Welsh, Ernest Edgar (E E)

Died of wounds, received in front the Butte de Warlencourt. In the night of the 16-17th October, the 1st S.A.I. relieved the 3rd S.A.I. in the front trenches. Large working parties were employed in widening and deepening the communication trenches to The Pimple and the Front line. On the 18th October, at 3.40 am, three companies of the 1st S.A.I. attacked Snag and Tail Trenches. The B Coy failed to realize that they had reached Snag Trench and continued beyond it. They had lost touch with their flanks and only some men succeeded to come back. Only a block was established at 50 metres of The Pimple. The D Company launched an attack at 5.45 pm and Snag Trench was occupied but the machine-gun fire from the Butte de Warlencourt took a heavy toll, leaving a small group in the trench. At 4 a.m. of the 19th October, Germans launched an assault with flame-throwers, driving the South Africans to their original front line