Service number:  31872

Battalion:  34th

Joseph was badly injured whilst sleeping in a house close by the firing line.
At 11.40pm  a German shell burst through the roof, fragments piercing his thigh.
The Doctor gave all possible aid and he was removed to a field ambulance, where he died at 2.30am.
 

Oliver Gaunt, Captain, R.F.A. writes in a letter to Mrs E Fowler:

"In losing your husband the British Army has lost a quiet, hard working and faithful soldier"

Mrs Fowler also received a letter from one of Joseph’s friends:
 

"He got severely wounded and knowing he would not live long he asked me to write to you and tell you. We have been pals together, as I come from Manchester. He was so liked by everybody out here."
Joseph was an experienced soldier having served through the South African campaign under General Warren.

He had enlisted at the age of 18