Prince of Wales’ Own (West Yorkshire) Regiment, 12th Battalion, Service no. 11700
Died 22nd July 1916 in Battle of the Somme, aged 29
Buried in Carnoy Cemetery, Somme, France
Story
Arthur was born in 1886, and was the son of Edward Firth (1857-1902) and Mary Mackintosh (1861-1934). Before the War, Arthur worked at Allerton Bywater pit, and married Florence Fisher in Kippax on 18th May 1907. They initially lived on School Lane with Arthur’s widowed mother, but soon moved to Garforth, and then to Morley in 1913, where Arthur continued to work as a miner.
Arthur enlisted on 5th September 1914 at the start of the War with Harold Varley and Charles William Armitage, and he had been serving in France for over a year. The news of his death came in a letter to his step-mother-in-law, Ellen Fisher (née Norton). It was also stated in the Leeds Skyrack Express on Friday 25th August 1916 that Private A Firth had appeared in Tuesday’s casualty list. It was further stated that on Sunday a memorial service had been held to commemorate Arthur, Harold Varley and Charles William Armitage at the United Methodist Church. Arthur and Harold attended the Kippax United Methodist Sunday School, and Charles was a member of the Bible Class at the same school.
Arthur left two children. His younger brother James Henry Firth also served in the Green Howards, and was injured in the leg just before Arthur was killed.
1916 Battle of the Somme
After two years of trench warfare, the Allies attempt to break through German lines on the Western Front. The ensuing battle will last for months and result in more than one million casualties. The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was one of the largest battles of the First World War. Fought between July 1 and November 1, 1918 near the Somme River in France, it was also one of the bloodiest military battles in history. On the first day alone, the British suffered more than 57,000 casualties, and by the end of the campaign the Allies and Central Powers would lose more than 1.5 million men.
Kippax Roll of Honour 