Albert Francis Proudfoot

A Private with the 2nd Battalion, Albert died on 13th of November 1916 at the age of 21. 

Albert was born at Lowestoft in 1895, a son of Harry and Mildred Christianna Proudfoot. He was baptised at Saint Margaret’s Church on 16 August 1895 and his family lived at 57 Cambridge Road, and this was still the family home in 1911. Later his parents lived at 93 Oxford Road and then at 46 Marine Parade.

Albert volunteered and enlisted in the Army at Lowestoft. He joined the Suffolk Regiment. Initially he served with the 6th (Cyclist) Battalion, service number 2115. In 1916 he was posted to the 2nd Battalion in France and renumbered 43772.   

Colonel Murphy’s ‘The History of the Suffolk Regiment 1914-1927’ has the following account of the 2nd Battalion’s attack at Serre on 13 November 1916:

At 5 a.m. the first wave floundered forward into No Man’s Land – in reality, a sea of mud in which movement was barely possible. Three quarters of an hour later the attack began. The mist which hung about the low ground thickened as the smoke of the barrage increased, making direction extremely difficult to maintain. Within a very short time all the officers in the leading companies had fallen, and owing to lack of leaders no real progress was made. In spite of the atrocious weather conditions prevailing, portions of the leading Suffolk companies actually reached the German second line. But all was in vain, and the battalion having been reorganised in its original front line, remained there for the rest of the day, marching back to Courcelles the next morning. Their casualties numbered 272, including eleven officers.  

Albert was reported missing and later it was concluded that he had been killed in action on 13 November.