PLAN TO HONOUR 'FORGOTTEN' ESSEX REGIMENT

Plea for lost soldiers

AN APPEAL to raise £1675 for a plaque in memory of the ‘forgotten’ Essex Regiment has been launched by the nephew of one of the 88 men killed at Gueudecourt in northern France on October 12th 1916.

The 1st Essex Battalion Gueudecourt Memorial Plaque will be unveiled in Gueudecourt on October 12th this year, the 101st anniversary of the battle in which the men died.

The money raised will be for the creation of the plaque, to be sited in a new Garden of Remembrance in the village. Donations will also cover the costs associated with the unveiling ceremony.

On the Somme there are only two known privately-funded memorials to the Essex Regiment, despite the regiment fighting many campaigns there. The Essex Regiment is the ‘forgotten’ regiment, says the campaign organiser.

Anthony Allam's uncle Stanley Percival Allam (Pte 26639) fell at Gueudecourt on October 12th 1916 and has no known grave. The proposed memorial plaque will honour the Essex men who fell alongside Private Allam that day at Gueudecourt.

The unveiling ceremony will take place at 2.05 pm, the exact time that the whistle was blown, sending the soldiers into battle from the trenches and ‘over the top’ into the killings fields of war.

Mr Allam said: “This is another small step to provide recognition of the sacrifices made by the ‘forgotten’ Essex Regiment. It is extremely important that those men's deaths are remembered”.

Dr. Ted Bailey who was responsible for the two other Essex Regiment memorials said: “ This is another great effort for the undersung Essex units”.

There are three ways in which to donate to the plaque. It is hoped the appeal will be seen as a worthy cause and that Essex companies and residents will support it with appropriate donations. "The 1st Essex deserves to be remembered as due to amalgamation the regiment no longer exists," said Mr Allam.

"Those 88 Essex men merit recognition and it is hoped they can count on your support," he said.

Organiser: Anthony Allam anthony@allam.go-plus.net

Ways to donate:

● www.crowdfunder.co.uk/1st-essex-plaque-appeal

Donate with MasterCard, Visa and American Express.

● Barclays Bank a/c: 00112003 Sort Code 20.02.53 Name of account: Essex

Appeal.

● Cheques to: Essex Plaque Appeal, 25 Englefield Close, Englefield Green,

EGHAM, Surrey TW20 0SE