10th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment
John Francis Ireland and Frederick James Ireland were the two youngest sons of Arthur and Fanny Ireland. The brothers were brought up in the family home in Butt Green, Painswick.
They volunteered together in 1914 and were posted to the 10th (Service) Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment. Both were sent with the battalion to France on 9 August 1915, joining the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, IV Corps of the First Army.
At this time the First Army was finalising plans for the ‘big push’ that would become known as the Battle of Loos. This offensive opened on 25 September and after severe fighting that included some heavy German counter-attacks the fighting subsided. The British reopened their operations on 13 October.
First Brigade attacked German positions along the Lens – La Bassee road between Loos and Hulluch. The attack failed completely costing the 1st Division 1,200 casualties, 459 of which were sustained by the 10th Gloucesters who were in the first wave.
Private John Ireland and Private Frederick Ireland perished together in this action aged 32 and 25 years respectively. They have no known graves being commemorated on the Loos Memorial, Pas-de-Calais and the Painswick (St Mary’s Church) War Memorial.