David Turner

A Private with 9th Bn., David died on 25th of September 1915 at the age of 20. 

David was born at South Burlingham in 1895, a son of Charles Roy and Alice Turner. In 1901 his family lived 'By Town Pits', South Burlingham. By 1911 they had moved to Kemp's Heath, Oulton, and David worked as a farm labourer. At some point his parents moved to 8 Meadow Cottages, Oulton, Lowestoft.

David volunteered and enlisted in the Army at Lowestoft. he joined the Suffolk Regiment and arrived in France with the 9th Battalion on 31 August 1915. 

Colonel Murphy’s ‘The History of the Suffolk Regiment 1914-1927’ has the following account of the 9th Battalion’s involvement in the Battle of Loos from 25 to 27 September 1915, pages 121-122:

At 8 p.m. on 25 September the 9th Battalion moved off and began to wend its way, in a double line of platoons, across the battlefield of Loos. A steady advance – not towards the 9th Division as originally intended, but in the direction of Vendin-le-Vieil – was maintained, the battalion passing in turn over its own support line, its own front line, the German front line, and the German support line. About midnight the advance was held up, the battalion digging themselves in between that hour and dawn, with the German support line still behind them. At 5 a.m. they were ordered back to that line.
During the forenoon of the 26th an order was received for an attack at 11 a.m. with the 9th Battalion to support the 72nd Brigade, following some 600 yards behind. Unfortunately, however, this order was not received until 11.25 a.m., whereupon Lieutenant-Colonel, passing a message down the line, ordered the battalion to advance immediately. Without hesitation each section mounted the parapet and began pushing forward under heavy artillery fire towards the objective of the previous evening. 
The advance continued until the leading line reached a point about two hundred yards or so beyond the Hulluch-Lens Road where it was definitely checked. At 5 p.m. the right flank began to give way. For three hours the centre held on to the road, and during that time the flanks advanced and retired twice. Then the left flank, coming under a heavy machine-gun fire from the direction of Hulluch, was forced back. Here most of the 9th Battalion’s casualties occurred.
About 2 a.m. on the 27th the battalion was relieved.

The Battalion’s casualties were: 
Officers, one killed, six wounded
Other ranks, nine killed, two died of wounds, 81 wounded, 45 missing

Note that Commonwealth War Graves records show that David died on 25 September 1915. However other records, such as the Army Register of Soldiers' Effects, state that he died 'on or since' 2nd October 1915. In fact all of the Battalion's fatal casualties at the Battle of Loos, including those known to be missing, were listed as having been killed in action on 25 September 1915.