A World War One 1914 - 15 Star and Victory Medal To 9405 Private Peter Willis, PoW who served with the 7th Battalion Suffolk Regiment

A World War One 1914 - 15 Star and Victory Medal To 9405 Private Peter Willis, PoW who served with the 7th Battalion Suffolk Regiment.

Peter Willis was born on 23 November 1880 and was from Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. The 7th (Service) Battalion, the Suffolk Regiment was a New Army battalion formed at Bury St Edmunds in August 1914 as part of K1. It came under command of 35th Brigade in 12th (Eastern) Division. Peter Willis entered the France theatre via Boulogne on 30 May 1915 on the strength of the 7th. He remained with the 7th until captured on the Somme at Albert during the German Spring Offensive 1918. According to German records this took place on 25/03/18, although this is almost certainly a mistake for 26th or 27th March, when the battalion went into the line to hold the advancing Germans east of Albert. By March 1918 he was serving with 'B' Company. 

On 24 March 1918 the battalion was in billets at Cantrainne, having marched there overnight from Estaires. At 11:45pm they embussed out, eventually arriving at Senlis the following day (25/03). That afternoon, they headed towards Fricourt, getting within 1 mile by 10pm but then being ordered back.

On the morning of the 26th the battalion was deployed initially to defend a line east of Albert, but was forced to withdraw through the town in the face of the advancing enemy. It then took position to defend the general line of the railway by Albert, 'B' Company on the left , 'A' on the right, 'D' in reserve and 'C' forming an outpost line, later pulled back once the bridges were destroyed, having inflicted some casualties on the enemy and then put to fill a gap in the line along the railway south of 'A' Company. In the face of enemy pressure, 'A' was forced back under strong enemy enfilade fire but 'B' and the right flank Company were holding. 'D' Company became engaged after the houses west of the railway line were taken, taking casualties and repelling enemy bombing attacks through the night. After being temporarily forced back around 10:30pm the overall line was regained by counter-attack and held overnight ('D' prolonging the line to the left of 'A' Company) until 11am on the 27th when 'B' Company were forced by heavy shellfire and withdrawal by a neighbouring battalion to fall back to the reserve line held by the 9th Essex in support. The war diary notes that this withdrawal was accompanied by considerable confusion and that only 53 out of 133 other ranks of 'B' rejoined the battalion after relief early the following day (28/03) at Henecourt; it was presumably at this point on the 27th that Pte Willis was separated from his Company and captured. When the defence was reorganised at 2pm on the 27th, 'C' occupied the high ground south of the Amiens Road, with one platoon in the area between the Millencourt-Albert track and Bouzincourt Road and another in Reserve, 'A' holding the immediate vicinity of the road, 'D' Company in part was put in the line with part of 'A', guarding the high ground up to the crucifix on the Millencourt Road. Relief took place on the 28th. By the end of the action the war diary reported 38 other ranks killed, 110 wounded and 96 missing.

Pte Willis was incarcerated at Althurst until repatriation, being listed in War Office daily list 5723 as 'reported as a prisoner of war in lists received from the German government', on 15 November 1918. Meanwhile, on 19 May 1918 the battalion was reduced to cadre strength and subsequently rebuilt, serving with the 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division to the end of the war. Pte Willis was listed as  released prisoner of war from Germany, returned to England, in War Office daily list 5777 of 21 January 1919; he was subsequently demobilised by transfer to the Army Class 'Z' Reserve on 9 April 1919.

7th (Service) Battalion

Formed at Bury St Edmunds in August 1914 as part of K1 and came under command of 35th Brigade in 12th (Eastern) Division.

30 May 1915 : landed at Boulogne.

19 May 1918: reduced to cadre strength. (Subsequently rebuilt and served with 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division 

Troops of the 7th (Service) Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, in the ruins of the church in Tilloy [near Arras], 18 October 1917. Imperial War Museum image Q6097