7th Battalion The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
John Edward Avenell was born in Gloucester on 26 September 1876. His parents farmed near Wotton-under-Edge and he attended the Ozleworth School and the Blue Coat School at Wotton.
Early in the war he enlisted, at Guildford, into The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment) and having gained promotion to Corporal was sent to France on 31 August 1915, serving with the 7th (Service) Battalion of The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment), who were part of 55 Brigade, 18th (Eastern) Division.
He was severely wounded in July 1916 on the Somme and spent a whole year recovering from his injuries, partly in England. He rejoined his battalion in Belgium in August 1917 and on 21 October he was killed in action in the area of Poelcappelle.
The Battalion War Diary states that the battalion was holding the line, so it is likely that John was killed either by shell fire or a sniper. He was aged 41 and one of the oldest servicemen from Wotton to die in the War.
Corporal Avenell’s remains were not found until 1919 and were buried at New Irish Farm Cemetery, Ypres. He is commemorated on a tablet at St Nicholas’ Church, Ozleworth.
(From First World War Heroes of Wotton-under-Edge by Bill Griffiths)