Albert John Rogers



Village memories: Farming near Little Marlow (picture from SWOP website)

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LANCE CORPORAL 8677 ROYAL BERKSHIRE REGIMENT 5TH BATTALION
DIED ON 03 JULY 1918 FRANCE
REMEMBERED WITH HONOUR VALENCIENNES (ST ROCH) COMMUNAL CEMETERY, FRANCE GRAVE REF : V.B 21

Albert John Rogers was born at Coldmoorholm, Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire on 30th May 1889.He was the third son of Albert & Elizabeth Rogers. He had two older brothers William and Frank and two younger brothers Frederick and Owen.
On the 1901 Census he was living with his family at Sheepridge, Little Marlow where his father was working at Pigeon House Farm. Although only 11yrs old Albert was probably helping out on the farm with his brothers, except Frank who was a Mill worker.
The 1911 Census shows Albert John to be a regular soldier serving with the 2nd Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment at Chakrata in India.
In August 1914 the Battalion was recalled to Britain and sometime during his service career Albert was promoted to Lance Corporal and served on the Western Front with the 2nd Battalion before being transferred to the 5th Battalion (36th Bde, 12th (Eastern) Division) probably before the reorganisation of the Regiment in February 1918 after the 6th Battalion was disbanded.
On 30th June 1918 the 5th Battalion moved to Vignacourt, 12 miles north-east of Amiens where there was a bad epidemic of influenza. Sadly a few days later on 3rd July Albert died, maybe from the effects of this outbreak?
There is a mystery as to why Albert is buried in Valenciennes (St Roch) Communal Cemetery in Nord, France as this is some 90 miles east of Vignacourt. Perhaps Albert was one of 226 soldiers whose bodies were brought to this cemetery after the War from battlefields or he may possibly be one of the 348 soldiers originally buried in the German extension created for them in 1914 and therefore Albert may have died as a prisoner of War.

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