Alfred Lawrence Buckland – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Nelson Battalion, Royal Navy Division

Able Seaman Alfred Lawrence Buckland – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Nelson Battalion, Royal Navy Division

Family Background and Early Life

Alfred Lawrence Buckland was born in 1899 in Swansea, the son of Alfred Lawrence Buckland and Catherine Davies, who were married in 1892 in Swansea.

1901 Census

At the time of the 1901 Census, the Buckland family were residing at 12A Argyll Street, Swansea. Alfred’s father, aged 30, was employed as a plumber (lead worker), and his mother Catherine was 29. Their children were Alice A. V. (6), Alfred Lawrence (2), and Catherine (1).

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, the family had moved to 76 Argyll Street, Swansea. Alfred Buckland senior, now 40, continued to work as a plumber, while Catherine, aged 39, managed the household. Their children were Alice A. V. (16); Alfred Lawrence (12) and Catherine (11), both attending school; William Henry (8); and David Hector (4). Also living in the household was Alfred’s uncle, Evan Charles Buckland (28).

Military Service

Attestation Papers

Alfred Buckland enlisted in 1914, initially serving with the 9th (Cyclists) Battalion, Welsh Regiment, a unit responsible for home defence and reconnaissance duties during the early years of the war.

In June 1917, he transferred to the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, joining the Nelson Battalion of the Royal Navy Division, which served as infantry on the Western Front.

On 18^th October 1917, Nelson Battalion was engaged in the later stages of the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele), fighting in the appalling conditions that characterised the autumn phase of the campaign. By mid-October, the Royal Navy Division had been heavily committed to operations east of Ypres, particularly in the sector around Poelcappelle and Passchendaele Ridge. The battalion took part in repeated attacks and consolidation efforts under constant artillery fire, advancing across waterlogged ground churned into deep mud by shelling and persistent rain. Movement was slow and exhausting, with men frequently becoming stuck in the mud; wounded soldiers often drowned in shell holes filled with water; communication lines were repeatedly cut by bombardment; and German positions, though heavily shelled, remained strongly defended by machine-gun nests and concrete pillboxes. Casualties during this period were severe, caused not only by enemy fire but also by exposure, exhaustion, and the collapse of trenches and duckboard tracks. Many of the men killed during these operations have no known grave, their bodies lost in the mud of the battlefield.

Death and Commemoration

Alfred Lawrence Buckland
Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium
credit - findagrave

Alfred Lawrence Buckland
Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium
credit - findagrave

Able Seaman Alfred Lawrence Buckland was killed in action on 18^th October 1917 during these operations. He has no known grave, and his sacrifice is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, which honours those who fell in the Ypres Salient whose resting places are unknown.