5th Brigade Machine Gun Corps
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.
On 14 March the 5th Brigade Machine Gun Corps reported one casualty and Annie Souls lost the first of her sons to the war. Albert was 20 years of age. He is buried at Bully-Grenay Communal Cemetery.