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43803 8th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Cyril Dale was born in Sudbury in 1897, the youngest of two sons of Arthur James and Elizabeth Emma Dale. His father was employed as ‘a shunter’ on the railway and the family lived at En Route Villas in Waldingfield Road before later moving to East Street.
Before the war Cyril was employed as a railway clerk. He was living in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire when he enlisted in December 1915 and served with the London Regiment, Royal Fusiliers (formerly 7637). His service record describes him as 5ft 8¼ ins in height with a 35 inch chest. On 2nd March 1917 he landed in France and transferred to the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers on 28 March being promoted to Lance Corporal on 31 May 1917.
The battalion which formed part of 49th Brigade, 16th (Irish) Division took part in the Battle of Messines (7 – 14 June) when the Allies used the heaviest concentration of artillery bombardment and exploded nineteen enormous underground mines prior to the attack when they captured the Wytschaete – Messines Ridge south of Ypres.
The battalion saw action during the second phase of the Third Battle of Ypres (also known as the Battle of Passchendaele) at Langemarck (16 – 18 August). They fought in what had become a quagmire due to the unseasonal heavy rain and the heavy British bombardment which had destroyed the area drainage and against well constructed German bunkers and machine guns. There were enormous casualties on both sides.
Cyril was listed as ‘missing’ and later reported as killed in action on 16 August 1917 aged 20. There is no known grave and he is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial, near Ypres, Belgium. He was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal.
A Cross of Remembrance was laid at the Tyne Cot Memorial in April 2006 and April 2009. Cyril is also remembered on the memorial in St. John’s Methodist Church, York Road.
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