Mesopotamia

Having spent the summer and autumn of 1916 in reorganisation, the British and Indian forces renewed their campaign in the winter and spring.  Baghdad was eventually captured on 11 March 1917.  John Waterhouse, James Wilson and Richard Ditchfield were all killed in the campaign.

​

Western Front

The War on the Western Front was largely at stalemate in the first half of 1917.  Tom Bamber was killed near Lijssenthoek. 

A large scale assault at Arras in April and May led to some gains but no major breakthrough, and at great cost.  Arthur Jolly and Tom Woods were among the casualties at Arras.

William Rainford died of TB in Aldershot.

James Bradshaw died from wounds received in a raid on an enemy trench near Festubert.

Having failed to break through at Arras, the Allies moved the focus of their attacks to the north.  The Battle of Messines in June was a prelude to the much bigger Third Battle of Ypres (July-November).  Thomas Ryding was a stretcher-bearer killed at Messines.  William Delaney enlisted underage and was still only 19 when he was killed in the trenches near Messines.

286Bde RFA (with over a hundred Briggers enlisted) had landed in France in February 1917 and began their service in the defence of Armentières, John Stirzaker was an early casualty.  John Marsden died in UK from a pre-existing heart condition.  286Bde was artillery for 57th Division.  William Whitehead and Wilfred Holland were infantrymen in the same Division.

Back near Arras, James Barton was killed in a raid on an enemy trench.  James Doolan was killed in the 'quiet before the storm' of Passchendaele.

'Operation Hush' was an attempt to take the channel ports of Oostende and Zeebrugge back from the Germans.  It was a failure.  Tom Slater was killed when a German plane dropped a bomb on his camp.  Henry Smith was killed in the same operation a month later.

​

Robert Mercer and Charles Naylor were in the same battalion.  They spent 1917 in and out of the trenches in the Ypres Salient.  Robert was killed in a raid on an enemy trench.  Charles was killed on the opening day of the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele).  Joe Knight was in the same Brigade but a different Battalion.  Tom Mercer was in a shelter behind the lines when a shell hit, killing him and all his companions.  John Newman died of wounds at Abbeville.  William Rothwell died of wounds near Wieltje.  Alfred Snape was killed by a bomb dropped from an aeroplane on his camp.  Hubert Cooper was killed in sporadic fighting near Frezenberg.  Joe Thompson was killed south of Ypres defending the forward line won at the Battle of Messines.  Levi Woods died in the trenches near Zillebeke as the preparations were being made for a new attack.  Norman Allison was killed near Langemark.

57th Division came back into action in the Second Battle of Passchendaele.  Joe Nagle, James Roberts, Robert Law and James Whittle were among the thousands of dead as the final attempt was made to capture Passchendaele.

​

Matthew Kennedy committed suicide whilst on leave at home.

​

The Battle of Cambrai (20 November - 7 December) was famous and infamous in equal measure: famous as the first use of massed tanks and for the spectacular success of the opening day, after which church bells were rung in England for the first time since 1914; infamous for the equally spectacular German counter-attack which pushed the Allies back to behind their opening position.  For the longer term, the battle marked the end of the war of attrition and the start of the war of movement which would characterise the fighting in 1918.  Cambrai claimed the lives of George Raby, Alfred Wharton, Harold Poole and Patrick Walsh.

​

​

​