Alfred's Story.
Birkenhead News 20 November 1915Young Sergeant Dies in the Trenches.
ST. PETER’S OLD BOY.
Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Bennett, who reside at 25, Rosemount, Oxton, have received the sad news of the death on active service in the Dardanelles of their youngest son, Sergeant Alfred, who was attached to the 8th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (Machine Gun Section). His death, it is understood, occurred suddenly in the trenches as a result of heart failure.
Sergeant Bennett joined the forces at the outbreak of war, and was drafted out to the Dardanelles in June. He was a native of the town, and received his education at St. Peter’s School, where he was held in high esteem. He was formerly an apprentice plater in the employ of Messrs. Cammell Laird and Co. His brother, Wm Henry, is serving on the Saxonia. Sergeant Bennett was only 21 years of age.
The following is a copy of the letter which conveyed the sad news to Birkenhead :-
“To Mr Bennett, from the Rev. E. Teale, Capt. Chaplain, 41st Field Ambulance, 40th Brigade, 13th Division, Mediterranean Expeditionary Force – I regret to inform you that your son, Sergeant Bennett, of the 8th Cheshire Regiment, died suddenly in the trenches in the early hours of yesterday morning. As far as I can gather, he had been suffering from jaundice for a few days, and his death was the result of heart failure – this is what I learn from the men of his Company. I buried him yesterday in a site set apart as a permanent memorial to those who had given their lives on active service in this part of the peninsula. The official description of the site is ‘105 H. I. Suvla.’ It is just behind the trenches in which your son’s regiment was at the time of his death.
I hear your son was a very capable sergeant. He was certainly very popular with the men of his regiment.