Archibald William Lockhart, 1st/7th ( Territorial ) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers. He was killed in action in France on 14th November 1916, aged 23, during the latter stages of the Battle of the Somme. He was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Lockhart of 112 Pont Street, Hirst, Ashington and is buried in Warlencourt British Cemetery, Somme, France. His Headstone is inscribed ” Death Divides Memory Clings”. He was a native of Berwick and he fell in the attack on strong German positions in” Gird Trench” and” Hook Sap “.Under heavy artillery and machine gun fire and with hand to hand fighting some of the objectives were taken. Casualties were as usual heavy. 2 Officers and 19 Other Ranks were killed and 4 Officers and 101 Other Ranks were wounded. In addition 2 Officers and 103 Other Ranks were posted missing. The photos show the nature of the ground during the later stages of the Battle when the glutinous quagmire of the ground made it difficult for men and machines to move.  The colour photograph shows the impressive Memorial raised to the 50th ( Northumbrian ) Division of which the Battalion was part until February 1918. It was erected near the village of Weiltje in the Ypres Salient where nearby on the 26th April 1915 it had fought its first action of the War.