HALL Uriah Leonard

Listed as Leonard Hall on Soldiers Died in the Great War and Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Known as Leonard Hall, he was the son of Edward and Emma Hall.  Edward was born in Cirencester but Leonard was born in Salford Priors.  The 1901 census records them as living in Village Street Harvington.

Leonard left Harvington on 2nd September 1914 and joined the 2nd Battalion Worcestershire Regiment.  The battalion became part of 5th Brigade, 2nd Division.  He arrived in France on 27th May 1915.  On 21st July the battalion relieved the 2nd Grenadiers in the front line at Cuinchy.  It had become common for both sides to tunnel under the opposing trench lines to lay mines.  Early on the 24th July British sappers tunnelling towards German lines heard German sappers doing the same thing in the opposite direction.  The British mines were immediately laid and fired destroying the German tunnel.  The Germans began shelling heavily and Leonard Hall was killed during the evening of 29th July 1915 aged 27.  He is buried at Woburn Abbey cemetery, Cuinchy, midway between Bethune and La Bassee, not far from Arras.  A memorial service was held on 8th August 1915.