Maurice Albert Driver
Rank: Private
Service Number: 27162
Date of Birth: 1899
Regiment: 1nd Bn., East Surrey Regiment
Date of Death: 18 July 1918
Age at death: 19
Cemetery / Memorial: Are Communal Cemetery
Country: France
Grave / Reference: III, J, 6
Relatives: Brother of Leonard Driver
Address: 53 George Street, Hadleigh
Maurice Albert Driver was born in 1898; by the time of the 1901 census he was one of seven children living with their parents in George Street. Sadly is mother died in 1903 and his father two years later. When the parents died, the family was split up. The three girls were sent to different homes for girls in the south of England. Maurice and his two brothers (Leonard & Frederick) were sent to a charity boy’s home in Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire. Only the eldest brother Charles remained in Hadleigh. Charles who was 18 when his father died, moved in with his uncle Harry Dunningham at 13 Long Bessels.
We are not sure when or how Maurice arrived in France, but he was with the 1st Battalion East Surrey Regt close to Steenbecque, northern France in the middle of 1918.
On the night of 11/12th July the battalion relieved the 1st Bn the Deavonshire Regt in front line trenches. They found the trenches much improved since they were last in this sector. It was now possible to get along the whole front line in day light. Patrol reports from the front line companies report nothing of interest. The enemy had evacuated the advance posts which he held when the battalion was in this sector last.
We are not sure what happened to Leonard, but he landed in France in January 1915 with the 2nd Kings Own and was subsequently killed in action in May 1915. Leonard’s story is told on this website.
In 1908 when Frederick was too old for the school, he was sent to Canada to a farm operated by the school trustees. We are not sure if Maurice later followed Frederick out to Canada, but what we know that in July 1917 he was conscripted at Bury St Edmunds and sent to serve with the East Surrey Regiment.
There was an enemy machine gun located in a nearby house that was causing a certain amount of inconvenience to wiring parties and carrying parties. When the CO returned from leave and resumed command of the battalion on the 16th, arrangements were made with the Artillery and the Stokes Mortar Battery to concentrate fire on the house. The time was fixed for 1am and the shooting was reported to be very effective, the enemy machine gun did not fire again that night.
On the night of the 17/18th July, the battalion were themselves relieved and withdrew to Tannay. They were allocated the baths at Thiennes on the 18th.
1st Bn East Surry Regt war diary entry for the night of the 17/18th July 1918
Sadly Maurice did not make it to the baths. As the battalion was carrying out the relief , they were still being harassed by the enemy and during the relief, one other rank (OR) was wounded and one other rank (OR) was killed. We are assuming that Maurice was the man killed. He was buried at Aire Communal Cemetery and he is remembered on the Hadleigh Roll of Honour.
