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| Additional Information: | Son of Joseph and Sarah Ann Shakespeare, of 11, Shaw St., Gold's Green, West Bromwich. |
| Cemetery: | SOISSONS MEMORIALAisne, France |
| Location: | The town of Soissons stands on the left bank of the River Aisne, approximately 100 kilometres north-east of Paris. The Soissons Memorial will be found in the public square. The memorial register is kept at the Mairie where it may be consulted. |
| Visiting Information: | Names are listed on the memorial by Regiments in order of precedence, under the title of each Regiment by rank, and under each rank alphabetically. |
| Historical Information: | The original British Expeditionary Force crossed the Aisne in August 1914 a few kilometres west of Soissons, and re-crossed it in September a few kilometres east. For the next three and a half years, this part of the front was held by French forces and the city remained within the range of German artillery. At the end of April 1918, five divisions of Commonwealth forces (IX Corps) were posted to the French 6th Army in this sector to rest and refit following the German offensives on the Somme and Lys. Here, at the end of May, they found themselves facing the overwhelming German attack which, despite fierce opposition, pushed the Allies back across the Aisne to the Marne. Having suffered 15,000 fatal casualties, IX Corps was withdrawn from this front in early July, but was replaced by XXII Corps, who took part in the Allied counter attack that had driven back the Germans by early August and recovered the lost ground. The Soissons Memorial commemorates almost 4,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom forces who died during the Battles of the Aisne and the Marne in 1918 and who have no known grave. The memorial was designed by G H Holt and V O Rees, with sculpture by Eric Kennington. |
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