Second Lieutenant Joseph Josephs was an English officer of the British Army who died during the First World War.
He was born in 1897, in London, the son of German leather merchant David and Sabina Josephs (née Jacobs), local to the area. At the time of the 1911 census, Josephs was living with his family at 72 Highbury New Park.
Joseph died on 1 July 1916, on the opening day of the Somme Offensive on the Western Front, while serving with the 1/12th (County of London) Battalion (The Rangers), The London Regiment. His battalion suffered heavy casualties in a diversionary attack on the village of Gommecourt, when fatally obstructed by barbed wire that had survived the preliminary British bombardment. With the remnants of "C" Company, Josephs was able to reach German lines and advance towards Nameless Farm.[1] He died while charging a machine gun position,[1] one of more than 500 casualties sustained by the battalion.[2]
He is buried in Gommecourt British Cemetery No. 2, Hebuterne.
Notes[]
References[]
- Ancestry.co.uk.
- Josephs, J, cwgc.org. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
External links[]
- The Fallen of The Rangers (Photograph), gommecourt.co.uk. Retrieved 24 November 2012.