Hugh Owen, Royal Engineers

Sapper, 438158 (previously (T)2028), 427 Field Company, Royal Engineers. Died of wounds, aged 27, on 6 April 1918 at the Western Front.

The 427 Field Company, Royal Engineers was part of the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division, which was a Territorial Force Division. Originally called the East Lancashire Division, it was re-designated as the 42nd Division on 25 May 1915. It was the first Territorial division to be sent overseas during the First World War. The division fought at Gallipoli, in the Sinai desert and on the Western Front in France and Belgium.The First Battle of the Somme 1918 took place between 21 March and 4 July 1918. It was known as the Spring Offensive when the German Army made its last attempt to break the allied lines and turn the war to their favour. The 42nd Division held the line in the sector from Rossigol Wood to Bucquoy. On 5 April 1918 they faced a ferocious assault at Bucquoy but held the line and stopped the German advance in this area. This became known as the Battle of the Ancre. Many Engineer Companies were called upon to support the infantry battalions. It is reported that he was wounded whilst carrying ammunition to the infantry. He was hit by a shell fragment and severely wounded and probably died at one of the stationary hospitals located around Abbeville.Sapper Owen was born at Holyhead and enlisted at Manchester. He was the son of Captain Hugh and Elizabeth Owen of Surrey Hill, 27 Porth-y-Felin, Holyhead. In 1911 he was a boarder at 6 MIlner Street, Warrington and employed as a Hairdresser, aged 21.Awarded the Victory Medal and British War Medal.Buried in the Abbeville Communal Cemetery Extension, France. Grave location III.D.29.