Private Cuthbert Tyndale MARSHALL (G/7849)
C Company, 6th (Service) Battalion Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment

Date of birth: 22nd July 1891
Date of death: 20th November 1917

Killed in action aged 26
Commemorated at Fifteen Ravine British Cemetery Villers-Plouich on Special Memorial B3
He was born in Hampstead on the 22nd of July 1891, the third son of Charles Edward Marshall, artist, and Emily Lydia (nee Goodliffe) of 2, Harley Road, South Hampstead, London. He was christened at St Mary’s Church, Kilburn on the 1st October 1891.

He was educated at the Abbey School in Beckenham, and at the King's School Canterbury from September 1906 to July 1908, where he won a Junior Scholarship in 1907.

On leaving school he became a chartered accountant's clerk in London, later moving to South Africa where he continued in the accountancy profession.

When war broke out he enlisted in the 9th Cape Town Rifles in November 1914 who were on garrison duty at Cape Town until January 1915. In February they deployed to German South West Africa until July 1915 when they returned to the colony and were disbanded on the 21st of July 1915. He decided to return to the UK to enlist and embarked at Cape Town on board the SS "Briton", landing at Plymouth on the 17th November 1915.

He enlisted for war service on the 30th of November 1915 at Hampstead. On the 15th of February 1916 he was mobilsed and the following day became a Private in the 9th (Reserve) Battalion Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment based at Shoreham. He underwent a medical examination on the 29th of November 1915 where it was recorded that he was 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighed 122lbs.

He embarked for France at Folkestone on the 8th of June 1916 arriving at Boulogne the same day. On the 24th of June he joined the 11th Battalion of his regiment in the field at Le Bizet. He saw action during the Battle of the Somme but spent most of his time in the Ypres sector.

On the 20th of March 1917 he returned to England to undertake training for a commission but was returned to the 23rd Training Reserve Battalion on the 25th of May still as a Private. On the 24th of August 1917 he was posted to the Queen's Regimental Depot prior to being posted overseas.

He was posted to France on the 25th of September 1917 arriving there on the 27th of September where he was attached to the 1st Battalion of his regiment. Three days later he was re-posted to C Company of the 6th (Service) Battalion, joining them in the field in the Monchy-Le Preux sector near Arras.

On the 20th of November 1917 the battalion was in support of an attack between the Scheldt Canal and Canal du Nord at Havrincourt. The battalion marched out of Heudecourt where they had been in billets and marched to the assembly area east of Gonnelieu arriving at 4am for the attack at 6.20am. C and D Companies were to lead the attack and the battalion was to pass through the 6th Battalion Royal West Kent Regiment, when they had taken their objective and advance further forward. The West Kents ran into stiff resistance at Bonavais and Pam Pam Farm in front of Lateau Wood and the Queen's were called to assist. After much hard fighting the positions were captured and the battalion captured a 5.9 and a 4.2 howitzer.

Losses were one officer and 11 other ranks killed with two officers and 41 other ranks wounded.

He is commemorated at Fifteen Ravine British Cemetery Villers-Plouich on Special Memorial B3. These memorials are for those who were known to have been buried in the cemetery but whose graves were lost during subsequent fighting.

In 1918 a book he had written called "Fragments" was published.
 

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