A CASUALTY 1914 TRIO TO PTE L J NAISH DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY

A CASUALTY 1914 TRIO TO PTE L J NAISH DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY Killed at Hooge in August 1915. 1914 Star correctly impressed 9946 Pte J Naish 2/ Durh L I; Pair 9946 Pte L J Naish 2/ Durh L I, Condition NGVF ( Please note the one initial on star) Naish enlisted in London on 28th February 1907 aged 14. On his enlistment papers it claims ' a very nice boy, he is a cornet player' he was drafted into the regimental band where he appears to have done very well. In his records for October 1913, it states ' a smart, steady, sensible young man, a good performance on the French Horn' he entered the Western Front on 8th September 1914. He was sadly killed in action at Hooge on 9th August 1915. The 2nd battalion war diary stated; 'A staff officer estimated the number of dead Germans found around the stables to be 300, most of them bayoneted and about 200 were found in and about the crater…. All the officers of the 2nd line companies were killed ( except two). The Germans massed for a counter-attack in Bellewarde Wood. Two groups from the battalion were delayed in the pull-out from the Carter and Stables, at which point the Germans began an intense bombardment'. Naish was 22 years old and is remembered Menin Gate Memorial.