ALFRED HENRY BENNETT
Until the early 1900s the Bennett family were living on the Isle of Wight where all of them had been born. They were George Henry, a general labourer born in 1853, Annie born in 1867 and their children Esme (b. 1891), Alfred Henry (b. 1898) and a daughter with an indecipherable name (b. 1901).
The Bennetts moved to Portsmouth sometime before 1911 when they were living at 104 Napier Road, Southsea. The records offer no motive for the move but it may have been a simple need to find work, of which there was plenty in Portsmouth.
At the outbreak of the Great War Alfred Henry was just 15 years old, too young to enlist. It's possible that he did not join up until after the introduction of conscription in 1916 as he joined the Hampshire Regiment and was posted to the 2nd Battalion, probably to help make up numbers lost in battle. Alfred too lost his life, on 3rd May 1917, possibly during the Battle of Arras.
Further Information
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) website lists Alfred Henry Bennett, Private, 2nd Battalion, Hampshire Regiment, date of death, 03/05/1917. Buried at Etaples Military Cemetery (Grave ref: XVIII.G.6A.). Son of George Henry and Annie Bennett, of Southsea, late of East Cowes.
Alfred Bennett is remembered on the Cenotaph in Guildhall Square, Portsmouth. He is not listed in the 'National Roll of the Great War', Section X.
Tim Backhouse
August 2014