| Date of birth: | 19th September 1883 |
| Place of birth: | Freemantle, Southampton |
| Regiment: | Royal Engineers |
| Battalion: | 21st Signal Coy. |
| Rank / Service No: | Sapper, 66358 |
| Died: | 22nd March 1918, aged 34 years |
| Commemorated: | Pozieres Memorial, France |
Archibald was the youngest of 6 siblings born to William and Lydia Horton (nee Anderson), who married in Shirley in 1869.
The family latterly lived at 5 Richmond Road, Shirley.
William, who worked for the Ordnance Survey, was born in Woolwich in 1842; he died in Shirley in 1902.
Lydia was born in Hastings in 1844 and she passed away in Southampton in 1931.
Siblings
William Henry Archibald b. 9 September 1870 Freemantle d. 1952 Southampton Married Fanny Weyman in Shirley in 1900.
Henry Robert b. 1873 Freemantle d. 1939 Southampton
John Charles b. 1874 Freemantle d. 1912 Shirley
Ellen Elizabeth b. 1879 Freemantle d. 1924 Winchester Married George Edward Dominy in Shirley in 1902.
Annie Florence b. 1881 Freemantle d. ?? Married Harry North in Portsmouth in 1902.
Archibald
In 1914, each infantry division included a Signals Company, with a total strength of 162 men. Archibald would have been one of the 18 Sappers in the Signallers & Despatch Riders section of the 21st Division.
The division landed in France in early September 1915, and they were straight into action at the Battle of Loos.
That battle resulted in 3800 divisional casualties.
In 1916, the division was involved in the Battle of Morval (part of the Somme campaign) where they captured Guedecourt.
The Memorial relates to the period of crisis in March and April 1918, when the Allied Fifth Army was driven back by overwhelming numbers across the former Somme battlefields.
This preceded the Advance to Victory, which began in August 1918.
The memorial holds the names of 14655 UK servicemen who perished on the Somme from 21 March to 7 August 1918.
| Researcher: | Mark Heritage |
| Published: | 3rd October 2016 |
| Updated: |
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