5th Brigade Machine Gun Corps (Infantry)
At Great Rissington Church there is a picture frame containing the photographs of the five brothers from the village who were killed during the Great War. The sons of William and Annie Souls – Albert, Walter, Frederick, Alfred and Arthur all died within two years of each other; Alfred and Arthur were identical twins born an hour apart and died five days apart.
Albert and Walter were the first of the Souls brothers to enlist and joined the 2nd Battalion Worcestershire Regiment; they sailed for France in June 1915. They were involved in the Battle of Loos and the Worcestershire Regiment was singled out for special praise for their gallantry. The brothers transferred to the Machine Gun Corps in January.
Walter’s unit went into the Battle of the Somme on 20 July 1916. He was wounded in his left leg and moved to 25 Stationary Hospital, BEF, Rouen. The following day, August 2, he died from an embolism in the heart, he was 24 years of age. Walter is buried at St Sever Cemetery, Rouen.