Samuel Leonard's Story.
Son of the late Matthew Dunn. Before enlisting he was an apprentice in the Fitting Shop and lived at 19 Alexander Street, Crewe. He was awarded the Military Medal for his “gallant conduct and devotion to duty in the field” over the 7th and 8th of June 1917 at Messines – Wytschaete Ridge. During the assembly before the attack, the enemy used lachrymatory (tear) gas which resulted in some casualties. The assault was successful leading to the capture of four enemy field guns, a machine gun and many prisoners. An enemy counterattack was successfully repulsed, and the battalion withstood two heavy artillery bombardments. They were relieved between the hours of 01:00 and 04:00 on the 9th of June. Following the action, the battalion received awards to 6 officers including the battalion commander and 24 other ranks, including Sgt. Dunn. The news of his award was published just two days after he was killed in action by shellfire at Westhoek Ridge. Even though it was high summer, the war diary records heavy rainfall and bad weather with trenches knee deep in water, making it difficult for solders to escape the bombardments.
Research by Colin Haynes.