An emotive First Day of Loos Great War 1914 Star trio and Memorial Plaque awarded to Captain G.E. Ward, 2nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment who first saw service on the Western Front from 12th September 1914 and would be subsequently discharged to a commission on 12th November 1914. He would later be killed in action on 25th September 1915 – the first day of the Battle of Loos whilst serving with the 2nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment and is now buried in Dud Corner Cemetery, Loos. He was one of nearly 500 casualties of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment on 25th September 1915.
Trio and Memorial Plaque: 1914 Star; (7552 PTE. G. WARD. 2/R.SUSS:R.) British War Medal and Victory Medal; (CAPT. G.E. WARD.) Great War Memorial Plaque; (GEORGE ERNEST WARD) Mounted in large fitted glazed frame together with a small image of the recipient.
Condition: Nearly Extremely Fine
Along with a large, approximately A3 size glazed hand coloured photograph of the recipient
George Ernest War first saw service as a Corporal (No. 7552) with the 2nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment on the Western Front from 12th September 1914 and would subsequently be discharged to a commission on 12th November 1914, he was admitted to hospital with Malaria on 25th December 1914 before later returning to the frontline.
Subsequently serving as a Temporary Captain with the 2nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment and would be killed in action on 25th September 1915 – the first day of the Battle of Loos and is now buried in Dud Corner Cemetery, Loos, he is noted by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as the brother of Mrs A. O’Donovan of 152A Cromwell Road, Kensington, London.
At 7.30am on the morning of 25th September 1915 the 2nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment battalion and two companies of 1st Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment were ordered forward from 2 Brigade reverse to make another attack. Half an hour later a message arrived at Divisional HQ that they were in the German front line and believing that the German opposition had been broken, 2 Brigade were ordered to push on quickly. But at 9.00am another message, correct this time, arriving saying that the 2nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment and the 1st Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment had not in fact entered the German line but that in the face of concentrated fire they had been forced to take cover wherever they could. 2nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment had nearly 500 casualties including Captain George Ward who was killed.’
He is also remembered in the Chapel of St. George, Chichester Cathedral, West Street, Chichester, West Sussex.
