16th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment
Henry Dalley was born in Churchdown, near Gloucester in 1895 and was one of seven children with three brothers and three sisters born to Henry (Harry) Dalley, (1858-1930) a farm labourer and his wife Alice (née Pitt: 1859-1929). The family later lived at 16 Sweetbriar Street, Gloucester.
Details of Henry’s Army service are scant. However, it is known (from Silver War Badge records) that he enlisted on 3 September 1914 and served until 14 May 1918, when he was discharged due to wounds. A Medal Index Card shows that his initial posting was to the 10th (Service) Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment and that he first went abroad, to the Western Front, on 19 July 1915.
This was the battalion’s first posting abroad: prior to that it had been training on Salisbury Plain. The actual Medal Roll indicates that he served with the 10th, 3rd and 1st Battalions of the Worcesters.
His final battalion, the 16th, is not mentioned: this was not formed until March 1917 and remained in the UK for the rest of the war.
A recently released Pension Record Card indicates that he was discharged due to a wound affecting his right arm.
The cause of Henry’s death, at Gloucester, on 15 April 1920, aged 24, is not known (without seeing a death certificate): likewise whether his death was a direct result of his war service.
Private Henry Dalley was buried in the churchyard of St Matthew’s, Twigworth on 22 April, 1920 and his grave is now marked by a standard CWGC headstone.
Researched by Graham Adams 19 April 2020