Description

Offered is a British War Medal (1914-18), impressed named 0-275 PTE A. INGRAM. RIF. BRIG. General Service Medal (1918), with clasp IRAQ, impressed named 0-275 PTE. A. INGRAM. RIF. BRIG. Court mounted for display. Comes with copy M.I.C., medal rolls, war diary extracts March 1918 and P.O.W. records.

Albert Ingram was born on the 14/12/1899. He served with the 7th Battalion Rifle Brigade during WW1 with the service No 0-275. Based on his age he would have probably landed in France in early 1918.

He was taken prisoner on 21/3/1918, when as part of the German 1918 Spring Offensive, the 7th Battalion was practically destroyed.  The war diary report “The enemy opened a heavy drum fire bombardment at 4 am, a considerable amount of gas shells being used. From that time onwards no further communication was received from the forward zone. Runners were unable to get through the barrage”.

By the 22nd the battalion consisted of 4 officers and 100 other ranks, these were composed of shoemakers, tailors, pioneers, storemen, and the remnants of the battalion.

The 7th Battalion of the Rifle Brigade was reduced to cadre strength 27/4/1918 and on 17/6/1918 it was returned to England.

Ingram was lucky to survive and was sent to the POW camp at Langensalza (Thuringia, central Germany). Post war he continued to serve with the 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade (service No 6906578) who in 1919, was sent to garrison the new British mandate of Iraq. It then had another long spell in India from 1921, the same year in which he discharged.