Born in 1895 at Woodford, son of Charles Edward (Carpenter for the County Council) and Caroline Julia Bellingham. 1901: With his family at 3 Georges Cottages, Violet Road South Woodford. 1911: A Boy Clerk in the Civil Service, still with his family at 3 Georges Cottages. This was the address shown in his Probate. He enlisted at Woodford, initially in the 3rd County of London Yeomanry, but later transferred to 12 Middlesex.
On 3rd May 1917 the Battalion was to attack Cherisy (south east of Arras) as part of the strategic Battle of the Scarpe. The Battalion was to force the line of the Sensee River, push onwards to high ground beyond Cherisy, and there dig in. An artillery barrage at 03.30 was promptly followed by an accurate German counter barrage which caused casualties. A number of men from 12 Middlesex were then held by uncut barbed wire in front of Fontaine trench, becoming stuck in shell holes under machine gun fire, and unable to move forward or back. The rest under Captain Neate managed to clear the Germans out of Cherisy, but were in turn forced out by a strong counter attack. This claimed many Middlesex men, particularly around an open barn by the village crossroads.
Later in the early evening a further assault was mounted on Fontaine trench by men of the Northamptonshire Regiment, and although parts of the objective were entered, it could not be held. Eventually all those who were able, including those involved in this later assault, returned to the lines they had left earlier in the day.
At some stage during this fighting Edward Bellingham was Killed in Action, and not recovered.
Research by Adrian Lee, Local Historian
Sources:
Ancestry.com
History of 54 Infantry Brigade