Thank you to Jane Anthony for the following research.
Albert William Page was the oldest child and only son of Albert and Amelia Page. He was born in Dorking although his father had originated from Binfield in Berkshire. His father was a labourer and later a saw pit worker; his mother Amelia had been born in Dorking, prior to her marriage in 1898, she worked as servant to a surveyor in Dorking High Street.
By 1911 the family were living at Church Gardens, the following year Albert Page was fined by the Dorking magistrates for allowing his chimney to catch fire.
At the time of his death on 28th August 1918, Albert’s father, Albert had died and his mother and sisters had moved to Mill Lane. His death was recorded in the Dorking Advertiser but they must have got the information wrong as a correction had to be printed on 18th November the week after the Armistice. Albert Page enlisted in the Rifle Brigade at Guildford. At some point he was transferred to the 1st Battalion Duke of Edinburgh’s Wilshire Regiment. This regiment, the battalion had fought throughout the war. At the time of Private Page’s death his battalion was fighting in the Second Battle of Bapuame. The British troops had surrounded the town of Bapuame and were shelling it in the hope that the Germans would surrender. The town was taken the following day with the Germans retreating.
Albert Page was 19 years old at the time of his death. He is commemorated in the Vendresse British Cemetery, Aisne. This cemetery was made after the Armistice by concentrating the graves of soldiers from both the battlefield and smaller surrounding cemeteries. Amongst those whose bodies were reinterred were seven British soldiers killed in July and August 1918 and initially buried at the German Cemetery of Morieulois. Possibly one of those was Private Page, who is also commemorated on the South Street Memorial.
| Born | Dorking | |
|---|---|---|
| Lived | Dorking | |
| Son of | Albert and Amelia Page | |
| Regiment | 1st Battalion. Wiltshire Regiment | |
| Number | 27551 | |
| Previous Regiment | 38546, Rifle Brigade | |
| Date of Death | 28th August 1918 | |
| Place of Death | Bapuame, France | |
| Cause of Death | Killed in action | |
| Age | 19 | |
| Cemetery | Vendresse British Cemetery, Aisne, France |
