Censuses
1911 Census (North East Ham, Essex, ref 068)
Name Albert John Kirby
Address: 64 Shrewsbury Road, Forest Gate
Age: 32
Born 1879, Boarstall, Bucks
Status Single
Relationship to Head Boarder
Occupation Commercial Traveller with Chemical manufacturer
Other people on census
(Head): Rose Matilda Powl (37, widow, Office and Church cleaner, born 1874, Henley, Oxon)
Son of Head: Robert Powl (11, Scholar, born 1900 Seven Kings, Essex)
Daughter of Head Hilda Powl (7, born 1904, Seven Kings, Essex)
Other Boarder: William Nicholls (39, Married, Letter sorter at Post Office, born 1872, Instow, Devon)
1901 Census (North East Fulham, London, ref 104)
Name Albert Kirby
Address: 34 Castleton Road, Fulham
Age: 22
Born 1879, Oakley, Bucks
Status Single
Occupation Manchester warehouseman
Relationship to head Visitor / Lodger
Other people on census
Head of household Thomas Gilbert (63, married, Secretary Public CP, employee, born 1838, Dublin, Ireland
Others in household: Kate Gilbert (52, married; born 1849,Bath, Somerset)
May Gilbert (24, daughter, single; Lodging house keeper, born 1877, Brighton, Sussex)
Constance Gilbert (20, daughter, single, born 1881, Brighton, Sussex)
Dudley Gilbert (22, son, single; Brewery distiller, born 1879, London)
Raleigh Gilbert (26, son, single; Accountant, born 1875, West London)
Six other visitors / guests
Two servants
1891 Census (Oakley, ref 074)
Name Albert J. Kirby
Address: Manor Farm
Age: 12
Born 1879, Boarstall, Bucks
Status Single
Other people on census
Father (Head): James Kirby (51, married, Farmer, born 1840, Great Milton)
Mother: Emma E Kirby (48, married, born 1843, Worminghall, Bucks)
Brothers: Frederick Kirby (16, single, born 1875, Oakley, Bucks)
Arthur Kirby (15, single, born 1876, Oakley, Bucks)
Percy W. (14, single, born 1877, Boarstall, Bucks)
Frank Kirby (8, born 1883, Oakley, Bucks)
Sisters: Ellen C. Kirby (11, born 1880, Boarstall, Bucks)
Florence Kirby (10, born 1881, Boarstall, Bucks)
Others Elizabeth Honour (19, single, servant: nursemaid, born 1862, Boarstall, Bucks)
Ada Honour (15, single, servant: dairymaid, born 1866, Boarstall, Bucks)
Hannah Coggins (61, widow, nurse, born 1820 South Leich (South Leigh), Oxon)
1881 Census (Boarstall, ref 030)
Name Albert J. Kirby
Address: Poor Pasture, Boarstall
Age: 2
Born 1879, Boarstall, Bucks
Other people on census
Father (Head): James Kirby (41, married, Farmer Of 422 Acres Employing 9 Men 3 Boys & 2 Women, born 1840, Great Milton)
Mother: Emma E. Kirby (38, married, born 1843, Worminghall, Bucks)
Brothers: Frederick Kirby (6, scholar, born 1875, Oakley, Bucks)
Arthur Kirby (5, scholar, born 1876, Oakley, Bucks)
Percy W. Kirby (4, scholar, born 1877, Boarstall, Bucks)
Sisters: Ellen C. Kirby (1, born 1880, Boarstall, Bucks)
An infant (Florence Kirby) (less than one month, born 1881, Boarstall, Bucks)
Others Emma L. Warner (26, single, servant, born 1865, Long Crendon, Bucks)
Sarah Colman (14, single, servant, born 1877, Oakley, Bucks)
Cemetery / Memorial
The Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing
Location Information
The Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing forms the north-eastern boundary of Tyne Cot Cemetery, which is located 9 kilometres north east of Ieper town centre, on the Tynecotstraat, a road leading from the Zonnebeekseweg (N332).
The names of those from United Kingdom units are inscribed on Panels arranged by Regiment under their respective Ranks.
Historical Information
The Tyne Cot Memorial is one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders which cover the area known as the Ypres Salient. Broadly speaking, the Salient stretched from Langemarck in the north to the northern edge in Ploegsteert Wood in the south, but it varied in area and shape throughout the war.
The Salient was formed during the First Battle of Ypres in October and November 1914, when a small British Expeditionary Force succeeded in securing the town before the onset of winter, pushing the German forces back to the Passchendaele Ridge. The Second Battle of Ypres began in April 1915 when the Germans released poison gas into the Allied lines north of Ypres. This was the first time gas had been used by either side and the violence of the attack forced an Allied withdrawal and a shortening of the line of defence.
There was little more significant activity on this front until 1917, when in the Third Battle of Ypres an offensive was mounted by Commonwealth forces to divert German attention from a weakened French front further south. The initial attempt in June to dislodge the Germans from the Messines Ridge was a complete success, but the main assault north-eastward, which began at the end of July, quickly became a dogged struggle against determined opposition and the rapidly deteriorating weather. The campaign finally came to a close in November with the capture of Passchendaele. The German offensive of March 1918 met with some initial success, but was eventually checked and repulsed in a combined effort by the Allies in September.
The battles of the Ypres Salient claimed many lives on both sides and it quickly became clear that the commemoration of members of the Commonwealth forces with no known grave would have to be divided between several different sites.
The site of the Menin Gate was chosen because of the hundreds of thousands of men who passed through it on their way to the battlefields. It commemorates those of all Commonwealth nations, except New Zealand, who died in the Salient, in the case of United Kingdom casualties before 16 August 1917 (with some exceptions). Those United Kingdom and New Zealand servicemen who died after that date are named on the memorial at Tyne Cot, a site which marks the furthest point reached by Commonwealth forces in Belgium until nearly the end of the war. Other New Zealand casualties are commemorated on memorials at Buttes New British Cemetery and Messines Ridge British Cemetery.
Private Albert John KIRBY
Personal information
Known as Albert John Kirby
Born: 1879, Boarstall
Pre-War Occupation Commercial Traveller
Rank Private
Married: Unmarried
Died: 16th August 1917
Cause of Death Killed in action
Age at death 38
Buried Zonnebeke, West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen), Belgium
Family
Father: James Kirby (born 1840, Great Milton, Oxon; married 15th Apr 1873, Wendlebury, Oxon; died 24th Aug 1935, age 95, Oakley, Bucks; buried 28th August 1935, Oakley Church)
Mother: Emma Elizabeth Kirby nee Panting (born 1842, Worminghall, Bucks; married 15th Apr 1873, Wendlebury, Oxon; died 6th Nov 1936, age 94, Oakley, Bucks; buried 9th Nov 1936, Oakley Church)
Brothers (4) Frederick Kirby (born 12th Jun 1874, Oakley, Bucks; bapt. 16th Aug 1874, Oakley Church; married Jul-Sep 1915, Headington district to Alice Belcher; died Jul-Sep 1959 age 85, Oxford district)
Arthur Thomas Kirby (born 1876, Oakley, Bucks; bapt. 10th Oct 1876, Oakley Church; died 27th Sept 1962, age 86, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford)
Percy William Kirby (born 16 February 1877, Boarstall, Bucks; died 18th March 1950, age 73, Pond Farm, Worminghall)
Frank Kirby (born 1881, Boarstall, Bucks; bapt. 2nd July 1881, Oakley Church; married Oct-Dec 1909, Faringdon district to Maria Reading; death 12th Oct 1961, Stone, Bucks)
Sisters (2) Ellen Elizabeth Kirby (born 16th April 1879, Boarstall, Bucks; died Jan-Mar 1970, age 90, Brighton district)
Florence Emily (Florence Kate) Kirby (born Apr-Jun 1881, Boarstall, Bucks; married (1) Apr-Jun 1911, Thame district to Percival Bury; married (2) Jun-Sep 1922, Aylesbury district to Ralph Victor Hoddinott, died 14th Jun 1941, age 60, Lower Brook Frank Worminghall)
Paternal Grandfather: James Kirby (born 1795, Worton (Cassington), Oxon; died 7th May 1869, age 74, Oakley, Bucks, buried 7th May 1869, Oakley Church)
Paternal Grandmother: Elizabeth Kirby nee Absen (born 1804, Oxon; died 1846, age 41, Oakley, Bucks)
Maternal Grandfather: Thomas Panting (married Oct-Dec 1841, Thame District;)
Maternal Grandmother: Elizabeth Panting nee Gardener (married Oct-Dec 1841, Thame District;)
Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919
First Names: Albert John
Surname: Kirby
Date of birth 1879
Birth town: Boarstall, Bucks
Nationality British
Resided town Oakley, Bucks
Duty Location /
Death Place France and Flanders
Date of death: 16th August 1917
Fate: Killed in action
Enlistment Place Aylesbury, Bucks
Rank: Private
Service Number: 202248
Regiment Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
Battalion 1st / 4th Battalion
Theatre of War Western European Theatre
Age 38
Cemetery Zonnebeke, West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen), Belgium
Information Parents: James and Emma E. Kirby of Manor House,
Oakley, Thame, Oxon.
Medals
Roll of Individuals entitled to the Victory Medal and British War Medal granted under Army Orders 301 and 266 of 1919. Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
202248 Pte KIRBY, Albert John 1/4th Oxford and Bucks L.I. 5927 Pte
• Victory Medal
• British Medal
UK Army Registery of Soldiers’ Effects (ref 536173)
Credit £21 11s 4d Allocated on 22/02/1918 to To father James £21 11s 4d
War Gratuity £5 10s 0d Allocated on 25/11/1919 to To father James £5 10s 0d
Memorials/notes etc.
Oakley War Memorial.
Memorial Tyne Cot Memorial
Panel 95 to 98
Waddesdon Deanery Magazine – October 1917 – Killed in action
Military background
BRITISH ARMY
Regiment during World War 1 : Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
1/4th Battalion Territorial Force
04.08.1914 Stationed at Oxford as part of the South Midland Brigade of the South Midland Division and then moved to Writtle near Chelmsford.
30.03.1915 Mobilised for war and landed at Boulogne.
May 1915 The formation became the 145th Brigade of the 48th Division which engaged in various actions on the Western Front including;
1916 The Battle of Albert, The Battle of Bazentin Ridge, The Battle of Pozieres Ridge, The Battle of the Ancre Heights, The Battle of the Ancre.
1917 The German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line, The Battle of Langemarck, The Battle of Polygon Wood, The Battle of Broodseinde, The Battle of Poelcapelle.
Nov 1917 Deployed to Italy to stiffen Italian resistance to enemy attack after a recent disaster at Caporetto.
1918 The Division held the front-line sector at the Montello and then moved west, to the Asiago sector and then engaged in fighting on the Asiago Plateau, The Battle of the Vittoria Veneto in Val d’Assa.
04.11.1918 Ended the war near Trent, Austria.
From Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry War Diary – 16th August 1917
16/8/1917 STEENBEEK: At 4 a.m. all companies supported in position on assembly and direction tape laid West of STEENBEEK, in accordance with the brigade’s orders. Dispositions: C company on right and D on left forming two leading waves; behind the A and B companies respectively forming third and fourth waves. Each wave in two lines. On right flank 1/1st BUCKS Regiment; on left 11 Battalion MANCHESTER REGIMENT of INFANTRY, Brigade 34.
Four objectives assigned: first strong points WEST of St JULIEN – LANGEMARCK road; second LANGEMARCK – WINNIPEG road between C6d2.1 and C6c4.9; third LANGEMARCK trench system between C6d9.4 and C6b9.8; fourth, outpost line from latter point to HURNER FARM. Two tanks to cooperate in attacking strong points, not passed … in non-appearance of the latter
4:45 A.M. The attack started promptly at 4:45 a.m., our men advancing behind strong artillery barrage. Little opposition beyond slight rifle fire on assembly positions until first wave had advanced 200 yards EAST of STEENBEEK when it come under effective machine gun fire from MON DU HIBOU and right flank. Reinforced by rear wave, advanced continued until stopped about 100 yards SOUTH of a line through MON DU HIBOU and TRIANGLE FARM by deadly machine gun and rifle fire. Protected by strong concrete shelters the enemy maintained their fire while our barrage passed over them.
Most of the twelve company officers became casualties in attempting to get forward. We settled down to hold the ground gained on a line C5d9.1 to C12a4.9. Attack on right and immediate left equally. Held up farther left it progressed somewhat. The enemy barrage fell after the attacking waves around STEENBECK. It was directed with particular severity against ALBERT FARM cutting off communication for several hours.
Day bright and clear.
Pack animals with.coviabdating(?) supplies arrived early but failure of advance left R.E. positions at a standstill.
7:30 PM At 7:30 P.M. a company of 2/7th Battalion WORCESTERSHIRE REGIMENT in reserve attacked MON DU HIBOU but failed to capture it.
07/08/17 MON DU HIBOU. Another company of same battalion repeated attacked at 02:30 A.M., gained a temporary footing were bounded out but dug in close in front. We remained as on 16th holding a line of shell holes. Fresh losses from enemy sniping. Shelling was light EAST of STEENBEEK but heavy at time on the stream, WEST of it and on ALBERTA FARM and thanks to it, order for relief by 1/7th WORCHESTERS.
18/07/1916 DAMBRE CAMP. Relieving battalion in position shortly after midnight Many of the men datain(?) getting out
Assembled at REIGERSBURG CAMP. Moved on at sunrise to DAMBRE CAMP. Men rested. Casualties abated, They were killed 5 officers – 2/Lt A.S. WOTHERSPOON, 2/Lt H.H. JEFFERSON; 2.Lt F.E. JONES M.C,; 2/Lt C.H. BOWMAN, 2/Lt A.F. SALMON – Other ranks 60. Missing O.R. 4. Wounded Officers – 5 2/Lt A.E. CREW; 2/Lt J.H.EARLY; 2/Lt E.C.H. WINCER; 2/Lt D.E. COCHRANE; 2/Lt JOHN SWATRIDGE; Other Ranks 100. All company commanders had been early casualties.
16th August 1917
According to Commonwealth War Grave Commission 2,384 British/Empire soldiers died.
191 men died from the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry.