Cecil William Stofer

A Sergeant with 233rd Machine Gun Company, Cecil died on 2nd of October 1917 at the age of 25. 

Cecil was born at Wenhaston in 1892, a son of John and Florence Annie Stofer. In 1901 his family lived at Brandeston Road, Earl Soham, Suffolk. By 1911 they were living at 6 Prospect Place, Pakefield, and Cecil was a printer. By 1917 his parents were living at 502 London Road. 

Cecil volunteered and enlisted in the Army at Lowestoft around September 1915. Cecil joined the Suffolk Regiment, service number 20763. He was posted to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion. Cecil was transferred to the Machine Gun Corps, service number 5882 and he was posted to France in February 1916 and joined 110 Machine-Gun Company.

Cecil was admitted to 2 General Hospital on 11 March 1916 with contusions to his hands. He was discharged to a convalescence camp on 14 March. On 20 March he was re-admitted to 2 General Hospital with strain of the tendons in the third finger of his right hand. He was discharged to a convalescence camp on 28 March. 

Subsequently Cecil joined 233 Machine Gun Company. The date he joined is not known, but 233 Machine Gun Company did not arrive in France until 13 July 1917. On 24 September 1917 the company were in positions at Potsdam and Vampire Trenches, with a reserve behind Frezenberg Ridge. The company should have moved from Frezenberg to Winnezeele on the night of 30 September, but the relief was delayed and on 1 October four men were wounded and it seems that Cecil was one of these. He was taken to the 3rd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, at Remy Sidings, near Lijssenthoek, where he died from his wounds on 2 October. 

Generally casualties that died at clearing stations were afforded a formal burial and this was probably the case with Cecil but later, and probably in a subsequent battle, his grave was lost.  

Note: the medal roll for the British War and Victory medals show a correction to Cecil’s surname and the initials M.M. have been added. This suggests that he had been awarded the Military Medal and a number of secondary sources state this as fact. However, no medal card for an award of the Military Medal and no London Gazette entry for Cecil have been found, hence he may not actually have been awarded the Military Medal.