Victor Albert Sterry

A Sergeant with 15th Battalion, Victor died on 6th of November 1917 at the age of 30. 

Victor was born at Lowestoft on 10 August 1887, a son of Frederick John Cook Sterry and Mary Ann Sterry. He was baptised at Saint Margaret's Church on 4 September 1887. In 1891 his family lived at 24 Reeve Street, Lowestoft, and this was still their home in 1901 when Victor worked as an errand boy. 

In 1912 Victor married Lily Evelyn Cook. After Victor's death Lily married Harry Palmer and lived at 63 Worthing Road, Lowestoft.

Victor volunteered and enlisted in the Army at Lowestoft. He joined the Suffolk Regiment and was posted to the 9th Battalion. He arrived in France with the 9th Battalion on 31 August 1915: he was already a Corporal at this time. By December 1915 Victor had been promoted to Sergeant. Victor was wounded in late 1915 and, once recovered, returned to the 9th Battalion. He contracted pleurisy and was admitted to 23 General Hospital in May 1916. Once recovered he was posted to the 8th Battalion and then to the 15th Battalion in Palestine. 

The history of The Loyal Suffolk Hussars, by Margaret Thomas and Nick Sign (Helion and Company, 2012 pp. 137-8) gives the following account of the events of 6 November 1917:

On 6 November, XX Corps, which included the 74th Division, of which the Yeomanry (15th Battalion Suffolk Regiment) was a part, was ordered to attack the Sheira positions on a broad front. The 74th were on the right of the line. 'Everything depended on the 74th Division. The advance had to be made over very open country, against strongly held positions, which bristled with machine-guns.' The advance began at 4.30 a.m. and soon came under heavy fire before they were clear of the outpost line, and before it was barely light. Very soon Lieutenants Wood and Boocock had been killed and Lieutenants Linnington and Badger wounded. All the officers of B Company were injured. The Battalion, therefore, had to be reorganised under cover of a ridge, and D Company, in reserve, was now brought up into the line. A and C Companies were also reorganised, moving to the east of Wadi Union. With the help of members of the Machine Gun Corps, the attack was carried out very rapidly , the Turks driven out , and objectives achieved by 8.30 a.m. They were ordered not to advance any further in order to allow the left wing to swing round towards the railway. The Brigade had taken a considerable number of prisoners and a battery of guns. a Turkish counter-attack to recapture these was repelled, being beaten off by fire from the machine and Lewis guns. The action had completely turned the Turkish flank. The Brigade was relieved in the evening.     

Nineteen 'other ranks', including Victor, were killed in action during this attack. 

Victor's brother in law, Henry Briggs, served with the Norfolk Regiment and died in 1918.