Private 22844, Ernest Albert Pryke, 2nd Battalion, Suffolk Regiment. Killed in action 20th July 1916
Private 20236, William Edward Pryke, 2nd Battalion, Suffolk Regiment. Killed in action 20th July 1916
In the summer of 1915 William and Ernest followed their older brother Frederick, a Regular soldier in the Suffolks, into the same Regiment. Frederick had gone to France with the 2nd Battalion in December 1914 but was killed in action in June 1915. It’s possible that his death prompted the brothers to enlist. The brothers joined the 2nd Battalion in France in 1916 and took part in The Battle of Delville Wood (15th July – 3rd September). This heavily contested area of woodland (known as “Devil Wood” by the troops) to the east of the village of Longueval had been taken earlier by the South African Brigade but lost again on the 19th. The 2nd Suffolks took part in an attack to regain the woods as the Regimental history relates:
“The two Suffolk companies in the forward line moved in double lines of platoons with a front of 140 yards each. Much bitter fighting followed, which, though indecisive locally, enabled a footing to be gained in High Wood by a division [33rd] containing another Suffolk battalion – the 4th, and the British line to be linked up thence with Longueval.”
Ernest and William have no known grave and are commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.
Recent Comments