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Robert Henry (Harry) Archer
76751, Lance Bombardier, 51st Battery, Royal Field Artillery
Killed in action, 16 April 1918, aged 22
Buried at Duhallow ADS Cemetery, Ypres, Belgium
CWGC registered (Son of Arthur and Mary A Archer, of Bella Vista, Church Walks, Llandudno. Born Stone, Staffs. An Electrician)
FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH FOR LOVE OF HOME
Harry Archer was born in 1896 in Stone, Staffordshire. He was the second son of Arthur Archer, a fruitier and greengrocer, and his wife Mary Ann Archer (née Brown). Their first child, Arthur William Archer had been born in 1894 but did not survive infancy. The Census of 1901 records the family living at 3 Lichfield Street, Stone. Ten years later, the family was split between two locations: Harry (a fruitier’s errand boy), his father and his brother Leonard lived at 63 High Street, Stone; Mary Ann Archer (a lodging house keeper) and Harry’s sister Gladys Mary Archer lived at “Ordovia House”, Abbey Road, Llandudno. Both Gladys and Leonard attended schools in Llandudno though there is no record of Harry having done so. Leonard died on 7 February 1913.
Harry Archer, now an electrician, volunteered to join the Royal Field Artillery in 1915. He enlisted at Stafford and his number was 76751; this indicates an enlistment date of around February/March 1915. Other recruits at that time with close serial numbers joined at No 5 Depot at Athlone in Ireland and it is quite possible that Harry did as well. Little is known about Harry’s army career but it is known that he disembarked in France on 6 November 1915.
When Harry was killed in action on 16 April 1918, aged 22, his unit was the 51st Battery of the 39th Brigade. This brigade was attached to the No 1 Infantry Division which served on the Western Front throughout the war. He was buried at Duhallow ADS (Advanced Dressing Station) Cemetery, on the northern edge of Ypres.
Known memorials:
- Llandudno Roll of Honour
- Llandudno War Memorial
- Memorial Chapel, Holy Trinity Church, Llandudno
- Christ Church (Congregational), Llandudno
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