Pte 330381 Alfred Owens

• Age: 24
• From: Everton, Liverpool
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 17th Btn
• K.I.A Saturday 7th December 1918
• Commemorated at: Archangel Allied Memorial

330381 Private Alfred OWENS, 17^th KLR, KIA 7^th December 1918 in Russia aged 24 years.

Born in Everton in the second quarter of 1894, Alfred was the youngest of at least 9 children born to John, a water meter inspector, and his wife Sarah (née Morris), who were married on the 25th September 1873 at St Peter's Church, Liverpool. John was a labourer of Wood Street, his father, John, was a labourer, whilst Sarah was a minor of Side Street, her father, Richard, was a labourer. 

On the 1881 Cenus the family lived at 14 Dorothy Street, Wavertree with their two children. His father, John, was aged 32, and was a water meter inspector, born in Liverpool, his mother, Sarah, is aged 26, born in Liverpool. They have two children declared in the household; John Richard, aged 7 years, described as an invalid as a result of a spinal injury, and Frances Louisa aged 1 year. They also have a boarder Richard Morris 21, a plumber. 
 
In 1891 they live at 7 Sterne Street (off Boaler Street, Everton) and now have 7 children. His father, John, was aged 42, and was a water meter inspector, his mother, Sarah, is aged 37, born in Liverpool. There are seven children declared in the household; John Richard, aged 16, who despite his injury is now working as an office boy, Frances, aged 11, Ada, aged 9, Walter, aged 7, David, aged 4, Elizabeth aged 3, and a baby aged 3 months, yet to be named. 

His father, had died aged 43, in late 1892 when Sarah would appear to have been pregnant with twins.

In the 1901 Census his widowed mother Sarah is now working as an office cleaner. There is no mention of either Frances or John Richard but amongst the six children now living with at 6 Atwell Street are 7 year old twin brothers one of whom is named John and the other is Alfred. This no doubt means that John Richard had died and was often the case a subsequent child has been named after him. We also know that Frances Louisa married in 1905 when she gave her home address as Thornycroft Road, Wavertree. His siblings are shown as; Walter aged 17 an apprentice plumber, David aged 14 also an apprentice plumber, Lizzie aged 12, Sarah aged 10 and twin brother John aged 7.  

By the time of the 1911 Census, Sarah, is still a widow, and is shown as living at 9 Phoebe Anne Street, Everton, close to her previous address in Atwell Street. She is now aged 54, with no occupation shown. Alfred and his twin brother John are now 17 and at home with their mother. Alfred is employed as a shop boy.    

Alfred had an older brother, David, who enlisted in the South Lancashire Regiment (TF) in 1905 giving the family address as 9 Burnley Street (the next street to Atwell Street) and also served with the Army Service Corps. In 1914 he was living in Canada and enlisted in Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, serving and sustaining gunshot wound to his back in France in 1915. David went back to Canada after the war but returned to the UK in 1935 and died in 1956.

Alfred enlisted in 1914, originally as Private 2151 in The King's Liverpool Regiment and arrived in France on 12^th March 1915.

He was subsequently transferred and was serving with the 17^th Battalion as Private 330381 and from October 1918 he was one of those Pals who were deployed in Russia, where he was killed near Terassova on 6^th/7^th December 1918. 

Graham Maddocks in his book “Liverpool Pals” relates how in early December 1918, intelligence indicated that the Bolsheviks were planning to attack the town of Tarassova and “D” Company of the 17^th Battalion made their way to the town on 5^th December to await the attack and learned from a prisoner that the attack would take place at 7.00am on 6th. Their CO, Captain E A Dickson MC, decided to pre-empt the attack and two officers, 76 other ranks, supported by 30 White Russians travelled through that night and came upon the enemy from the rear. They quickly captured an enemy blockhouse, killing seven and capturing four more, without suffering any casualties themselves. They then attacked a Bolshevik transport column and successfully attacked that, capturing it intact and seizing an amount of arms and ammunition including two Maxim machine guns. The enemy was now aware of their presence and fought back with snipers in the forest area. The Pals continued their advance and after heavy fighting during which the enemy lost many men they captured an enemy supply dump. By now they were within one mile of the enemy whose defence became more effective. One of their two officers, 2^nd Lieutenant A. Cousins, was wounded and Captain Dickson was soon up against an estimated enemy force of about 600 men. The White Russians made a somewhat hesitant if not reluctant attack against the Bolshevik flank but were never seen again. Dickson realised his ammunition was running low and his own Lewis guns were seizing up because of the wintry conditions and decided to withdraw, destroying the captured wagons and limbers and even killing most of the captured horses first. They retreated, taking the Maxim guns with them but eventually had to break up the guns and abandon them in the forest before returning to Tarassova with five prisoners and seven horses. Second Lieutenant Cousins later died of his wounds, as did Sergeant Percy Greany MM; three others were wounded but recovered, and Privates Charles Ainsworth, Robert Brown, James Houghton, Alfred Owens and Henry Turner were all killed during this action.

Alfred’s body was never recovered and his name appears on the Archangel Memorial to the Missing.

During both world wars, Archangel was one of the ports through which the Allies assisted Russia with supplies and munitions. The cemetery was begun immediately after the occupation of the town in August 1918 by the Allied force sent to support the Soviet Russian Government against potential threat from German occupied Finland and other local sources. It was used by No.85 General Hospital, No.53 Stationary Hospital, No.82 Casualty Clearing Station, HM Hospital Ship 'Kalyan' and other Allied hospitals. 

ARCHANGEL ALLIED CEMETERY contains 224 burials and commemorations of the First World War, including special memorials to 140 officers and men with known burials in cemeteries elsewhere in northern Russia. Two of the burials are unidentified. The cemetery also contains 7 Second World War burials. The ARCHANGEL MEMORIAL, which consists of panels fixed into the east wall of the cemetery, commemorates 219 British officers and men who died during the north Russian campaign and whose graves are not known.

His death was also reported in the Liverpool Echo on the19th December 1918;

AN EVERTON PRIVATE

Private Alfred (Alf) Owens KLR was killed in action on December 7th. He served in France for three years and four months before being sent to another front. He is deeply regretted by mother and all at 6 Shakespeare Street, Everton.

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