Cyril José

Cyril José was only 17 when he was badly wounded during the first day of the Battle. 

Born in April 1899, José was 15 years old when he joined the army.  Just weeks after his 16th birthday, he was serving in France with the 2nd Battalion, The Devonshire Regiment.  He was a cheerful, energetic soldier who wrote home regularly asking for pocket money and comics.

As part of the 8th Division’s attack on Ovillers, the 2nd Devons faced one of the most difficult tasks on 1 July 1916.  No man’s land was 600 to 650m wide.  Ovillers had been strongly fortified and, along the northern edge of nearby la Boisselle, German machine guns overlooked the steady slope of their advance.

On 30 June, the 2nd Devons moved to their assembly trenches near Rycroft Street.  At 07.27 the next day, their first wave went over the top and moved towards the German lines.  When the British barrage lifted, it was hit by devastating rifle and machine gun fire, as was the second wave that followed behind.  The battalion suffered over 430 casualties.

Cyril José had nearly reached the German wire when he was hit in the left shoulder.  Bleeding, he found shelter behind the body of his platoon officer and started to slip in and out of consciousness.  Wary of German patrols during the night, it was not until 07.00 on 2 July that he began his long, painful crawl back to the British front line.  He was sent to No.16 General Hospital in le Treport, then on to Ford House Hospital in Plymouth.  His wound bled for 12 days.

He left hospital in January 1917 and the following year returned to France.  After the war, disillusioned by authority, he turned to communism.  He died in 1983.